Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WAVERLY — Four years ago, Portsmouth was a program on the rise with a talented roster and tons of untapped potential.
That season, the Trojans suffered a loss to Portsmouth West in a district final.
But it was oh-so-clear that they weren’t going away anytime soon. They were going to be an absolute problem.
Since that loss, they’ve now celebrated three district titles, two regional crowns and the program’s first-ever state championship campaign.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
This year, they have one simple goal: repeat as state champions.
Saturday was the clearing of the first major hurdle.
Led by a near triple-double from Keke Woods, Portsmouth used a 19-6 second quarter margin to create distance before claiming its third straight district title with a 55-32 victory over North Adams.
“It’s real special. Along the way, we’ve just got it right. From the practices, to the grades, to the behavior, being early and staying after, just all the little things,” Hughes said. “These girls just do all the little things. When you get in a big game, it’s your defense that wins it for you, add the rebounding, shooting and unselfishness. But right from the beginning, it’s just been done the right way. We’re never going to stop working and we’re never going to stop teaching.”
North Adams brought the fight early to Portsmouth with Emma Pistole leading the way, keeping the two engaged in a low-scoring, physical affair.
The Trojans (20-4) took the lead at 9-5, following a steal and bucket from Sienna Allen, only for NA’s Sophia Barlow to score on the other end to make it a 9-7 count after the first quarter.
That’s where Portsmouth began to make its mark.
It started with Woods and Allen leading a 6-0 run, pushing the lead to 15-7.
Feeling the energy and turning up the pressure, they later forced a handful of turnovers that turned into 3’s from Sienna Allen and Salem Allen, which powered a 9-0 run to end the half with Portsmouth ahead 28-13 lead.
“I think just being patient [helped],” Sienna Allen said. “We weren’t rushing to score. We were just letting the game come to us and we knew we could definitely win the game. So we weren’t trying to force things or speed the game up for no reason. Once we get a lead, we just keep pushing. We just take the game away from the very beginning.”
Although North Adams (19-6) opened the third with a 5-0 run to trim the deficit to 10 points, that was the closest the Devils would get throughout the rest of the night.
Portsmouth immediately answered with an 8-0 run behind Woods and Hayven Carter, advancing the lead to 36-18 and putting things into cruise control until the final buzzer sounded.
“I think a key was our defense,” Portsmouth’s KK Mays said. “We got a lot of steals and our defense got us going on the offensive end. Defense and rebounding will definitely get us there. Working hard in practice every day. Trusting in what our coaches say. [If we do that], we’ll be back in Dayton.”
Woods finished the night with an eye-popping 24 points, 10 steals and nine rebounds. She was, in a word, everywhere.
“Keke is a really special player,” Mays said. “She might be one of the best defenders in the whole state of Ohio. Here defense and her energy just gets us all going. I love playing with Keke. She’s the best.”
Meanwhile, Sienna Allen added 13 points and five rebounds, and Carter finished with 10 points.
For North Adams, Pistole finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
While the Devils’ season comes to a close, Portsmouth returns to action at 7 p.m., Wednesday in a Division V regional semifinal against Eastern Brown, who defeated Piketon to advance.
That game will happen at Logan High School.
“This is really special to us. We’ve put in a lot of work over the past six years since junior high” Sienna Allen said. “We’ve been working to get a state championship and we did that last year. Our next goal is to win it again. Back-to-back.”
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