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RICHMOND -- It takes time to learn how to win.
The Edison girls basketball team learning how to do just that.
Edison ended the game on a 7-0 run to defeat Jefferson County foe Toronto, 51-45, Thursday night inside the Edison Fieldhouse.
"It was another close game," Edison (4-2) head coach Mark Smyth said. "Our kids are learning how to win. Our kids took care of the ball at the end of the game. I was content with the guards having the ball in their hands. They did a good job."
While the Wildcats are finding ways to win games, the Red Knights are struggling in that area.
"Absolutely, we are finding ways to lose," Toronto (1-7) head coach Rusty Hodgkiss said. "We are finding new and exciting ways to lose basketball games.
"We came into today, and we were averaging 32.5 or 32-point something turnovers a game. I hope that we find out that every possession matters. The last game we played against them at home was a one-point game.
"That one point is everywhere. It's in an offensive rebound, it's watching the ball go out of bounds instead of diving on the floor after it, it's careless passes, it's not stepping to passes to receive them, it's getting beat off the dribble. Every possession matters.
"Our last four games, we have lost them by like a combined 14 points."
Ashton Thomas scored to give the Red Knights a 45-44 lead in the fourth quarter, however, the hosts tallied the final seven points of the night to secure the victory.
"I thought we would be OK with our seniors," Hodgkiss said. "Our three seniors pull a lot of minutes. Michelle Anderson maybe gets a couple minutes of break, Ashton Thomas may get a minute or two of a break and Callie Anderson gets four minutes of a break a game. Those girls pull a heavy amount of minutes."
The Wildcats outscored the visitors, 9-5, in the fourth to pull out the victory.
"This game was very similar to the first game," Smyth said. "Rusty does a really good job with his team. They always give us fits.
"Thomas dominated. She just dominated. We worried about her. We exhausted our defenses trying to stop her. She scored 23.
"This game was close just like the first game. They games are always good competitive games. Rusty always does a really good job with his team."
Edison defeated Toronto, 48-47, Dec. 4 on the road inside the George J. Kunzler Memorial Gymnasium.
"That game was exactly like this one," Hodgkiss said. "It was back-and-forth, back-and-forth, back-and-forth.
"Give credit to Coach Smyth. His girls play physical. They play fast. We are real familiar with them. We are so close that the girls are familiar with each other.
"Pressly Meadows had a good game. Abigail Boka was in our youth program until seventh grade when she moved out here. Rebecka Evans had a real strong game. Our focus was trying to contain Pressly and Abigail.
"They were pretty evenly distributed."
Five players produced at least seven points for the victors. Evans ended up with a team-high 17 to lead the way offensively for the Wildcats. Also, Kylie Stull tallied 10 points, Abby Carpenter contributed eight points and Sophia Henderson and Meadows each delivered seven.
Thomas scored more than half of the points for the Knights as she ended the night with a game-high 23.
"Without her, we struggle to score," Hodgkiss said.
Also, Michelle Anderson added nine points, while Callie Anderson collected seven.
Edison led 42-41 entering the fourth.
"We have a freshman and a sophomore leading the way at guard," Smyth said. "They are getting better every game. Yeah, we had some turnovers, but we had a lot of assists. We did a better job of taking care of the ball than in our last four or five games. I am proud of the girls."
The game was deadlocked at 15 at the end of the first. Thanks to a late spurt, the Wildcats led, 26-19 at halftime. Toronto had possession of the ball late in the quarter, however, Edison intercepted an errant pass, and the turnover led to a layup on the other right before the buzzer to give the victors a seven-point advantage at the break.
Meadows then opened the third with a 3-point to increase Edison's advantage to 10 points at 29-19, however, the Red Knights refused to go away quietly into the chilly night. Toronto responded by ripping off a 12-0 run to take the lead on a basket by Thomas after Callie Anderson knotted the score at 29 on her team's lone 3-pointer of the night.
The Wildcats regrouped and went on a 6-0 run of their own to regain the lead, however, a three-point play by Thomas deadlocked the score at 38.
The Red Knights by one late in the quarter, but another buzzer-beater enabled Edison to take a one-point lead into the fourth.
"We want teams to press us," Hodgkiss said. "We do a better job in the open court."
With the win, the Wildcats have now won four straight games.
Both teams are scheduled to play Monday at home.
Edison is slated to play Newcomerstown in a varsity only game. The Wildcats defeated the Trojans, 52-43, last Thursday night on the road.
Toronto is set to play county rival Buckeye Local. The Panthers defeated the Red Knights, 40-36, in overtime last Thursday night at home on Kara Bright Court.
Edison 51, Toronto 45
Toronto 15 4 22 4 – 45
Edison 15 11 16 9 – 51
TORONTO (1-7): Derrington 0 0-0 0, Reeves 1 0-2 2, C. Anderson 3 0-1 7, M. Anderson 2 5-6 9, Rebich 0 0-0 0, 10 3-4 23, Dickinson 1 0-0 2 (Team) 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 18 8-13 45.
EDISON (4-2): Stull 4 1-4 10, Carpener 3 2-3 8, Henderson 2 3-6 7, Meadows 3 0-0 7, Koehnlein 0 0-0 0, LoPrete 0 0-0 0, Boka 0 2-4 2, Evans 6 4-4 17. TOTALS: 18 12-21 51.
3-POINTERS: Toronto 1 (C. Anderson); Edison 3 (Stull, Meadows, Evans)