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NEW MANCHESTER -- Changing up its defense and a big fourth quarter made all the difference for the Oak Glen girls basketball team.
Madonna led by five at halftime, but the Golden Bears switched up their defense and ended up outscoring the Blue Dons by 18 points in the fourth, en route to a 50-36 victory Tuesday night inside the Oak Glen Fieldhouse.
"We pulled it out," Oak Glen (3-4) head coach Scott Wiley said. "We were down for most of the game, and we fought back. I think some of that has to do with us being off since Wednesday. That was our last practice. We practiced Monday. We were off for four or five days.
"Madonna came to play -- there is no doubt about that. They are big, and they're long. That gave us trouble in their zone. We switched defenses in the second half. We went full man denying. I think that got us going. It was a slow game, and the press got us going. It was a hard-fought game."
The Golden Bears, who came out of a seven-day quarantine due to playing Linsly last week, outscored the Blue Dons, 25-7, in the fourth.
"We lost our composure with four minutes left in the game," Madonna (2-6) head coach Cory Wingett said. "The girls played great up until that point, and then mentally we checked out. We allowed the other team to dictate the outcome, and we didn't maintain our focus."
The victory enabled Oak Glen to sweep the season series from its Hancock County rivals.
"In the first game, we were up most of the game, and they had to try and fight back," Wiley said. "This time, we were down, and we had to fight back. We were able to hold them off at their place. They started slow. It was their senior night. It was different (Tuesday).
"You want to see your team be able to come back, but you don't want to always have to come back. Being able to come back and win makes it more special. We don't play East Liverpool or Beaver Local this year, but we still do play Madonna and Weir. This is a rivalry game."
Senior standout Reece Enochs recorded a game-high 22 points to lead the way for the Golden Bears. Enochs contributed 15 points in the decisive fourth quarter and made all four of her team's 3-pointers.
Also for Oak Glen, Alexus Greenlief finished with 11 points, Alayna Kranis tallied nine and Maddie McKay, who has committed to play softball at Toledo, collected five.
"As a coach, you want to win every game, but I am glad our kids are getting the chance to go out there and play," Wiley said. "It has been rough. It has been rough for everybody. I need to watch and appreciate it more. I think the kids need to appreciate it, also. We weren't sure if we were going to have a season. It is nice to see the kids get the chance to go out and compete."
Alaina Moore and Anna Backel each tallied nine points to lead the way for the Blue Dons. Leading scorer Jazzy Melnyk had five.
"I know I sound like a broken record, but we have to learn to focus, box out and control turnovers for 32 minutes," Wingett said. "The game is 32 minutes for a reason. We focused as a team for 28 minutes."
Madonna led, 29-25, entering the fourth.
The game was tied at seven after the first quarter, but the Blue Dons outscored the Golden Bears, 11-6, in the second to take an 18-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.
UP NEXT
Madonna: Tentatively travels to Clay-Battelle on Thursday.
Oak Glen: Tentatively hosts Brooke tonight in a make-up contest from Thursday.
Madonna is scheduled to play Clay-Battelle at 7 p.m. Thursday on the road.
Oak Glen 50, Madonna 36
Madonna 7 11 11 7 -- 36
Oak Glen 7 6 12 25 -- 50
MADONNA (2-6): Melnyk 1 3-4 5, Moore 4 0-0 9, Martinez 3 0-0 6, Backel 3 1-2 9, Alatis 1 4-6 6, Yacos 0 1-3 1, Wingett 0 0-0 0, Lenhart 0 0-0 0, McCoy 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 12, 9-15: 36.
OAK GLEN (3-4): Kell 0 1-2 1, Enochs 5 8-8 22, Greenlief 4 3-5 11, Sy. Brown 1 0-0 2, McNutt 0 0-0 0, McKay 1 3-4 5, Barr 0 0-0 0, Sa. Brown 0 0-0 0, Kranis 2 5-10 9. TOTALS: 13, 20-29: 50.
3-POINT GOALS: Madonna 3 (Backel 2, Moore); Oak Glen 4 (Enochs 4).