Girls basketball: Big lead slips away but Columbia holds on against Dalton

COLUMBIA STATION — Columbia pumped the breaks on Dalton's furious comeback. The Bulldogs cut a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to two and had a shot to tie or take the lead with 25 seconds left, but turned it over and the Raiders survived for a 41-39 win in a Division VI district semifinal Tuesday night. No. 6-seeded Columbia (19-5) will face No. 3 Richmond Heights (16-5), which won 50-26 against No. 17 Wellington (13-10) on Tuesday, in the final at Norwayne High School on Saturday at 4 p.m. No. 14 seed Dalton's season ended at 13-11. "It's a really good feeling," said Columbia senior Bree Heidecker, who led the team with 11 points, nine rebounds and four steals. "We had to bring it. We had to play really hard defense because Dalton is a really good team. They're quick, they're strong, but we knew if we played our defense, played our game, we'd be perfectly fine." Prior to the fourth quarter, almost everything was going Columbia's way. The Raiders played strong defense throughout, forcing 21 turnovers, including nine in the opening quarter when they held Dalton to just four points on 2-of-9 shooting. Meanwhile, Heidecker couldn't miss, connecting on her first eight attempts, while junior guard Alyssa Goebel scored all seven of her points in the opening quarter. "We played as such a unit on defense, especially in the first half tonight," Columbia coach Faith Williams said. "Our communication is top tier right now. The way we switch screens, the way we stay, our help defense, they're doing such a great job. We just have to make sure that stays for a whole four quarters every single game." Heidecker was limited in the second half because she picked up her third foul in the final minute of the second quarter. And senior Kaitlyn Miller, the team's second-leading scorer, was held to just two points, missing her first 12 shots. Natalie Miller and Sadie Schulke picked up the team offensively in the second half, combining for 16 points after totaling just three in the first. Miller finished with 10, going 2-of-6 from 3-point range. Schulke scored just one point in the first half, but had eight in the third, all during a 12-2 run to open the second half that extended Columbia's lead to 32-16. "My defense drives my offense," Schulke said. "If I'm having an off game, my defense will always be there. Going and crashing the boards, just as a mental player, those are easy putbacks. I know the girls can't stop me when I go in." Natalie Miller opened the fourth quarter with a layup to give the Raiders a 37-22 lead with 7:35 left. Then the turnover bug struck as Columbia committed 12 in the fourth quarter after combining for just 10 in the first three periods. Dalton responded with nine unanswered points, including four from forward Phoebe Lehman, who led the team with 12 points, but also played the entire second half with three fouls. Up to that point, Lehman hadn't missed from the field. Kaitlyn Miller ended the run with her only field goal and Heidecker answered a Dalton layup with one of her own to give Columbia a 41-33 lead with 3:30 left. But Dalton again responded with six unanswered points, including four off turnovers. Dalton had two chances to tie or take the lead in the final 1:31, both coming off turnovers. Lehman suffered her only missed field goal of the game with 40 seconds left, but a pass in transition was just out of Schulke's reach, giving the ball back to Dalton with 25 seconds left. Lehman got past Heidecker along the baseline for a clear path to the hoop, but lost control of the ball and turned it over with three seconds left. Heidecker then found Natalie Miller with a full-court pass to ice the game. "For me, personally, it's really hard to keep my composure," Heidecker said. "But I know if I'm lashing out, my team will and I don't want that to affect the team. We've got to stay calm. I try to stay calm to keep the whole team in check and everybody together." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. Columbia 41, Dalton 39 DALTON (39): Payton Lehman 3-0-6, Phoebe Lehman 6-0-12, Mei Simmons 2-0-4, Mya Geiser 3-1-7, Grace Dorffer 3-0-8, Baylie Horrisberger 0-0-0, Lillian Ediger 1-0-2, Jacey Clark 0-0-0. Totals 18-1-39. COLUMBIA (41): Alyssa Goebel 3-0-7. Natalie Miller 4-0-10, Kaitlyn Miller 1-0-2, Sadie Schulke 3-3-9, Bree Heidecker 5-1-11, Audrey Goebel 0-0-0, Cami Shackelton 1-0-2. Totals 32-6-41. Dalton&emsp; 4&emsp;10&emsp; 8&emsp;17&emsp;—&emsp;39Columbia&emsp;15&emsp; 5&emsp;15&emsp; 6&emsp;—&emsp;41 Three-point goals: Dalton 2-15 (Dorffer 2), Columbia 3-16 (Miller 2, Goebel). Field goals: Dalton 18-40 (45 percent), Columbia 16-47 (34 percent). Free throws: Dalton 1-6 (17 percent), Columbia 6-10 (60 percent). Rebounds: Dalton 16 (Geiser 5), Columbia 29 (Heidecker 9). Total fouls: Dalton 10, Columbia 13. Turnovers: Dalton 21, Columbia 22.