Derrick Webb, Managing Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WAVERLY — When the train is on the tracks, move or get run over.
Sophia Uhl was that proverbial train on Saturday evening in Waverly and Alexander indeed hopped out of the way.
Eastern Brown’s sophomore forward acted as a wrecking ball, scoring a game-high 18 points alongside six rebounds and four assists to lead her team to a dominant 62-40 win in a Division V district semifinal.
“She’s a great player,” Eastern Brown coach Kevin Pickerill said of Uhl. “I’d like to see her finish a few more bunnies that she misses, but being a sophomore, she plays like a fifth-year senior at times. She’s very composed and does a lot of the right things. She makes the right reads and is always willing to make the extra pass. It’s not about her.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Uhl wasn’t the only Warrior to pack a punch, either. Far from it.
Early and often, Pickerill’s group was on the floor, fighting for loose balls and jockeying for rebound position under the bucket.
Overall, Eastern Brown (19-5) out-rebounded the Spartans by a 32-21 margin, held them to a 15-for-46 shooting effort, and forced 17 turnovers.
Bullies.
“We thought we could get in their bubble a little bit with our physicality and make them work to get a shot or a 3,” Pickerill said. “[Alexander’s] perimeter game is great. If you give them clean looks, they’re going to nail them. So we told the girls to get up in their space, check on cutters and be physical. I thought our kids set that tone.”
From the get-go, the Warriors acted as the aggressors.
Uhl, Alyssa Johnston and Bently Burns teamed up to lead them on a game-opening 11-0 run, forcing Alexander (16-8) to call a timeout with 3:44 remaining in the first quarter.
Thanks to two more scores from Burns and Uhl, that double-digit lead remained at the end of the frame, too, at 15-5.
PHOTOS: Images from Eastern’s district semifinal win over Alexander
“We got some good shots,” Pickerill said. “We were patient in our offense early and got what we wanted. We settled into the game that way. They tried to press us and they were able to stretch it out a little bit. That’s what good teams do. I felt like in the second half, when they had to go man-to-man defensively, I knew that would be to our advantage.”
Shyla Mignerey scored to make it 17-5 early in the second before Alexander’s Kayden Bean stopped the bleeding with a 3-ball at the 7:10 mark.
But the Warriors continued to throw haymakers.
Olivia Uhl scored with 6:35 to go, followed by a bucket from Burns and, later, two free throws from Sophia Uhl, producing a 26-13 count with 2:03 to play.
By halftime, Eastern’s advantage had swelled to 31-15 as they went into the break with full control.
In the third, not much changed. Alyssa Fisher found a cutting Sophia Uhl with 3:38 left to push the lead to 38-18 before Sophia Uhl scored again with 2:22 to go, making it 40-18.
The Spartans cut the lead to 19 at 43-24 heading to the fourth, but the Warriors held leads of 46-26 and 56-34 throughout the final eight minutes en route to an eventual 22-point win.
Sophia Uhl led Eastern Brown’s efforts with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists while Burns added 15 points and four rebounds to the mix. Mignerey also chipped in with 12 points, and Fisher ended the night with eight points and seven assists.
Alexander was led by Lily Ryder, who finished with 13 points, while Bean posted 12 points and four rebounds. Kaylee Hudnall, a 1,000-point scoring senior, also lent a helping hand with seven points, six rebounds and a pair of helpers.
As the Spartans’ season comes to a close, the Warriors advance to a Division V district championship game at 5 p.m., Saturday back at Waverly’s Downtown Gym.
They’ll meet with Piketon, who beat Wheelersburg by a 48-35 final to advance.
“Piketon is very good and they’ve got some great guards,” Pickerill said. “They’re also physical and their role players know their role without trying to do too much. We’ll have our hands full. They’ll get after us. We did scrimmage a good bit over the summer with them, so we’ve seen each other and know what to expect from each other. It’ll be a fun battle. We’re looking forward to it. We’re just glad to get back to this level. The kids want it and they’ve had this vision.”
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