Perfect Clingler scores 21, leads Caston girls past North Miami

Scales adds 12, Zimpleman 10 as Lady Comets advance to Miami County title game

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Girls basketball

Caston 54, North Miami 35 (Tuesday): Jordan Clingler scored 21 points to lead three

players in double figures as the Lady Comets beat the Lady Warriors at North Miami in the semifinals of the Miami County Invitational Tuesday night.

Isabel Scales added 12 points, and Addison Zimpleman had 10 for Caston (9-4), who was playing for the first time in 12 days. Scales and Zimpleman also had five assists each.

Clingler went a perfect eight for eight from the field and five for six from the foul line. She also had a team-high six rebounds.

Caston won despite making just one of 11 3-point tries.

Ellie Musselman led North Miami with 14 points.

Caston led 26-17 at halftime and extended the lead to 36-19 after three quarters.

Caston had lost the previous six meetings with North Miami and beat them for the first time since Nov. 16, 2013. North Miami’s run of four straight Miami County Invitational titles also came to an end.

Caston will play Maconaquah in the championship game at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Maconaquah handled Peru 58-25 in the other first-round game.

CASTON (54) (9-4)

Isabel Scales 5 1-4 12, Addison Zimpleman 3 4-4 10, Bailey Harness 3 0-0 6, Maddi Smith 2 0-2 4, Jordan Clingler 8 5-6 21, Macee Hinderlider 0 0-0 0, Alexa Finke 0 0-0 0, Kinzie Mollenkopf 0 0-0 0, Brianna Yarber 0 0-0 0, Annie Harsh 0 0-0 0, Abby Williamson 0 1-2 1, Emma Kay 0 0-0 0

TEAM: 21 11-18 54

NORTH MIAMI (35) (1-7)

Tinney 1 0-0 3, Bowman 1 1-2 4, Hanley 3 1-2 7, Musselman 5 4-8 14, Freeman 2 1-2 5, Stockdale 0 0-0 0, E. Smith 0 2-2 2, A. Smith 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-0 0, Witmeyer 0 0-0 0

TEAM: 12 9-16 35

Three-point field goals:

Caston 1 (Scales),

North Miami 2 (Tinney, Bowman)

Total fouls: Caston 17, North Miami 15

Turnovers: Caston 12, North Miami 12

Score by quarters

Caston 11 15 10 18 – 54

North Miami 8 9 2 16 – 35