DISTRICT SEMIFINAL … Bryan’s Piper Hanna (#11) drives the lane for a shot with Marin Leatherman (#5) of Wauseon looking to turn her away.
(PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
LOW POST OFFENSE … Wauseon’s Aunali Reyes makes a move down low in the first half of the Indians district semifinal win over Bryan at Miller City High School.
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
sports@thevillagereporter.com
MILLER CITY (February 19, 2025) – Wauseon battled foul trouble and cold shooting all night but hit clutch free throws in overtime to deny Bryan a third straight trip to the district finals, 46-45 in the Division IV district semifinals at Miller City High School.
Bryan, who lost to Wauseon 62-45 on February 10, jumped out to a 5-0 lead after a left-wing triple by Piper Hanna before Aunali Reyes would get a layup off a loose ball to get the Indians on the board.
Mylie Vollmer later hit Bryan’s second three ball of the quarter to make it 9-2 and Averyann Fisher got a layup to answer a bucket by Johanna Tester for Wauseon as it was now 11-4 Bryan.
The quarter ended with Wauseon’s Abby Kissel coming off the bench to get a bucket, Josey Arnold scored on a drive for Bryan, and Marin Leatherman canned a trey to cut the Bryan lead to 13-9 after the first.
An Arnold triple from deep on the left wing extended the Golden Bear lead to 16-9 before a 13-2 Indian run gave them their first lead of the night.
Wauseon junior Sophia Rupp scored twice inside against smaller Bryan defenders and Tester was 2/2 at the line to cut the Indian deficit to one at 16-15.
Leatherman kept things going with a bucket inside, Reyes was 2/2 at the line and Aizlynn Coronado drilled a triple to give the Indians a 22-18 advantage.
Amiyah Langham scored on a drive to stop the run, but it was followed by a three from Tegan Hamilton and Rupp hit a 15-footer off glass to push the Indians to a 27-22 lead at the break.
After a 4/15 first quarter, the Indians bounced back to shoot 6/10 in the second and held a 16-10 advantage on the boards at halftime.
Bryan opened the third with a 9-2 spurt as Langham scored twice, Fisher was 2/2 at the stripe, and Hanna sunk a triple off an Indian turnover to put Bryan ahead 31-29 at the 2:50 mark of the third.
A putback by Reyes and a free throw by Mackenzie Stasa, who battled foul trouble most of the night, put Wauseon back ahead at 32-31 but Ava Zimmerman splashed a three to give the Bears a 34-32 lead heading to the fourth.
Rupp connected on a short jumper to tie the game early in the fourth but Arnold’s two free throws and a baseline drive for a layup by Langham gave Bryan a 38-34 lead.
Wauseon clawed back thanks to a Tester free throw and a field goal inside from Rupp to trim the lead for Bryan to one, 38-37.
The back-and-forth battle continued as Arnold scored on a drive to the hoop and Leatherman drilled a triple from the top of the key to tie the game at 40-40 with 1:04 to go in regulation.
Both teams had a chance to win it in the final minute as Bryan missed two free throws and Coronado’s jumper in the lane at the buzzer was off the mark to send the game to overtime.
The overtime was a free throw contest between the NWOAL rivals, with neither team hitting a shot from the floor.
Zimmerman went 2/2 to give Bryan a 42-40 lead but Tester and Rupp responded to go a combined 4/4 as the Indians retook the lead, 44-42.
Langham would then go 1/2 and then at the 26.4 mark she went 2/2 to give Bryan the lead back at 45-44.
With just over two seconds remaining, Stasa found Tester on a baseline inbounds play cutting to the basket and Tester was fouled going up, sending her to the line with 1.3 left.
The senior calmly buried both to give the Indians the lead and Wauseon turned away the Bears in the final 1.3 for the win.
“Our girls battled. They executed on both ends of the floor tonight, said Wauseon head coach Shelly Borton.
“Defensively, I felt like we did a much better job one on one and forced them into tough shots and we rebounded well. Different people stepped up and hit some big shots and gave us an opportunity to finish the game.”
Rupp was the lone Indian in double figures with 12, Tester had nine, and Leatherman had eight off the Wauseon bench, who outscored the Bryan reserves 13-3. Arnold and Langham paced a very young Bryan squad (13-11) with 11 each.
The No. 2 seed Indians (20-4) will take on No. 1 seed Kenton (20-3) on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. back in Miller city with a trip to the regionals on the line.
BRYAN (45) – Zimmerman 7; Langham 11; Hanna 7; Fisher 6; Thiel 0; Arnold 11; Vollmer 3- Totals: 9-5-12 – 45
WAUSEON (46) – Stasa 1; Tester 9; Leatherman 8; Coronado 5; Hamilton 3; Rupp 12; Reyes 6; Kissel 2; Totals: 11-4-12 – 46
BHS 13 9 12 6 5 – 45
WHS 9 18 5 8 6 – 46
GAME STATISTICS
BRYAN: FG – 14/40 (35%); FT – 12/16 (75%); Rebounds – 28 (5 offensive); Turnovers – 15; WAUSEON: FG – 15/50 (30%); FT – 12/17 (71%); Rebounds – 33 (14 offensive); Turnovers – 14