Derrick Webb, Managing Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LOGAN — Eastern Meigs’ Hayden Plummer was understandably emotional on Saturday evening.
The Eagles’ first-year head coach had just walked out of his team’s locker room after delivering an end-of-the-season message — one he was hoping he wouldn’t have to give.
In a Division VII regional championship game at Logan High School, Plummer’s Eagles had just suffered a 50-33 loss to Strasburg-Franklin.
But there was a silver lining in the disappointment.
“It was emotional in the locker room,” Plummer said. “But I told them that this was a see you later and not a goodbye. We don’t lose anybody. We’ll be right back here next year. It just wasn’t our time tonight. Hopefully, next year, it is our time and we get the chance to be in this game. We want the opportunity to play in this game again.”
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
If next season goes anything like this one has, the only difference will be that Eastern’s opponents will know exactly how good the Eagles are.
After a two-win season in 2024-25, Plummer took the helm of the program and led the youth-laden group to 19 victories alongside league and district crowns.
Needless to say, the horizon looks bright in Reedsville.
However, Saturday just wasn’t the Eagles’ night.
After jumping out to an early lead, Eastern (19-6) started to wade into foul trouble and standout forward Braelyn Simpson got the worst of it.
The 6-foot sophomore was sidelined for much of the night after earning her third whistle midway through the second quarter. And, she picked up her fourth foul early in the third.
Had she played all four quarters, the end result may have looked much different.
“Having [Simpson] out of the game was huge for us. But credit to Strasburg. They played really hard,” Plummer said. “I knew it was going to be a battle. We got out to a good lead and then we lost Braelyn. Losing her hurts us because of her size and athleticism, her ability to hit the boards, scoring for us, and her defensive presence underneath the basket. It was a big blow.”
Makenzie Robertson started the night’s scoring with a 3-ball just 23 seconds into the action, giving Eastern Meigs an early lead. Kyrstin Fackler later knocked down two free throws with 5:50 left in the first quarter to make it 5-0.
The Tigers graced the scoreboard for the first time at the 4:48 mark with two free throws from Delanee Herron before Olivia Spidell scored at the 4:10 mark for a 6-4 count.
Eastern’s Brooklyn Barkey answered on the other end and it sparked an 8-1 run — thanks to scores from Barkey, Fackler and Simpson — to push the edge to 14-5.
Eastern took that nine-point lead into the second at 16-7.
But the script flipped in the next eight minutes as Strasburg-Franklin (23-5) started to come alive.
Lydia Thomas scored first, which was eventually followed by buckets from Ally Miller and Thomas, cutting the deficit to 18-15 with 5:05 to go.
The Eagles got a score from Robertson to push the lead back to five but they went cold from the field after. Meanwhile, the Tigers went 3-for-6 from the charity stripe at a foul-filled pace, cutting Eastern’s lead to a single point at 21-20.
When Miller scored with 52.7 seconds remaining, it gave the Tigers their first lead at 22-21 — a lead that was intact at halftime.
The momentum that SF picked up from the huge second quarter continued into the third. And to make matters worse for the Eagles, that’s when Simpson — one of the team’s leading scorers — was forced to the bench in foul trouble.
After Miller hit one of two free throws to begin the third, Herron nailed a 3 to put the Tigers on top by a 26-21 count.
Eastern’s Ashlynn Thomas answered with a much-needed basket on the other end, but Herron hit another trey, followed by two free throws from Lydia Thomas for a 31-24 count at the 3:42 mark.
The Eagles then ripped off an 8-2 run to end the quarter behind scores from Thomas, Miller and Sofia Secrest, pushing the lead to 39-26.
After pushing the advantage to 45-29 early in the fourth, the Tigers were able to ease into a Final 4 appearance — the program’s first-ever regional championship.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
Statistically, despite her apparent absence, Simpson led the Eagles with 12 points and nine rebounds. Fackler followed with eight points and three boards, and Ashlynn Thomas added six points. Robertson also chipped in with three points, seven rebounds and three helpers.
Thomas led the Tigers with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Miller added seven points and 15 boards. Herron also chipped in with 10 points, and Spidell added eight points to the mix.
While Strasburg-Franklin heads to a Division VII regional semifinal, where it’ll meet with Stryker or Ottoville, Eastern’s season comes to a close.
Expectations will be high come next winter — and rightfully so.
But Plummer believes that, with a new culture created and a group of girls that are hungry for success, the Eagles can continue setting new trends.
“We’ve created an atmosphere around this program,” Plummer said. “There really wasn’t a buzz around it before, but now there is. I think that’s because of how we play. We play really hard and we have girls who care. If we keep that mentality, I know that good things are going to happen this offseason. I was really pleased to see all of the Eastern faithful come out here. Hopefully, it sparks some people, next year, to come and support us.”
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