When it comes to tournament time in basketball, the old adage – “survive and advance” gets thrown around.
That's for a good reason.
At least it was for Columbian Thursday night.
In a Division III sectional final against Ontario – a team TC beat 58-40 back in November – the Warriors did anything but roll over for the Tornadoes.
In fact, they had TC on its heels for much of the game and for a bunch of stretches in the contest, outplayed the Tornadoes. But when it's crunch time and TC's season was on the line, the Tornadoes stepped up and found a way to survive and advance.
TC held Ontario scoreless for the final 4:16 of the game, edging the Warriors 38-36.
A big reason why was the defensive effort from senior District 6 first-teamer Mia Zeis.
It certainly wasn't her best game offensively with just two points, but she took three charges and when the game was on the line, swatted an Ontario shot attempt to win the game in the last seconds of the contest.
“She took three charges tonight. We started off the game like that and that was part of our game plan because we knew (Rylee Milner) would lower her shoulder going to the basket, and she did it. We are not a good team at taking charges, so having three in one game was great, TC coach Morgan Harrigan said. “(Zeis) actually has a loose tooth, so she needs to go to the dentist, but she came back in … it might've messed with her a little bit – but Mia struggled tonight against a zone. So, our offense needed to stem from our defense tonight and her defense on (Milner) was great. I'm proud of her for that.”
In a tight game throughout, Ontario (9-14) outscored TC 12-4 in the third quarter to grab a 30-26 advantage heading into the fourth.
Scores went back and forth to start the fourth until Ontario took a 36-33 lead on a pair of free throws from Milner with 4:16 left in the game.
As the Warriors tried to play keep away and hold the lead, TC (14-9) kept attacking and created chance after chance, but didn't score until the 1:49 mark on a Kenzie Felske jumper.
Then on the other end, Zeis blocked a shot, which led to a transition bucket from Lexi Beaston with 53.8 ticks left, giving TC a 37-36 lead.
Ontario had chances late in the game, but couldn't possess the ball and didn't get many good looks to either extend the lead or take the lead.
TC's defense forced 23 Ontario turnovers.
“I'm just really proud of the girls. They played so hard and didn't give up,” Warriors coach Tracy Baxter said. “I feel bad for them because they played so hard, they deserved to win, but when you go four minutes and don't score, it's hard to play that much defense.
“In the end, they beat us by 18 the first time and then we came back and played our butts off, so I have nothing but good things to say about my girls.”
Because of Ontario's zone defense, it limited TC's chances to get much inside in the paint, so a lot of the scoring had to come from the outside or on second-chance opportunities.
Beaston and freshman Madi Shriver combined to score 29 of the 38 total points.
Shriver, a freshman guard, hit three gigantic triples in the first half, and crashed the boards late for a second-chance opportunity.
“We had to rely on everybody today,” Harrigan said. “Whether that was someone communicating or someone just stepping in giving someone a breather, but I felt like it was a complete team win.
“I was really proud of Madi's effort on rebounds, looking to crash and keeping the ball alive. That's something she's completely added to her game this year, so I'm proud of her for that and staying the course. But if there's someone I want the ball in their hands at the end of a game it's Lexi.”
Milner paced Ontario with 11 points as seven Warriors got on the scoresheet. Beaston led TC with 16 points, followed by Shriver with 13.
With the win, the Tornadoes will face off with Mansfield Madison (14-8) Tuesday at Buckeye Central at 6 p.m. The Tornadoes topped the Rams 55-41 back on Dec. 27.
“We gotta just keep playing as a team. It's controlling us … yes, Madison is a good team we'll be facing, but if Columbian can take care of Columbian, good things will happen.”

Columbian 38, Ontario 36
Ontario (9-14): Elaina Owens 0-0-0; Natalie Smith 2-0-5; Addi Pittman 2-0-4; Carlie Schnittke 2-0-5; Tai Bise 2-0-4; Rylee Milner 2-7-11; Hayden Sexton 0-1-1; Morgan Pearson 2-0-6. Totals: 12-8-36.
Columbian (14-9): Madi Shriver 5-0-13; Mia Zeis 1-0-2; Caroline Newlove 0-0-0; Kenzie Felske 2-0-4; Lexi Beaston 5-5-16; Chloe Heyman 0-0-0; Tyanna Zeigler 0-0-0; Maddy Richie 1-1-3. Totals: 14-6-38.
Ontario 7 11 12 6 – 36
Columbian 8 14 4 12 – 38
3-point goals: Ontario 4 (Pearson 2, Schnittke, Smith); Columbian 4 (Shriver 3, Beaston)
Foul shots: Ontario 8-12; Columbian 6-11
Turnovers: Ontario 23; Columbian 10