Derrick Webb, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CARROLL — The first person to admit that Amelia Uhrig couldn’t throw the basketball in the ocean during Friday’s first half is Amelia Uhrig.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
However, the humble junior may not admit just how special she was in the game’s second half.
Uhrig turned in a monster performance in a battle of unbeatens, pushing Unioto (11-0) past Bloom-Carroll (9-1) in a tournament-like atmosphere.
Her team-high 16 points and game-high 16 rebounds powered a 45-34 statement victory while she solidified herself as one of the best post players in her region.
“She had just a miserable first half,” Unioto coach Jeff Miller said of Uhrig. “It was miserable. But you talk about a kid that, last year, probably wouldn’t have turned it around in that third quarter the way she did tonight. Another year of growth and experience, and another year around her teammates who have her back, and she forgot about it and played her game.”
If Uhrig was the night’s superhero, her sidekick was undoubtedly freshman Milee Smith.
Smith, as smooth as silk, habitually cut her way through the Bulldogs’ defense like a knife on soft butter. If she wasn’t scoring, she was finding open teammates under the bucket.
“When you look at Milee’s numbers, they may not be gaudy,” Miller said. “But the thing about her is that she makes everybody else’s job so much easier. That makes a huge difference each night.”
Then there’s fellow freshman Maggie Holbert, who was in a word, relentless, on the defensive end. Holbert — alongside guards Alexis Book, Sophie Coleman and Addison Mohan — made the Bulldogs’ usually high-powered offense look pedestrian by clogging the passing lanes.
Led by that quartet, the Shermans forced 18 turnovers and scored in bunches in transition.
PHOTOS: Images from Unioto’s win over Bloom-Carroll
“Her dog mentality on defense may go unnoticed by some. But it doesn’t go unnoticed by our coaching staff,” Miller said. “She’s just one of those kids that, offensively and defensively, she gives you everything she’s got. You have to take her off the court to get a breather. With her and Book up top for us, gosh, they cause a lot of problems. Then, when they do come out, you come in with Mohan and Coleman. They have a really big impact.”
Tale of the tape
In the early goings, Bloom-Carroll’s Marissa Wilkinson paced the Bulldogs to a lead.
Wilkinson dialed long distance with 5:31 left in the first quarter for the game’s first score before hitting another trey at the four-minute mark for a 6-1 advantage. With the Bulldogs later leading 8-5, Smith sank back-to-back baskets to give Unioto its first lead of the night at 9-8 with 25.5 seconds remaining.
However, Wilkinson drew a foul on a last second heave attempt from half court as the buzzer sounded before proceeding to hit two foul shots and put BC ahead 10-9 after one.
In the second, the Shermans continued to struggle taking the lid off the bucket. Amaris Betts gave them a 15-14 lead with 4:27 to go but BC’s Alyssa Brown scored before Tessa Brooks nailed a 3 to put the Bulldogs up 19-15 with 2:49 left.
In the final minute and fifty-three seconds, Smith scored twice — once with a floater and once on a coast-to-coast basket after a steal — to force a 19-19 deadlock at the break.
“At halftime, I don’t want to say I was concerned. But I was really thinking about how we were going to react in a game like this,” Miller said. “I told them [after the game] that they proved to me that they were ready to take that next step. We took it right to [Bloom-Carroll] in that second half.”
Wilkinson hit a 3 to begin the third, putting BC ahead 22-19, before Unioto made a game-changing run.
After Smith hit the front end of two free throws, Uhrig scored eight straight points in just over three minutes to put the Shermans in front, 28-22. Smith then scored again with 1:56 remaining before Uhrig added a bucket and two free throws to cap a 15-0 run, extending the lead to 34-22.
Bloom-Carroll never recovered.
The Shermans took a 36-23 advantage into the fourth and rode that momentum to an 11-point victory — one that certainly opens the eyes of their doubters.
“It’s big. I think the biggest thing is that, going into the game, we knew it was going to be a slugfest,” Miller said. “On paper, it was a great matchup. On film, it was a great matchup. And really, we haven’t had one of those yet.”
Stat book
Following Uhrig’s double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds was Smith, tallying 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Betts added six points and six boards, and Holbert had six points, four rebounds and four steals.
Wilkinson led Bloom-Carroll with a game-high 17 points while Emily Bratton added five points and three rebounds. Natalie Lang led the team on the glass with 11 rebounds.
What’s on tap
While the Bulldogs lick their wounds and get back to action on Tuesday at Canal Winchester, Unioto returns to the hardwood that same evening and hosts Southeastern.
“If you want to make a championship run and a long tournament run, you have to have talent,” Miller said. “We have that. But the other thing you have to have is unity. You can’t have a ‘me’ attitude. I don’t think our kids care who scores the most points. They don’t care. At the end of the night, they just want to win. They’re hungry for wins. I can’t say enough about that.”
BOX SCORE
Unioto: 9-10-17-9 — 45
Bloom-Carroll: 10-9-4-11 — 34
Unioto: 17-48 FG, 11-17 FT, 0-5 3pt., 37 rebounds (Uhrig 16), 11 turnovers, 7 assists (Book 4). Scoring: Uhrig 16, Smith 14, Betts 6, Holbert 6, Mohan 2, Marshall 1.
Bloom-Carroll: 11-51 FG, 6-9 FT, 6-27 3pt., 34 rebounds (Lang 11), 18 turnovers, 4 assists (Bratton 2). Scoring: Wilkinson 17, Bratton 5, Brown 5, Brooks 3, Conrad 2, Sorrell 2.
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