Alter girls one win away from 10th state appearance
SPRINGFIELD — The Alter High School girls basketball program is one win away from its 10th state tournament appearance.
The Knights jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, beating Versailles 63-40 in a Division III regional semifinal game on Wednesday night at Springfield High School.
Junior Maddie Moody had a game-high 14 points and seniors Riley Smith and Hannah Mayse each added 12 as the Knights improved to 25-2 and advanced to a regional final game for the second time in three seasons.
“We told the kids they really paid attention to detail with the scouting report and I thought it showed,” said Knights co-coach Christina Hart. “It carried over (to the game).”
Earlier this season, the Knights beat Versailles 59-49, but knew they had to be prepared for the Tigers height and physicality, Hart said.
“When we played them earlier this year, (their post players) hurt us,” Hart said. “They’re so physical. We were ready for the physicality this time. The first time we played them we were still trying to figure ourselves out without (Riley Smith). We weren’t necessarily ready for that kind of physicality and we were this time.”
Alter jumped out to a 16-6 lead after the first quarter and extended it to 24-10 on a 3-pointer by sophomore Da’Shai Shepard with about three minutes remaining, forcing a Versailles timeout.
Moody found Smith for a layup in the final minute to give the Knights a 29-12 halftime lead. In the second half, every time the Tigers started to make a run, the Knights had an answer.
“You don’t want to relax (in the second half ), but you have some breathing room,” Hart said. “We hit some big shots. We just kind of took it to them right away and they weren’t sure what hit them.”
Smith returned to the lineup after missing about two months with an injury.
“She really didn’t miss a beat,” Hart said. “It was a nice little bonus.”
Junior Taylor Wagner had 12 points and senior Jenna Dirksen added 10 for Versailles, which advanced to the regional tournament for the second straight season.
“It’s been a really fun year because we’ve seen the growth from the beginning,” Versailles coach Tracy White said. “At the beginning, there were a lot of games where people were saying, ‘Wow, Coach you had a lot of turnovers’ and all of these other things. We play a really tough schedule, which I truly believe gets us to where we’re at today. … I feel like the girls have grown a ton. I’m super proud of them and how far they’ve come.”
The Tigers will graduate three seniors, including Dirksen, Heidi Stammen and Allison Schwartz.
“I love these seniors and I can’t say enough about them,” White said. “I wish we would’ve got the job done for them so we could continue the season because I know they really weren’t ready for it to be over.”
Alter faces another tough task in the regional final. The Knights advanced to play defending D-III champion Columbus Africentric in the OHSAA’s version of the Elite Eight at 1 p.m. Saturday at Springfield.
The Nubians beat Versailles 44-35 in last year’s D-III regional final at Springfield. Africentric is seeking its 13th state tournament appearance.