Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LOGAN — There’s always a standard of excellence at Wheelersburg. Now, it’s hit a new level.
CREDIT: Renee Nemeth/SOSA
The Pirates punched their tickets to Dayton on Friday, proving that a third time was the charm.
After falling to SOC rival West twice during the regular season, ‘Burg knocked off the Senators by a 50-41 final in a Division III regional championship at Logan High School.
“I’m so happy for the kids. They’re great kids and that’s true for both teams,” Wheelersburg coach Dusty Spradlin said. “These kids [Wheelersburg and West] have battled each other since they were little kids. Coming in, losing two games to them, I wasn’t sure how we could guard them. And we struggled at times. But this win was really special. We’ve had a great run as of late.”
On Dec. 8, West handed Wheelersburg a 52-40 loss. Then, on Jan. 19, the Senators followed it up with a 55-46 victory on the West Side.
However, when it mattered most, with all the marbles on the line, the Pirates (25-2) came out victorious.
“In the first game, we tried to put some size on [Emma] Sayre and we struggled with her speed. The second time, we tried to put speed on her and she still controlled the game, but [Maelynn] Howell really hurt us,” Spradlin said. “We talked about what it was going to take tonight and that everybody. The goal was to try and make every [West] possession as tough as it could be. And we had to pick our poison. But we did a better job of making them score over top of us and we had enough rebounds, too.”
Friday’s win over their rival marked the Pirates’ first-ever regional championship.
Under Spradlin, and well before he took over the program, Wheelersburg has had plenty of success. They’ve won multiple conference titles, a bevy of sectional championships and their fair share of district crowns.
But a Final 4 appearance had never been crossed off the list. This group will have that piece of history all to themselves until the end of time.
“I was a part of a Final 4 team when I played. To this day, that group still gets together and relives those memories,” Spradlin said. “[Wheelersburg’s] football, softball, baseball and boys basketball teams have been to state tournaments. So to break through, after knocking on the door several times, to push that door open … I’m just so happy for these kids and all of the kids that have been a part of this program.”
It took nearly three minutes before the first bucket was recorded: a triple from Macee Eaton. who was huge for Wheelersburg all night long.
Emma Sayre proceeded to score four of the next six points for the Senators (25-2) as part of a 6-0 run to put them ahead 6-3. Sayre scored eight of their 10 first-quarter points, but the Pirates had five different players score to take an 11-10 lead heading to the second.
West’s Charlie Jo Howard and Eaton traded 3’s to open the second, but Wheelersburg started to create separation.
With timely buckets from Jocelyn Tilley, Annie Coriell and Lexie Rucker, they pieced together a 9-0 spree to go up 19-13.
Lexi Deaver and Maelynn Howell combined to score the next six points for the Senators, but Rucker scored to keep the Pirates ahead 21-19 at the break.
Buckets were traded to open the third, but Wheelersburg had an answer at every turn to remain ahead. West later tied the game at 30-30, following two free throws from Maelynn Howell, but Eaton splashed a 3 to put the Pirates ahead 33-30 heading to the final eight minutes.
Wheelersburg led 36-33 when Rucker went coast-to-coast before Howell answered back a 3. But Eaton drilled a 3 of her own to keep the Pirates ahead 41-38 late.
In crunch time, Eaton proceeded hit four consecutive free throws, followed by four more from Rucker, as the Pirates — and their crowd on hand — celebrated their first-ever regional title.
Eaton led the way with team-highs of 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Rucker added 15 points and seven boards.
For West, Sayre ended the night with a game-high 26 points while Howell added nine points and 13 rebounds. Deaver also chipped in with four points and eight boards.
“The strength of this team is that multiple kids can step up in big moments. They’ve done it all season,” Spradlin said. “They really started buying in after our second loss to West. We’ve had big moments from kids throughout this tournament run. From the defense of Kiera Kennard and Mia Vastine to the offensive outputs of Walker, Rucker, Whittaker and Macee … we talked about all the things we can do. This group is just gritty. We found that out game one. This team just finds a way. Just so happy for them.”
Wheelersburg returns to action at 11 a.m. on Friday at the University of Dayton Arena against the winner of Africentric and Versailles — who play this Saturday — in a Division III state semifinal.
“The kids looked up to the banner in our gym this week and it was like, ‘2023 would look really good under that state appearance [section].’ It’s been blank,” Spradlin said. “We’re going to enjoy this. We’re obviously very happy for our team and our community.”
BOX SCORE
Wheelersburg: 11-10-12-17 — 50
West: 10-9-11-11 — 41
Wheelersburg: 15-38 FG, 15-18 FT, 5-13 3pt., 28 rebounds (Eaton 9), 12 turnovers, 9 assists (Eaton 4). Scoring: Eaton 19, Rucker 15, Whittaker 5, Walker 4, Kennard 3, Coriell 2, Tilley 2.
West: 13-51 FG, 7-8 FT, 6-20 3pt., 27 rebounds (Howell 13), 11 turnovers, 2 assists (Sayre 1, Deaver 1). Scoring: Sayre 26, Howell 9, Deaver 4, Howard 2.
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