Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
MINFORD — Three weeks ago, in a loss to Minford, Wheelersburg shot under 30 percent and scored a season-low 24 points.
The Pirates completely flipped in the script on Monday, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
The Pirates (18-2, 8-1 SOC III) shot out to an early lead, had three players in double-digit scoring figures, and fended off a late rally to seal a 59-50 victory over the Falcons — moving one step closer to winning at least a share of the SOC title.
CREDIT: Erica Fike/SOSA
“These kids on both teams know one another so well, and there was great effort on both sides, but this was a huge one for us to get,” Wheelersburg coach Dusty Spradlin said. “It’s amazing how much the game changes when you’re hitting shots and we were fortunate that we held our own compared to the first time. Minford is tough to play because they’re athletic, they have size and they’ve had success. They rushed us and their size bothered us the first time, but we were better prepared to handle it this time.”
Although Mia Vastine wasn’t one of the players who scored over 10 points, she was the one who had the biggest impact and set the tone.
Known for her physical style of play, the senior guard absorbed contact and was the center of attention for the Falcon defense. That opened the door for her to find her teammates rolling to the basket for easy layups as she dished out six assists, in addition to her nine points.
“Our style of play revolves around sharing the ball, and Mia does a great job of finding the open players,” Spradlin said. “She’s such a smart, tough player who understands when to exploit matchups and take advantage of them. This was a great win for our seniors. They’ve come on the losing side of some battles with Minford’s senior class for a while, so it was great to get this one for them.”
Early on, Minford (13-5, 7-1 SOC III) had all momentum behind Lindsee Williams and Maggie Risner as it jumped out to a 9-4 lead. However, the Pirates finished the frame strong on a 7-1 run behind Vastine and Peyton May to take an 11-10 lead.
That run to end the first only gave Wheelersburg more confidence, and the Pirates took off.
Jaylinn Prather and Ava Artrip connected from distance, and May, Vastine and Emma Smith scored inside to spearhead a 12-2 run, extending the lead to 23-12.
Minford, however, battled back behind Risner and Marlee Pendleton for a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to five. But Prather scored underneath to beat the buzzer, putting Wheelersburg ahead 25-18 at halftime.
“We weathered the storm really early, and seeing shots go in is a very contagious thing in basketball,” Spradlin said. “Minford was having some struggles from the field, and we were gaining more confidence with every shot made. We didn’t really finish the half strong like we wanted, but getting that final bucket before the half was big and allowed us to calm down a little bit heading into halftime.”
Despite momentum being with the Pirates, the Falcons were ready to take it back. Led by Pendleton and Williams, they cut the lead down to 29-25 following a free throw from Williams to notch her 1,000th career point.
Yet, the Pirates had an answer — a common theme throughout the night anytime Minford got within striking distance.
Prather and Callie DeHart swished back-to-back triples, while May put the finishing touches on the third to put them up 41-32.
“Despite playing defense really well, some of the turnovers we had in the first half were us trying to force the ball into an area that wasn’t open,” Spradlin said. “We talked about sharing the basketball and keeping active hands defensively. There was a stretch where Minford was getting the ball and it seemed like they were shooting free throws every time down the floor. But our kids battled hard and shot the ball really well to keep us ahead.”
Keeping their foot on the gas, Prather buried her fourth trey of the night while May scored inside before Artrip cashed in from deep to give the Pirates their biggest lead of the night at 49-37.
Minford wasn’t done fighting yet. Trailing 51-39, Risner connected on back-to-back 3’s and then tallied three points the old-fashioned way, followed by a rebound and put back from Williams for an 11-2 run that cut the deficit to 53-50.
In the end, though, the Pirates simply had more left in the tank as Artrip and May connected on six free throws to put the game away for a massive conference victory.
“We’ve put Ava in some huge spots for just being a freshman, Callie as well, and both have come up big in various situations,” Spradlin said. “20 games into the season now, I don’t think of them as freshmen with how much they’ve played and grown. Callie hit a huge 3 in the second half, and Ava is so crafty with the ball in late game situations while showing the toughness to knock down late shots.”
May had a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Pirates, while Prather had 16 points. Artrip added 10 points.
For Minford, Risner finished with 18 points and nine rebounds while Williams, in addition to her 1,000th career point, ended with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Wheelersburg returns to action on Thursday at home against West for a chance to clinch a share of the SOC III title. Meanwhile, after a win over South Webster on Wednesday, Minford will travel to Waverly the same evening.
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