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DAYTON — 364 days.
Waterford waited for its chance for redemption, hoping it would get back to the biggest stage to avenge its most notable loss last season.
Saturday came, and with the sound of the final buzzer, the Wildcats are once again reigning atop the state’s basketball mountain.
In a rematch of last year’s Division IV state championship, the Wildcats made one more play than Fort Loramie did to pull out a 48-46 victory to claim the program’s third state championship.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“When I got into coaching, there were two programs that we wanted to be like: Hiland and Fort Loramie,” Waterford coach Jerry Close said. “It’s tough to make it to state, but it’s our expectation. That 2015 team laid the foundation for us, and no team wants to be the one to fall short of our standard. We got here last year, and didn’t win. But these girls have worked so hard to get back, they left it all on the floor tonight and I couldn’t be any happier for them.”
What’s the old saying about revenge?
“We know their girls, they know us. We know their plays and they know ours, and this was the game we wanted after the state semifinal game,” Waterford’s Avery Wagner said. “It was a little motivating after last year’s game and we were ready to do anything to win the championship.”
PHOTOS: Images from Waterford’s win over Fort Loramie in Division VII State Championship
Avery Wagner and Kendall Sury opened the game with the first six points for the Wildcats, putting them ahead 6-2 before FL’s Mylee Shatto buried a triple to bring it to 6-5.
Avery Brandewie scored a jumper to put the Redskins ahead, but Kendall Sury scored three points the hard way to give Waterford a 9-7 lead.
The Wildcats’ defense forced six Redskin turnovers — the last one led to Avery Smithberger banking in a triple from the corner to keep them up 12-7 after the first.
“We knew coming in that they were going to doble down on Avery [Wagner) and Kendall, so Coach told me that I’d have to be ready to shoot,” Smithberger said. “That shot definitely gave me the confidence to keep shooting and hit shots when we needed them.”
Wagner opened the second with a steal and pull-up triple, which was followed by a bank 3 from Ava Hurley, opening up an 18-7 Wildcat lead.
Brandewie and Victoria Mescher answered with a 6-0 run for the Redskins, cutting the deficit to 18-13.
Sury added a pair of free throws, and Smithberger buried another 3 to offset the Redskins ending on a 7-3 run as Waterford remained ahead 23-20 at the break.
“We were tired after the first quarter, and we only played six girls all season in big games, so there was a little fatigue for sure,” Close said. “Playing 28 games with such a small rotation is grueling on the girls, but I give them so much credit for their physical and mental toughness to keep fighting.”
Sury and Mescher exchanged buckets to open the third before Wagner banked in a triple, followed by a deep shot from Elsie Malec for a 6-0 run, extending the lead to 31-22.
Later, with Waterford leading 32-25, Shatto connected from deep and Mescher scored inside, only to be countered by Wagner and Smithberger to make it a 36-30 game.
Wagner scored the next four points, but FL’s Ariel Heitkamp splashed a triple at the buzzer to bring the tally to 40-33 heading to the fourth.
That triple lit a spark for the Redskins as Autumn Turner connected on a triple and Brandewie scored inside, capping an 8-0 run to bring the deficit to 40-38.
However, Sury turned in the burners and charged a personal 6-2 run to give the Wildcats breathing room at 46-40.
“I knew I had to play a leadership role in that moment the same way Avery [Wagner] and Avery [Smithberger] do,” Sury said. “We needed that lead to feel more comfortable. I knew I could beat the defender to the basket since that lane was open and I felt confidence taking that 3, so that stretch really propelled us forward.”
The Redskins weren’t done fighting yet, though.
Mescher scored four points as part of a 6-1 run that cut Waterford’s lead to 47-46 with less than a minute left.
Waterford split a pair of free throws, leaving Fort Loramie with one final chance. However, the Redskins turned the ball over with 1.5 seconds left and Waterford ran out the clock to start the celebration.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“We got a steal and I passed the ball to Brynlee [Pottmeyer]. She got fouled and immediate regret set in because she’s just a freshman and I remember being in that situation when I was a freshman,” Wagner said. “But she nailed the free throw and it came down to defense after that. Hearing that final buzzer go off was the greatest thing ever. I was exhausted, I’m pretty sure we all were, but that sound made everything completely worth it.”
Wagner finished the night with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Wildcats, followed by 15 points from Sury and eight from Smithberger.
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