Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — In a much-anticipated rematch of a regional semifinal game just a year ago, Fairland made it known early that it would’ve taken an act of God for Unioto to get a win.
From Wednesday’s tip, the Dragons (24-1) fired on all cylinders and never let off the gas pedal, cruising to a dominant 64-27 win over the Shermans in a Division II district championship.
“This is really all [Fairland coach Jon] Buchanan,” senior Bree Allen said. “The practices all week led to everything we did in the game. Our practice squad is really amazing, too. It helps us and it pushes us to get better.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Coming into the matchup, Fairland’s prolific offense was averaging 70.8 points per game. And the Dragons didn’t disappoint with four players in double-digit scoring figures.
But it was the team’s defense that maybe stood out the most against the Shermans — a team that, in their own right, came in averaging 67 points each night.
The Dragons held Unioto to 11-of-39 shooting and forced 23 turnovers, 16 in the first half alone.
“We had two really, really good days of practice this week,” Buchanan said. “We were locked in and we understood the assignments and what we needed to do against [Unioto’s] Milee [Smith], Amaris [Betts] and [Maggie] Holbert. I thought we did a really good job with our scouting report. And the girls did a great job with it as well.”
Tale of the tape
Smith gave Unioto (21-4) a 3-0 lead with 7:29 to go in the first quarter but Allen quickly matched the trey just seven seconds later. Betts then made it a 5-3 lead before Fairland’s Kylee Bruce and Bailey Russell sank back-to-back baskets for an 8-5 lead.
That was the last time the Shermans sniffed any sort of advantage.
Smith scored with 2:25 left, only to be answered by Addison Godby on the other end. Bruce then tacked on a lay-in just before Smith scored again with just 31.1 seconds remaining.
PHOTOS: Images from Fairland’s district championship win over Unioto
17 seconds later, Kamryn Barnitz dialed long distance to put the Dragons in front 15-9 after a quarter of action. That 3, however, sparked a 17-0 run that, essentially, put the game away.
Barnitz and Bruce quickly hit back-to-back jumpers to start the second before Russell buried a 3 for a 22-9 lead. Allen scored with 5:02 to go, Godby followed suit shortly after, and a bookend 3 from Barnitz ended the run.
All of the sudden, Fairland led 29-9 with less than two minutes until halftime and the wind had been sucked out of Unioto’s sails.
“We felt like they were going to pressure us a little bit. We had seen them do that all year long,” Buchanan said. “I thought we did a really good job of being patient early and not getting in a rush. Once we hit a pass, we hit the next one and we were going. We took good shots. If you’ve watched Unioto play, they rush teams into turnovers and get easy shots on the other end. We felt like we took care of the basketball, didn’t let them get easy shots, and we took good shots.”
Smith finally put a stop to the run with a pair of free throws at the 1:34 mark. Allen then hit another 3 from the top of the perimeter before the first half ended with a bucket from Unioto’s Amelia Uhrig, cutting the halftime deficit to 32-13.
Nothing changed out of the break.
Fairland continued to cook with grease, extending the lead to Allen flushed a triple in for a 37-14 lead, Russell later made it 41-16 with a trey of her own, and Barnitz scored to make it 45-16. By the start of the fourth, the Dragons owned a 55-23 advantage before cruising to a victory.
Stat book
Barnitz poured in 16 points, Allen had 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Russell ended with 13 points and Bruce also tallied 13 points alongside seven rebounds and three helpers.
In total, Fairland passed out 17 assists on 24 field goals.
“I think, this year, we’re taking a lot better [quality] shots,” Barnitz said. “No one is really worried about how many points they score. If one person isn’t scoring, another one is. Last year, we could always count on [Fairland graduate] Tomi [Hinkle] to just break the press. She’d just dribble through everyone. This year, we’re sharing it more and we’re all doing that. Things are definitely different, but it’s not in a bad way.”
Smith led Unioto with 13 points and six rebounds while Uhrig added six points and five boards.
What’s on tap
While Unioto sees its season come to an end, Fairland advances to a Division II regional semifinal at 6 p.m., March 5 at Zanesville High School. The Dragons will meet with either West Holmes or West Muskingum.
“They were super focused in practice this week,” Buchanan said. “So we’re just going to keep reminding them that good practices lead to good results on the court. It was fun cutting these nets down today. But we want the nets in Dayton in two weeks from now.”
BOX SCORE
Unioto: 9-4-10-4 — 27
Fairland: 15-17-23-9 — 64
Unioto: 11-39 FG, 3-4 FT, 2-14 3pt., 25 rebounds (Smith 6), 23 turnovers, 4 assists (Holbert 2). Scoring: Smith 13, Uhrig 6, Betts 4, Holbert 3, Danison 2.
Fairland: 24-54 FG, 4-9 FT, 12-29 3pt., 24 rebounds (Allen 8), 6 turnovers, 17 assists (Allen 4, Taliaferro 4). Scoring: Barnitz 16, Allen 14, Russell 13, Bruce 13, Godby 5, Leep 2, Taliaferro 1.
SPONSORED BY NEIL COLEMAN INSURANCE
