Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WELLSTON — As Saturday’s final shot sailed through the air with less than three seconds left, Green coach Melissa Knapp held her breath and somewhat blacked out for a minute.
While that small glitch felt like an eternity, her next memory will forever be her team running towards the bench to celebrate the program’s most notable win in the last 32 years.
For the first time since 1993, Green can call itself a district champion. The Bobcats withstood, and fended off, a tough-nosed South Gallia team for a 39-37 win on Saturday in a Division VII district final in Wellston.
CREDIT: Sam Walsh/SOSA
“I don’t even know what happened, but wow, what a moment this is,” Knapp said. “We’re both two completely different teams from the first time we played way back in the second game of the season, and we knew they wanted revenge. We had to match their energy because they’re an up-and-down team just like we are. But I’m so proud of these girls and they deserve to have this moment because of how hard they’ve worked all season.”
For Knapp, the district title represents more than just a plaque to be displayed inside the halls of Green High School. It validates her vision of the heights the program could reach when she returned as its head coach in 2012.
“I remember years ago that I went to a coaching clinic, and there was so much information that I took back about how to run and build a program,” Knapp said. “There were so many principles and little things that I took that I’ve tried to instill within our program over the last 13 years. It takes a lot of time and we’ve done everything to change the culture. This moment right now feels like we’ve done exactly that.”
Green (22-1) controlled an early 5-2 lead thanks to a triple from Abbie Knapp and a bucket inside from Matti Hayslip.
South Gallia deployed Syndi Hornsby off the bench and the senior guard buried a trio of triples, including one off the bank at the buzzer to put the Rebels ahead 11-8 after the first eight minutes.
“South Gallia is a heck of a team, and they have some really good shooters that surround Emma Clary underneath,” Knapp said. “They fed off the excitement of the game and she was firing away. They were ready to bring it and we had to match their intensity.”
The Rebels (19-6) later held a 13-11 lead, but Elizabeth McBee drilled a trey and Knapp scored inside for a 5-0 run that put the Bobcats ahead 16-13.
SG’s Emma Clary then scored in transition and Ryleigh Schafer split a pair at the line to tie the game, but Knapp grabbed a rebound and nailed a put back to give Green a 18-16 lead at halftime.
Hayslip and Clary traded triples that later tied the game at 21-21 in the third, but Clary scored the next two buckets to put the Rebels ahead 25-23.
The seesaw pace never stopped.
McBee nailed a base line jumper and then split a pair at the line to put the Bobcats back ahead at 26-25 heading to the fourth.
“She has a high IQ for the game, but her defense on Clary was incredible. Without her, Clary is probably going insane,” Knapp said. “Elizabeth has a knack for making plays at the right time and she came up big all night.”
Out of the four quarter gates, Hayslip buried a triple and Knapp sank an acrobatic layup that gave Green its biggest lead of the game at 31-25. Hayslip would later connect on another 3 that put the Bobcats ahead 36-30.
“Matti has been so huge since the second time we played Notre Dame, and she’s turning into a heck of a player,” Melissa Knapp said. “She hit three 3’s against Symmes Valley in a game that looked like we were going to lose, and she’s the one who came through in the clutch. She put in so much work over the summer to take us to that next level, and it’s all worked out.”
The Rebels weren’t finished fighting, though.
Shafer knocked down back-to-back shots to bring the Rebels within one possession. Green then knocked down three free throws to extend the lead to five, but Jacie Boothe cashed in on a trifecta to make it 39-37 with under a minute left.
South Gallia earned one final chance to equalize or win it with less than seven seconds to go and, although the Rebels managed to get two shots off, neither connected as the final buzzer sounded and sent the Furnace into a frenzy.
“This win isn’t just for the girls basketball team, it’s for everyone in the Furnace who has helped us get to this point,” Green’s Abbie Knapp said. “We’ve had a ton of community support from our peewee coaches and everyone has been super supportive, so it’s all for them.”
Knapp finished with a game-high 16 points and 23 rebounds for the Bobcats, followed by Hayslip with 14 points. McBee added eight points and seven rebounds.
Clary finished with 15 points and nine rebounds for the Rebels, while Hornsby added nine points to the mix.
While South Gallia ends its season, Green advances to play at 8 p.m. on Thursday at Logan High School in a Division VII regional semifinal against Berlin Hiland.
“That coaches clinic I went to years ago was run by [former Hiland coach] Dave Schlabach, so this is somewhat of a full circle moment for me personally,” Melissa Knapp said. “I haven’t been able to breathe since I’ve been thinking about this district run, so it’s nice to take a breath. Now we’ll get ready for Hiland and give it everything we’ve got.”
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