Carson Francis, Contributor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
THE PLAINS — Wheelersburg’s senior class has been a part of something special throughout their high school career.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
Over the course of the last four seasons, the Pirates have won three SOC II titles, two district titles, and have a regional final appearance under their belts.
After a dominant 48-26 win over Chesapeake on Wednesday — a game in which the Pirates (21-2) held their opponent to just 10 second half points, the seniors have another chance to add another trophy to their already jam-packed case as they advance to Saturday’s district final.
“This is a close group. It’s the first time I’ve ever had seven seniors on a team,” Wheelersburg head coach Dusty Spradlin said. “They’ve played a lot of basketball together and they all bring something different to the table. We’ve tried to really preach that throughout the year.”
No great team goes without facing adversity on their road to success and the Pirates are no exception to that.
Wednesday’s game started out as a back-and-forth battle, with Chesapeake’s Sophi Hutchison putting up eight points in the quarter to put the Panthers in front by a 10-9 margin after the first eight minutes.
The two teams continued to exchange leads throughout the second quarter, however, Wheelersburg managed to inch itself to an 18-16 advantage heading into the intermission.
“[Chesapeake] was definitely a scrappy team, so we had to come into the game knowing that,” Wheelersburg’s Makenna Walker said. “The bench definitely helped with that energy coming out of halftime.”
The first three or four minutes of the second half can be make-or-break. The Pirates used that to their advantage.
To start the second half, Wheelersburg upped its intensity on the defensive end while capitalizing on scoring chances. Walker, along with Lexie Rucker and Macee Eaton, all contributed to the Pirates’ 9-2 run in the first 3:43 of the half, extending the lead to 27-18.
The Pirates then kept their feet on the gas and busted the game open, holding a 35-22 lead over the Panthers (17-7) at the end of the third.
“In the second half, we were determined to come out and just play our game,” Rucker said. “In the first half, we made a couple mistakes, and we realized we need to sit down and play good defense and be at help side.”
The game’s final eight minutes saw much of the same intensity Wheelersburg played with to start the half. As Walker capped off a performance that saw her score 11 of her 18 points in the final two quarters, the Pirates cruised to victory and punched their district final tickets.
“All year, we’ve talked about chemistry and staying together,” Walker said. “Once the ball starts moving and it finds the right person, it will work out.”
“We knew coming into this game that [Chesapeake] had good guard play. They do a good job of spacing the floor,” Spradlin said. “I thought we adjusted, threw a little press at them, and I think it wore them down as the game went on.”
Following Walker’s final statistics was Rucker, who finished the game with 13 points and nine rebounds. Eaton posted a double-double with 12 points alongside 13 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Hutchison did most of the scoring for the Panthers, leading all scorers with 21 points.
The Pirates return to the court at 2 p.m., Saturday at Wellston High School against Nelsonville-York. With a third straight district title on the line, the Pirates are nothing short of excited for what’s ahead.
“We just come out and play our game. This district final is important to us,” Rucker said. “We’re excited, so we’ll play with each other and just be confident in who we are and what we do on the floor.”
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