Smith’s game-winner lifts Unioto to first district championship since 2015

Derrick Webb, Staff Writer

Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.

CHILLICOTHE — If Milee Smith never plays another game at Unioto — and rest assured, there’s many more to come — she’s already a legend.

That stamp of approval came in bold ink on Friday night.

After scoring with just 11.2 seconds remaining to force a 55-55 tie with Sheridan in a Division II district championship game, the freshman followed with a steal on the ensuing inbound. 

What followed was pandemonium.

Smith gained possession of the basketball at her own foul line and threw up a runner. The ball caromed off the back of the rim and fell back into Smith’s right hand. 

With that hand, and with 0.1 seconds left on the game clock, Smith tipped in the game-winner to hand the Shermans (25-0) their first district title since 2015.

It was, in a word, legendary.

“Honestly, I was thinking that I missed the first shot,” Smith said, with a smile, after the win. “Then, I thought I missed it again. Then I saw it go in. I just really wanted this [win]. Addison [Mohan] came over to me and was like, ‘Can you please win this?’ So I knew I had to do something.”

Smith’s night included a career-high 31 points alongside 18 rebounds and four assists — all team-highs.

She was unequivocally the best player on the floor. At all times.

“We’ve known that we could see that type of performance at any time,” Unioto coach Jeff Miller said. “But with the type of kid she is, she wants to keep everyone involved and she wants to share the basketball. I think tonight, it kind of clicked. She knew that if we were going to stay alive, she was going to have to put us on her shoulders. By God, she did.”

It wasn’t easy by any means.

WATCH: Unioto’s Milee Smith, Alexis Book and Addison Mohan discuss Friday’s win

The Shermans trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half and entered the fourth quarter trailing 46-32.

But Unioto never lost sight of the prize. Belief was always on their bench.

“Sheridan prepared really well for what we typically do,” Miller said. “As a team, if you’re 24-0, if what you’re doing works all the time, you don’t change a whole lot. They obviously did a good job of preparing for us. So we had to make some on-the-fly adjustments. Our girls just stuck with it. Two of our keys tonight were trust in each other and belief. I don’t think they ever wavered from that. They never stopped believing they could win that game.”

Tale of the tape

In the early goings, the Shermans shot out to 9-6 lead behind scores from Smith, Amelia Uhrig, Maggie Holbert and Alexis Book. 

But Sheridan (22-3) had an answer prepared and it came in the form of Nora Saffell. The Generals’ junior hit the boards to create scoring chances, which helped Sheridan take a 16-14 lead into the second quarter.

Then, Jamisyn Stinson started to get hot — which was bad news for Unioto.

Stinson hit a floater to make it an 18-14 score before hitting a 3 with 5:47 left, stretching the lead to 23-14. That nine-point advantage was still intact heading into halftime at 29-20.

“I looked at them in the locker room and their facial expressions and body language seemed to be a bit defeated,” Miller said. “So I reminded them to look at their neighbors and told them to trust in themselves and trust in their teammates. And I told them to believe. If we had lost belief, we might as well have gone home then. We wanted them to chip away and give themselves a chance to win it at the end. They did that.”

In the third, Stinson and company continued to build upon their lead.

After Book scored to make it 29-22, Betts hit two free throws for a 29-24 count. But that’s when the Generals, led by Stinson, ripped off a 10-0 run for a 39-24 advantage at the 3:46 mark.

That’s after Stinson nailed back-to-back 3-balls.

“You’re talking about a kid that’s 6-foot tall, who can dribble, and who has 25-foot range,” Miller said. “She shoots about 42 percent from 3-point range … She’s a handful. She’s going to be special. We’ll watch her play Division I basketball somewhere in two years.”

Stinson canned another triple with 46.2 seconds left for a 42-30 edge before Sheridan headed to the fourth with a 46-32 lead. But that’s when Smith decided to fight back.

The point guard opened the fourth quarter with eight straight points, cutting the deficit to 46-40. When Betts sank a 3 with 4:20 to go, the Generals’ lead had been cut to five at 48-43.

That five-point distance remained until Smith hit two foul shots for a 53-50 count with 1:21 to go. On the other end, Sheridan logged a pair of foul shots to take back its five-point lead.

But Smith dialed long distance with 27.2 seconds left before tying the game, following a turnover, with 11.2 seconds on the clock.

And you know how the rest of the story goes.

“I really don’t think I remember a win like this at this level of importance,” Miller said. “I’ve coached a few games with buzzer-beaters and this and that, but not at this level.”

Stat book

Smith’s career night was followed by Betts’ seven points while Holbert added six points of her own. Book also helped out, tallying five points, three rebounds and a pair of assists.

Sheridan was led by Stinson, who finished with 23 points and six rebounds while Saffell added 14 points, seven boards and three assists. Ava Heller also chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.

What’s on tap

Unioto will now play in its first Sweet 16 in eight years, where they’ll meet with undefeated Fairland — a 67-39 winner over Fairfield Union on Friday.

That contest is slated for 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Zanesville’s Winland Gymnasium.

“It’s a short turnaround,” Miller said. “The nice thing is, again, we haven’t had to do anything a whole lot different all year long. So we need to focus on what we need to do and what we do best. We’ll maybe tweak a few things, then put together a game plan, and go after it.”

BOX SCORE

Sheridan: 16-9-21-9 — 55

Unioto: 14-6-12-25 — 57

Sheridan: 21-47 FG, 6-8 FT, 7-19 3pt., 33 rebounds (Powell 7, Saffell 7), 18 turnovers, 16 assists (Powell 5, Heller 5). Scoring: Stinson 23, Saffell 14, Heller 12, Powell 4, Warner 2.

Unioto: 21-62 FG, 8-16 FT, 7-20 3pt., 30 rebounds (Smith 18), 10 turnovers, 7 assists (Smith 4). Scoring: Smith 31, Betts 7, Holbert 6, Book 5, Mohan 3, Coleman 3, Uhrig 2.

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