Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LOGAN — You know the saying.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“Big-time players step up in big-time moments in big-time games.”
Wheelersburg senior Makenna Walker was that big-time player on Wednesday night.
The Pirates’ unquestioned leader scored a game-high 23 points to spearhead a hard-fought 49-47 victory over Union Local in a Division III regional semifinal at Logan High School.
Time after time, when Wheelersburg (24-2) needed a bucket, Walker delivered with ease.
“I’m extremely excited,” Walker said. “We got stuck at this part of the tournament last year. But we came in with a really good plan. The rhythm [she had] kind of comes from the team. The environment really helped me make shots and get in a rhythm. I’ve been in a little bit of a slump, but I just focused.”
However, despite Walker’s heroics, the win didn’t come easy.
Union Local, who put an end to the Pirates’ season just a year ago, did everything it could to earn a repeat performance.
The Jets (25-2) gave the Pirates all they wanted and then some, but Walker and company made sure to remember the taste of defeat.
They used that as motivation heading into the contest.
“It says a lot about this group’s growth,” Wheelersburg coach Dusty Spradlin said. “We’ve had some moments where we’ve struggled in close games. We’ve got kids that want to make plays. There were times tonight where we got rushed. But their growth is evident. It says a lot about them, how they’ve listened to us and how they’ve gotten better offensively. They grind it out. It’s what we had to do.”
Tied early at 4-4, Union Local’s Emma Kellyway buried a triple to put the Jets ahead 7-4. But a pair of free throws from Madison Whittaker and a bucket from Macee Eaton put the Pirates up 8-7.
Despite committing five first quarter turnovers, the Jets managed to tie the game after the frame at 10-10.
Whittaker and UL’s Torie Kildow traded 3’s to open the second before the Jets scored the next four points to take a 17-13 lead.
But Wheelersburg countered with a 5-0 run, courtesy of a triple from Eaton and a put-back from Makenna Walker to retake a lead, and control the game at halftime by a 20-19 tally.
Walker rattled off six of the Pirates’ opening eight points in the third before Whittaker got a bucket and a foul shot to fall for their biggest lead of the night at 30-25.
Yet, the Jets weren’t done yet as they answered with a 6-1 run behind Reagan Vinskavich and Ella Pietranton to tie the game. Vinskavich then scored to end the third and tie the game at 35-35.
The Jets later took the lead on an old-fashioned three-point play from Vinskavich, only for Eaton to answer with her own three-point play to put ‘Burg back in front at 41-40.
Walker then went back to being dominant, nailing back-to-back buckets before Lexie Rucker hit two free throws, giving the Pirates a 47-44 lead with 1:57 remaining.
Annie Coriell then split a pair of free throws at the charity stripe to put the Pirates ahead by two scores, but Kildow connected from deep to cut Wheelersburg’s lead to 48-47 with just 33.6 seconds remaining.
Kiera Kennard then split a pair, of freebies leaving UL with one final chance.
The Jets managed to get fouled at the buzzer, but missed the front end of the first free throw to seal the game and send the Pirates to the Elite 8.
“We’ve got great kids,” Spradlin said. “The familiarity, I think, really did help us. [Union Local] had three starters back and we were able to watch film from last year. They got us really early last year. I think they came out on a 13-4 run. They closed it on a 13-3 run. So we knew we were going to have to work hard defensively. I thought our kids did a good job. They really executed what we wanted. But at the end of the day, we made plays.”
Walker’s 23 points came alongside seven rebounds while Eaton added 10 points. Whittaker added eight points while Rucker had six points and six rebounds.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Wheelersburg returns to action at 7 p.m. on Friday at Logan High School against a familiar foe in SOC rival Portsmouth West. They’ll have a chance to play in Dayton with a trip to the state semifinal on the line.
A win for either team would be that program’s first-regional championship and will mark Scioto County’s first regional title since 1980.
“Someone said we’ve kind of been here and knocking at the door,” Spradlin said. “I just hope people know it’s not easy [to get to the Elite 8]. We’re going to have to play hard. At this point, we’re going to celebrate this win. But we’ll spend tomorrow trying to get our legs back under us and talking about a game plan to see if we can bust through that door.”
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