State’s top two teams set for regional final in Division IV
A pair of old small-school rivals will face off again this weekend with a trip to the Division IV state tournament on the line.
Top-ranked and unbeaten Tri-Village (27-0) will play second-ranked Fort Loramie (24-2) in a D-IV regional final game at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Vandalia Butler High School Student Activity Center.
The Patriots beat fourthranked Marion Local 50-38 on Thursday night at Vandalia to advance to a D-IV regional final for the third straight season. Tri-Village is seeking its first appearance in the state tournament since 2012.
“We see (Fort Loramie) all the time and we know them like the back of our hand,” said Patriots coach Brad Gray. “They know us like the back of their hand. I think it’s going to be a really good game.”
The Redskins beat Shelby County Athletic League rival Russia 57-42 in the second game of the regional semifinal doubleheader, setting up the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. Fort Loramie is seeking its third trip to the state tournament in the last four years and its 12th appearance overall.
The two programs have met in the regional finals — Ohio’s Elite Eight — six times since 2010, including four straight seasons from 2010 through 2013.
Saturday’s winner will advance to a D-IV state semifinal game at 8 p.m. March 9, at UD Arena against either Portsmouth Notre Dame or Berlin Hiland.
Fort Loramie won the last matchup against Tri-Village 61-37 in 2021 — eventually claiming the third state championship in program history.
“I have the utmost respect for what (Gray) has done at his program,” said Fort Loramie coach Carla Siegel. “They’re No. 1 this time, so I guess we’re going to be the hunters instead of the hunted. It’s going to be an exciting game.”
Tri-Village 50, Marion Local 38: Patriots senior Rylee Sagester, an Ohio Ms. Basketball nominee, had a game-high 22 points
and senior Morgan Hunt scored 14 points as Tri-Village improved to 27-0.
Marion Local senior Lindsey Koenig scored 14 points and sophomore Chloe Ronnebaum added 10 points as the Flyers finished their season 22-5.
Marion Local jumped out to an 11-5 lead after seven quick points by Koenig. The Patriots quickly fought back to grab a 13-11 lead on a 3-pointer by Sagester late in the first quarter.
Hunt scored 11 of her 14 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining to give Tri-Village a 31-25 halftime lead.
“Credit to Marion, they came out and played really, really good basketball,” Gray said. “I thought they had a really good game plan and made us work really hard in the half-court offense. Their man-to-man defense was legit and we knew it was going to be. I think they did everything they needed to do to keep the game interesting, but also our kids found a way to rely on some experience down the stretch.”
Marion Local cut the lead to 34-31 after three quarters, but Patriots senior Torie Richards nailed a 3-pointer with five minutes to go to extend the lead to 39-34. Back-to-back baskets by Ronnebaum and Koenig cut the
lead to one point with less than three minutes remaining.
Tri-Village, however, wouldn’t be denied. After a key basket by freshman Kennedi Hager made it 41-38, Sagester nailed a stepback 3-point dagger from the left wing to give the Patriots a six-point lead with 1:30 remaining. Tri-Village went 7-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.
“(Sagester) was feeling it,” Gray said. “Every time she had an open look it was like they were dead on. I thought she really carried us. It got to a point where we weren’t really running a whole lot. It was (Sagester) get the ball, (Hunt) get the ball for us, be the two best players on the floor and win this game for us and that’s really what it came down to.”
Fort Loramie 57, Russia 42:
Redskins junior Skyler Albers scored a game-high 16 points and senior Ava Turner added 10 points as Fort Loramie advanced to a regional final game for the 15th time in 20 seasons.
Russia junior Roni Poling had 15 points and senior Cece Borchers added 13 for the Raiders, who finished their season 22-5.
The conference rivals split during the regular season with each team earning victories on their home court.
Siegel felt the Redskins came out flat in their loss to the Raiders on Feb. 2 — and didn’t want it to happen again.
“We talked all week about how we had to be aggressive tonight,” she said. “I felt like that aggression — you saw it on offense and you saw it on defense. We just attacked the rim and got some easy layups there throughout the night.”
The Redskins jumped out to an 8-2 lead on a layup by sophomore Victoria Mescher, forcing an early Russia timeout. They extended their lead to 15-4 on an old-fashioned 3-point play by sophomore Avery Bra with 30 seconds remaining.
Fort Loramie led 21-9 midway through the second quarter, but the Raiders went on a 13-6 run to cut the lead to 27-22 at the half.
The Redskins went on another run to open the third quarter, grabbing a 37-23 lead on a bucket by Albers. The Raiders cut the lead to six points at 41-35 on a basket by Poling, but they wouldn’t get any closer. The Redskins closed out the game with a 16-7 run to seal the victory.
“Everybody contributed,” Siegel said. “Whether they played 30 seconds or 30 minutes — everybody played their hearts out tonight.”