Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
SARDINIA — There may be a tournament Cinderella brewing.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
After handing Northwest a lopsided loss on Feb. 15 in sectional semifinal, Southeastern traveled to Eastern Brown on Saturday with exactly zero pressure attached.
And that’s when a team is at its most dangerous.
The No. 21 seeded Panthers (11-13), playing freely, produced a balanced effort to upset the No. 4 seeded Warriors by a 53-52 final in a Division III sectional championship.
Four different SE players reached double-digit scoring figures in the win — Grace Wireman, Reese Ruckel, Morgan Ware and Grace Brown.
The Panthers’ leading scorer, Gabby Pernell, gladly took a backseat during the afternoon but still contributed in her own ways. And defensive stalwart Reagan Ruby held Eastern’s all-time leading scorer, Rylee Leonard, to just five field goals.
“Grace Wireman carried us offensively in the first half,” Southeastern coach Doug Hice said. “Reese was a beast in the paint, Reagan played her butt off, Grace his three 3’s in the second half, and Morgan was outstanding on both ends of the floor. Gabby played a great basketball game. She struggled shooting but hit two big 3’s late in the game. My two seniors [Ruby and Wireman] played their hearts out. That’s why we’re moving on.”
Wireman finished the game with 15 points and six rebounds, Ruckel had 12 points and 13 boards, Brown tallied 10 points and Ware pieced together 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. Pernell also helped, scoring six points alongside four rebounds and six assists.
Overall, Southeastern out-rebounded Eastern by a 32-28 margin and had 11 assists on 17 field goals. The Panthers outscored the Warriors by an 18-12 margin in the fourth after entering the quarter facing a 40-35 deficit.
While Eastern Brown’s season comes to a close at 18-5 overall, Southeastern will get ready for a trip to Athens High School.
That’s the site of Wednesday’s Division III district semifinal, where the Panthers will meet at 8 p.m. with Nelsonville-York — a 37-31 winner over Coal Grove on Saturday.
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