Tri-Village seniors ready for state experience
After three years of heartbreak at the Vandalia Butler Student Activity Center, the Tri-Village High School girls basketball team’s senior class finally accomplished its goal.
The Patriots beat Fort Loramie 32-30 in a Division IV regional final thriller on March 4 to advance to the state tournament for the second time in school history and first time in 11 years.
For the Patriots’ three seniors — Morgan Hunt, Torie Richards and Rylee Sagester — it was a dream come true.
“I love those girls so much,” Hunt said. “This is our dream. It’s been our dream since we were freshmen. We’ve worked so hard for it, and I’m so glad that we’re getting the opportunity.”
Richards echoed her longtime teammate’s statement. It’s been something they’ve been talking about for as long as they can remember, dating back to their fourth grade year.
“This has always been a dream of ours,” Richards said. “It’s reality now. We play with a lot of chemistry, and I just love playing with them.”
Sagester, who was named Ohio Miss Basketball runner-up to Purcell-Marian’s Dee Alexander on Wednesday, said she couldn’t imagine doing it with anybody else.
“We’ve come a long way from hours in the summer and practices on the weekends to going to each other’s houses to shoot baskets and playing one-on-one to get ready for these moments,” Sagester said.
The undefeated and topranked Patriots (28-0) will play Berlin Hiland (22-6) at 8 tonight at University of Dayton Arena. The winner will play either Toledo Christian (22-4) or New Middletown Springfield (24-3), who play each other at 6 p.m. today at UD Arena.
The Patriots lost their first appearance at the state tournament in 2012, falling 5347 in Columbus. Sagester attended the game as a 10-year-old.
“I remember sitting right behind the bench and cheering them on the whole way,” Sagester said. “It didn’t come out how we wanted it, but we’re going to change that this week.
The Tri-Village senior class has played a key role in the program’s success since they entered high school in 2019. The Patriots have gone 101-7 over the past four seasons. They’ve won four straight conference titles, having never lost a conference game in either middle school or high school.
All three played varsity as freshmen, guiding the Patriots to the regional semifinal where they lost to Cincinnati Country Day. In 2021, the Patriots lost to Fort Loramie in a regional final and fell again to Cincinnati Country Day in the regional final last season.
Tri-Village beat Fort Loramie in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup last weekend, finally leaping over the Vandalia Butler hurdle. The senior class scored all but one point in the Patriots win.
“We’ve been trying to get out of Vandalia since my freshman year,” Richards said. “It feels really good. It’s not over yet, but I feel really relieved that we knocked off one of the best teams.”
Sagester, a Marshall University commit, is averaging 21 points, 3.8 assists and 2.8 steals per game and recently set the Ohio career mark for made 3-point field goals. Hunt, a Thomas More University commit, is averaging 14.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.6 blocks per game. Richards is averaging 13 points, 4.5 steals and 3.8 assists per game.
The seniors lead the team not just on the floor but also in the community, said Patriots coach Brad Gray.
“Our kids love being with each other, and they lead in that,” he said. “They’re the ones that are making sure everyone is together.”
The seniors have been laser focused on getting to the state tournament, Gray said.
The job, however, isn’t finished, Sagester said. The girls team got a sneak peek of UD Arena on March 3 as they watched the Patriots boys team beat Greeneview in a D-III district final game.