A hot shooting Fisher Catholic girls’ basketball team was too much for Northmor to handle in Wednesday night’s Division IV girls’ basketball district semifinal game hosted by Westerville North High School.

In their 64-36 win, Fisher connected 13 times from three-point range — 11 from guards Jayda Dixon and Voni Bethel. Compounding Northmor’s difficulty was a noticeable height advantage posed by the Irish, who boasted a pair of 6’1” girls in Ellie and Averie Bruce.

“There’s nothing you can do when they don’t miss,” said Golden Knight coach Freddie Beachy. “It’s just a disappointment for these seniors. They gave it all they’ve got. There’s nothing you can do when they make every outside shot and get every rebound.”

Things looked promising for Northmor in the early going. Five points by Lexi Wenger and two from Reagan Swihart staked them to a 7-5 lead two minutes into the contest. However, Wenger would collect two quick fouls and had to sit the rest of the quarter. During that time, both Bruces hit from the field and Bethel connected from long range.

Paige Caudill was able to strike from deep to end the period for Northmor to keep them within a 12-10 margin, but the second quarter would be a different story.

Over those eight minutes, a three from Caudill provided Northmor’s only points, while at the other end of the court, Dixon and Bethel took over. The duo combined for all 24 Fisher points, hitting six three-pointers in the period. By halftime, that two-point Northmor deficit had ballooned to a 36-13 score.

Beachy said that Fisher’s length on defense and his team’s struggles from three-point range made finding offense a tough task.

“They’re long and play that 2-3 really well,” he said. “We’re a three-point shooting team and if we don’t shoot it well, we’re not going to beat anybody.”

Swihart had a big third quarter for Northmor, scoring 10 of her team-high 12 points in that quarter. Wenger and Caudill both added three-pointers, but Fisher stayed hot from the field and was able to add one point to their lead in making the score 53-29.

The Irish added 11 more points to their score in the fourth quarter in ending Northmor’s season with a 12-11 record.

Swihart led Northmor with 12 points, while Wenger added 10 and Caudill contributed nine on a trio of three-pointers.

While Beachy is optimistic about the future of the Northmor program, he did note that they’ll greatly miss this team’s senior class. The team will graduate all-time leading scorer Wenger, Swihart, Caudill, Haley Dille, Emma Marshall and Kaylene Brinkman, leaving it with a lot of holes to fill.

“We’ve got six seniors leaving and maybe other kids leaving,” he said. “Who knows; we might be out here with four seniors and 18 freshmen and sophomores. I do know our program is growing. We just have to get the kids in the summer time.”

Northmor’s Lexi Wenger drives to the hoop in her team’s playoff game against Fisher Catholic Wednesday.
https://www.morrowcountysentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2022/02/web1_lexiwenger.jpgNorthmor’s Lexi Wenger drives to the hoop in her team’s playoff game against Fisher Catholic Wednesday. Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel

By Rob Hamilton

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Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS