DAYTON —The Strasburg Tigers are heading where no girls basketball team in school history has gone before: the state championship game.
After surviving a frantic fourth-quarter rally by Otterville, the Tigers secured a 44-39 victory in OHSAA Division VII state semifinal action at the Nutter Center on Friday, March 12, to move within one win of the program’s first girls basketball state title.
A dominant start
The Tigers appeared to be cruising toward Saturday’s championship game, entering the final frame with a comfortable 37-27 cushion. Through three quarters, Strasburg’s defense and disciplined play seemed poised to punch their ticket to the finals with ease. Junior Addyson Sibila chipped in with five points to help the Tigers maintain the pace, while sophomore Maty Boyland provided a massive spark from the perimeter, knocking down two key three-pointers to keep the Green Wave at bay.
The Green Wave surge
But Otterville (23-5) refused to go quietly, reeling off a lightning-fast 10-0 run to open the final quarter. Led by a game-high 15 points from Brooklyn Koester and the gritty play of Kendall Schnipke, the Green Wave chipped away at the lead until Koester scored to deadlock the game at 37-37 with just 2:22 remaining. With the momentum entirely on the Ottoville sideline, the Tigers double-digit lead had completely evaporated.
Senior poise and freshman ice
With their season on the line and the offense gone cold, Strasburg needed a spark to steady the ship. Senior Sophia Secrest, who finished with 11 points in the game, provided the veteran answer. Secrest scored with 2:11 remaining to snap a costly scoring drought and put the Tigers back on top, 39-37.
Ottoville answered immediately on the other end to knot the game again at 39-39, but that would be the last time the Green Wave found the bottom of the net. Freshman Lydia Thomas, who led the Tigers with a team-high 12 points, took over in the final moments. Thomas accounted for three critical points during a game-closing 5-0 run that finally secured the historic win for Strasburg.
Staying the course
Despite the late-game drama, Strasburg head coach Tyler Bates remained confident in his squad’s ability to weather the storm.
“I trust these girls,” Bates said. “It might not have looked good in the (fourth) quarter for us, but I knew they would continue to battle. We have played some very good teams this year and been in some tight situations before. It was just about reminding ourselves to settle down. Just play like we have all year. And that’s what we did to close it out.”
Date with destiny
The victory improves Strasburg to 24-5 on the season and sets the stage for the biggest game in program history. The Tigers advance to the Division VII state championship game back at the Nutter Center on Saturday at 10:45 a.m., where they will face the Russia Raiders (who defeated Seneca East 47-36 in the other semifinal) for the state championship.
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This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Strasburg girls one win away from historic first OHSAA state basketball title
Reporting by Kevin Sutton, The Times-Reporter / The Times-Reporter
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