Solon edges Washington

It was tied at 48, and the Washington girls? basketball had a chance to take the lead.

They got the shot they wanted with just over a minute left, an Addie Pacha turnaround jumper, but the shot missed off the rim, and Solon took advantage.

The Spartans jumped on top with 40 seconds left in the game, and Washington couldn?t answer, falling 52-48 on Saturday afternoon.

?She read things right,? first-year Washington head coach Jordan Bentley said of Pacha, who led the team with 14 points and six rebounds. ?She made good decisions. In a tie game, that?s a girl we want to take that shot and it was a good shot. It just didn?t go in, and those things happen. You miss shots and make shots, this time we just didn?t make it.?

Pacha was joined on the scoresheet by fellow senior Morgan Kimball and sophomore Sarah Nacos, who each put in eight points.

Nacos, Pacha and senior Brynna DeLong each tied for the team lead of three assists in a balanced effort.

?There isn?t a whole lot that I would say is a negative,? Bentley said. ?It?s getting better. We just have to believe that it?s all going to happen.?

The Demons started off the game as well as they could, only turning the ball over once in the first quarter, and jumping out to a 13-4 lead.

The Spartans rebounded quickly in the second quarter, outscoring the Demons 21-7 in the frame to take a 25-20 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, the Demons once again came out strong, going on a 15-6 run to take over the lead once again, but that was when foul trouble started to creep up on the Demons.

With 3:09 left in the third quarter, senior Amber Salow notched her fourth foul and was forced to the bench, in danger of picking up her fifth.

?We got in foul trouble,? Bentley said. ?No matter who you put in there, when you are in foul trouble, your lineup changes. We were in trouble the whole game and that changes how you play.?

The Demons saw Solon tie the game up at 35, but a 3-pointer by Nacos kept the Demons in front for the time being.

After that, Solon outscored the Demons 11-5 into the early part of the fourth quarter to take a 46-43 lead, but the Demons weren?t finished yet.

A Pacha bucket, followed by a 3-pointer by Kimball put Washington back on top, 48-46, before the Spartans tied it up and eventually pulled away to the victory in the final minute.

?You have to be positive,? Bentley said. ?There isn?t much to hang our heads about, because we got the shots we wanted. We just have to do a better job of moving our feet, because we can?t be in foul trouble every game we play. We said Solon would be a good free throw shooting team and they scored 17 points there. We scored four. We need to look at our keys.?

As a team, the Demons shot 37 percent (19-52) from the field, while hitting six of their 20 3-point attempts.

Washington was 4-of-11 from the free throw line, while Solon shot 17-of-22.

Washington will next open up conference play on Friday night, when they host No. 6 ranked Fairfield in a girls?-boys? doubleheader.