Derrick Webb, Managing Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
COLUMBUS — Unioto was missing a piece to its puzzle on Thursday night.
Charlotte Dennis, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, was forced to miss with sickness, and the Shermans were forced to try and replace one of their starters in the biggest moment of their season thus far.
Put simply, Unioto couldn’t find one.
The Shermans found two.
Enter fellow sophomores Jillian Mathey and Kiley Puckett, who were both — in a word — phenomenal, all night long.
Mathey controlled the glass all evening with a team-high 10 rebounds and Puckett played stellar defense while chipping into the team’s offensive efforts with eight points and three assists.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Together, and with an abundance of help from the always smooth-as-silk Milee Smith, Mathey and Puckett powered Unioto to a 56-42 win over Toledo Central Catholic in a Division III regional semifinal — marking the Tanks’ first Elite 8 appearance since 1995.
“Obviously we didn’t have Charlotte Dennis and that’s a huge loss. A huge loss,” Unioto coach Jeff Miller said. “But Jillian and Kiley played unbelievable tonight. I can’t say enough about those two kids. You’re talking about two kids who have had a lot of JV minutes this year and then you turn around in a regional semifinal and tell them that they’re in the starting lineup and they need to perform. It’s the old cliche of the next man up, but I really do believe we kind of have that.”
Toledo Central Catholic started the night by taking an early 3-0 lead with a long ball from Marissa Justen at the 7:19 mark in the first quarter. After Smith answered with a pair of free throws, TCC’s Nina Stevens scored to put the Fighting Irish ahead 5-2 with 4:32 to go.
But that’s when the momentum died and it was courtesy of the usual suspect.
Smith scored at the 3:24 and 2:27 marks to give the Shermans (24-2) a 6-5 lead. Mathey followed with a putback bucket before Holbert scored with 1:05 to go, making it 10-5.
When Keyairah Beard hit a 3 with 18.2 seconds remaining, it capped an 11-0 run and gave Unioto a 13-5 advantage after one.
The Shermans kept pressing the issue in the second, too.
While the Fighting Irish (16-9) did their best to stay within five points at 15-10 and 17-12, Beard got hot and hit back-to-back triples to put her team ahead 25-14. By halftime, the Shermans had built a 26-16 advantage.
“When we got our lead, we got [Toledo Central Catholic] into things they don’t typically do,” Miller said. “They want to sit down and guard you one-on-one and they do a really good job of that. But when you’re down 12, 14, 16 points, all of the sudden, you have to leave assignments, start trapping, things like that. We took advantage of that and got a couple of easy lay-ups.”
In the third, Smith continued to pose her will, scoring with 6:28 left for a 31-19 count and repeating the process later in the quarter for a 38-24 score. By the start of the fourth, she had 16 points and Unioto had a commanding 42-25 lead.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen a player that’s better than Milee Smith in Southern Ohio,” Miller said. “And I can remember the likes of Marlene Stollings, Katie Smith and I’m telling you, she’s right in that mix when you’re talking about those kinds of players. Hopefully, the sportswriters across Ohio that select Ms. Basketball, have a look at this one tonight.”
TCC managed to outscore the Shermans in the fourth, scoring 17 points to do so. But it was way too little and much too late to make any sort of impact.
Smith, Mathey and Puckett all scored in the quarter, allowing Unioto to put away a 14-point victory and cruise into an Elite 8 appearance.
“When you get to this level, you’re not going to be able to just execute perfectly all night long,” Miller said. “But the one thing you do control is your effort and your energy. And I really thought our effort was tremendous all night long, on both ends of the floor. I’m just really happy for the kids.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Statistically, Smith ended the night with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Beard added 13 points. Mathey ended the night with nine points and 10 boards, and Puckett added her eight points and three assists. Maggie Holbert also helped out with eight rebounds and five assists.
Unioto advances to a Division III regional championship contest at 1:30 p.m., Saturday at Ohio Dominican University, where Bishop Hartley awaits.
The two have already met once this season with the Hawks taking a 60-42 decision on Dec. 6.
The Shermans are on the doorsteps of history as they try to win the program’s fourth regional crown — 1987, 1989, 1995 — and the first in 31 years.
“I’d go to battle with this team every day,” Miller said. “I don’t care who we play or when. I think Bishop Hartley is a really good team and they’re traditionally a good team. They’ll give us a challenge but I’ll battle with this group any day. We’ll have one day to get ready for Saturday.”
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