Correspondent photo / Lowell Spencer. Springfield’s Jameka Brungard goes up for a shot in the lane against a host of Heartland Christian defenders on Saturday.

NEW MIDDLETOWN — The Heartland Christian Lions girls basketball team has enjoyed a record-breaking season. The Springfield Tigers are looking to repeat a record-breaking season from last year when they advanced to the state semifinals. So, the matchup between the two in tournament action allowed both teams to reach new heights.

The fifth-seeded Tigers continued their tournament quest with a 59-43 victory over the Lions in a game that the 16-point final margin was not indicative of how close the contest was.

With the win, the Tigers improved to 16-7 on the season and advanced to the Division IV, Northeast 2 district semifinals, where they will play the second-seeded Badger Braves Wednesday night at Mineral Ridge High School.

“I love these girls so much,” Tigers guard Ava Vecchione said. “After the run we made the past two years, I would love to do it again, especially being the only senior. We just want it.”

“We told them in the locker room, survive and advance,” Springfield head coach John Matisi added. “I thought we got (Heartland’s) best shot. They played about as well as they could play. They have enjoyed a tremendous year, and so to get their best shot and still be able to pull it out in the end is going to just keep battle testing us.”

“They (Springfield) are a well-coached team. They have a great tradition there,” Heartland Christian head coach Scott Libb said. “Our girls were right there with them, then we started to put pressure on ourselves instead of letting the system take over. We started doing more of ‘me’ things instead of ‘we’ things. Once that happened, they started to expand the lead.”

Despite the loss, the Lions enjoyed their most successful season in program history. They finished the year with an impressive 14-10 mark, doubling their previously high-win total of seven, and hosted their first home tournament game in program history. They also eclipsed the most points scored in a game with 65 and in a season with 1,102.

“It’s not just me,” Libb said of the program’s improvement. “Our motto the last few games was ‘Thine will be done,’ and we felt like it’s been God’s will. He gave us the spotlight and showed it on him.”

The game saw the Tigers begin the contest with a big run and close the contest with a sizable run, but in between, it was a catfight between the two teams. Springfield would lead by as many as 18 just before the final buzzer, but also by as little as three at the 3:39 mark of the third quarter.

It appeared the Tigers would make a quick game of it shortly after the opening tipoff as they raced out to a 13-0 lead by the five-minute mark of the first quarter following a three by Vecchione. It was the first of her four treys on the day.

“(Heartland) had a big crowd, and it was one of their first tournament wins, so we knew that they were going to come in here and be energized,” Vecchione said. “We knew we had to respond and start off really strong, and we did.”

“That is how we wanted to come out here at home,” Matisi said. “To try to get them going and play at our pace. We were able to do that.”

The Lions would finally snap Springfield’s run at the 3:50 mark of the frame when freshman forward Sarah Reynolds scored in the paint to make it 13-2. The Tigers would enjoy a 16-9 advantage by the end of the first period.

“Our girls have never been here. They were nervous coming out, they really were,” Libb said. “Springfield does a great job with their pressure and after the girls started slowing down, we started to break it and get some easy shots at the other end.”

Following two free throws by Springfield’s Mariana Tuscano midway through the second quarter, the Tigers had built a 12-point lead. The Lions then came to life, as they went on a 7-0 run capped by free throws from the Lions Rachel Reynolds with 1:08 remaining in the half. Following a basket by the Tigers, Sarah Reynolds connected on a jumper at the buzzer to make it a five-point game.

“We were winning, and we didn’t need to force shots,” Vecchione said. “We just needed to step it up on defense. They were making a lot of their shots, so we needed to stop them and close down on offense.”

The Lions continued to cut the deficit by the 4:25 mark of the third quarter when Rylee Shadowens connected on a three from the top of the key to make it 30-27. She would once again respond with a three at the 3:49 mark following a basket and free throw by the Tigers to make it a three-point contest once again at 33-30 in Springfield’s favor.

But the Tigers would slowly distance themselves for the remainder of the third period with a 10-3 run to enjoy a 43-33 advantage. Springfield’s Jameka Brungard would lead the charge for the Tigers with 11 of her game-high 24 points in the stanza.

“We wanted to be a little patient on offense,” Matisi said. “They were packing it in where we made a few shots early, and then we kind of fell in love with it a little too much. We needed to move it from side to side and tried to loosen it up and get to the basket.”

After the Lions scored to open the fourth frame to make it an eigh-point affair, consecutive baskets by Springfield’s Maren Vinkler and Vecchione pushed it back out to a 13-point lead at the 3:35 mark of the frame.

From there, the Tigers spread the court and converted on several open lane shots to outscore the Lions 11-8 in the final three minutes of the contest.

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