FAIRBORN (Crawford County Now) — The scene in the media room Friday afternoon told the story of this magical season.
Seneca East head coach George Parks sat surrounded by his eight seniors, most of them fighting back tears and holding hands, following a 45-30 loss to Russia in the girls’ Division VII state semifinal at the Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University.
“They’re a good team. We jumped on them early and they didn’t panic. They made a couple of big plays. They made a run on us, and I liked the way we battled back down 13 at half,” Parks said.
“Three years ago we were 1-22. These guys, all eight seniors, it hasn’t been easy. They worked, summer lifts, summer practice, workout; they were here. It’s telling what hard work and dedication does for people.”
Seneca East, after finishing fourth in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference, went on a postseason tear, winning four straight to finish at 20-8, with district and regional crowns secured.
A 6-2 lead was the result of 3s by Karli Foos and Madi Smith. From there, however, the Lady Tigers went stone cold.
In fact, they went scoreless for about 9 and 1/2 minutes and fell behind 22-9 at halftime. Six Russia players scored between 5 and 9 points, led by Aryana Cordonnier.
Sophomore Cami Schafer came off the bench and hit a pair of treys in that second quarter which helped account for an 18-0 run by the Raiders.
“Their defense is good. We started forcing a few things,” Parks said. “We forgot what we were doing. They press a little bit and they’re outstanding.”
Smith led SE with 9 and Alexa Snay added 8 points and 5 rebounds. Izzy Stockmaster chipped in with 5 points and 5 boards.
“We knew their size coming in. They’re quicker than I thought. They did a good job of help-siding. They blocked and changed our shots a little bit and made it difficult for us,” he added.
Russia (25-3) faces Strasburg-Franklin (24-5) at the University of Dayton Arena at 10:45 a.m. Saturday for the D-VII title.
The senior contingent includes Cami Lantz, Valerie Bordner, Snay, Allie Smith, Madi Smith, Stockmaster, Luella Burkholder and Addy Dawson.
The Lady Tigers, known for their second-half comebacks, cut into the lead several times but got no closer than 37-26 with 5:43 to play. Madi Smith hit a pair of 3s and Snay worked her way inside in the fourth quarter.
“We had a few shots roll in and roll out and you don’t get many second-chance opportunities against them,” Parks said.
“We had a shot. We said at halftime it’s all heart and intensity and we have to give more. We relaxed a little bit and got some turnovers. We were just in too big of a hole and they’re too good of a team.”
Russia’s length allowed them to control the glass, 35-23. Kylie Doseck pulled in 9, with 4 offensive. A number of their offensive rebounds resulted in baskets.
Parks again attributed the post-season success to a rugged league schedule.
“The top four teams in our conference can play with anybody in the state. It got us where we’re at. We had close games and it got us ready for this weekend,” he said.
The mantra of never giving up held true to the end for this team.
“When we cut it to (10), I really thought we were going to win the game. To go from one year not scoring 10 points in a game to this … Each year improving is a credit to their work ethic and leadership.”
Faith York’s 3 pushed the lead back to 37-24 and the Raiders weren’t challenged again.
Stockmaster reflected on the journey.
“It was a special experience and (we) have been through so many ups and a lot of downs. We stuck together through everything. Built each other up when things weren’t going our way. I’m really sad it’s over.”
Snay added, “All I can say is it felt like a dream playing with these seven girls. We don’t only connect on the court, but we’re best friends. I owe it to all of them and our community for being behind us through everything.”
Lantz said the season had a turning point.
“The tone kind of shifted at the Upper Sandusky game the second time we played them. Their 1996 girls were getting recognized as state runners-up. Coach said, ‘That’s going to be us. We’re going to make a run,'” she said. “I think the momentum kind of shifted there and we kept pushing.”
Russia head coach Michael Bashore credited Seneca East’s resilience.
“Congratulations to Seneca. That town has a lot to be proud of. Our girls really dug in there on the defensive end. That’s what we’ve been doing all year,” he said.
“You see it on the floor. Hustling for loose balls and diving on the floor. Look at their arms and their legs. They’ve got bruises and they do it every single night. They play hard and they do it because they want to,” Bashore said.
“Overall effort and down the stretch us getting rebounds and not turning the ball over and our free throw shooting (13-of-16) made the difference.”
Despite the graduation losses, Parks thinks a solid building block was placed this season.
“You guys are heroes and for the underclassmen to see what they did and lay the groundwork. Our junior high and elementary girls see that and they want to work hard. We’ve got a good future coming,” he said.
Box score
Russia 10 12 12 11 — 45
Seneca East 6 3 8 13 — 30
Russia (25-3): Shots 14-39; 3-pt. shots 4-12 (Cami Schafer 2, Faith York, Callie Goubeaux); Free throws 13-16; Rebounds 35 (Kylie Doseck 9); Turnovers 13. Scoring: Aryana Cordonnier 2 5 9, Faith York 1 2 5, Callie Goubeaux 1 0 3, Kylie Doseck 3 1 7, Hazel Francis 1 4 6, Celeste Bouchers 3 1 7, Cami Schafer 3 0 8.
Seneca East (20-8): Shots 11-37; 3-pt. shots 4-12 (Madi Smith 3, Karli Foos); Free throws 4-9; Rebounds 23 (Alexa Snay 5, Izzy Stockmaster 5); Turnovers 12. Scoring: Alexa Snay 4 0 8, Aubrey Ritzler 1 1 3, Madi Smith 3 0 9, Karli Foos 1 0 3, Izzy Stockmaster 1 3 5, Luella Burkholder 1 0 2.