(PHOTOS BY RENEA KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
REGIONAL SEMIFINALS … Wauseon senior Mackenzie Stasa drives down the lane against Tamara Thomas of Warrensville Heights. Stasa had 16 points in the first half to help the Indians go to the half tied at 30 with the Tigers.
CONTESTED SHOT … Sophia Rupp gets off a shot in the first half of the Indians’ Division IV regional semifinal at Norwalk High School.
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
sports@thevillagereporter.com
NORWALK (February 26, 2025) – Entering Wednesday night’s Division IV regional semifinal at Norwalk High School, the Warrensville Heights Tigers had been putting up some staggering numbers.
Their 18 regular season wins were by an average of 37 points per game and they had won their three tournament games by a combined score of 231-70.
A scrappy bunch of Wauseon Indians went toe-to-toe with the Tigers but a third quarter surge by Warrensville Heights proved too much to overcome as Wauseon fell, 51-44.
A layup by Tigers’ freshman Skyler Ballard opened the scoring but Wauseon quickly responded with 6-0 run as Sophia Rupp scored on a rebound and Mackenzie Stasa added two buckets to make it 6-2.
Stasa later hit from deep and had a three-point play off a curl move in the lane as a first quarter that saw six lead changes would end tied at 15.
Warrensville Heights quickly went to work in the second as Wauseon would come out in a zone with a corner triple from Adriana Moses and then a bucket inside by Taniyah Lewis-Gaines to make it 20-15.
Stasa’s big first half continued as she connected on a three-ball from the top of the key before Tamara Thomas matched her for the Tigers to push the lead back to five at 23-18.
The back and forth first half continued with Wauseon drawing to within one point on three occasions and a Johanna Tester score in the lane just before the horn, sent the game to halftime tied 30-30.
The Indians were 12/19 from the field in the first half, led by the senior Stasa with 16 points.
The game would turn in third quarter as a Reyes free throw gave Wauseon their last lead of the night at 31-30 before the Tigers used a combination of Wauseon turnovers and their own three-point shooting to stretch the lead.
Katherine McKormick started the aerial assault with triples from each wing to give the Tigers a 36-31 advantage.
A Reyes put back and a Rupp trey sandwiched around a score from Demarionna Branch for Warrensville Heights kept the Indians close at 38-36.
The Tigers closed the decisive quarter with a 10-0 run to take a 48-36 lead to the fourth as Branch was 2/2 at the line, Thomas and McKormick hit consecutive triples and Mariah Paris-Grant had a layup.
The Tigers were 6/11 shooting in the third with four triples while Wauseon cooled off, going 2/9 and committing seven turnovers.
“They hit some key shots on back to back possessions to swing the momentum,” said Wauseon head coach Shelly Borton when talking about the pivotal third frame.
Warrensville Heights started the final stanza content to bleed the clock by spreading the floor on offense. The Indians capitalized with Aizlynn Coronado getting a layup off a Stasa theft and Reyes scored down low to make it 48-40.
The Tigers shooting went cold as they returned to being aggressive missing several shots at the rim and Tester got a steal and bucket and then a short jumper to trim the Tigers lead to 49-44 with 49.1 remaining.
The Tigers then sealed the win with their only basket of the fourth on a Paris-Grant lay in after beating the Indians’ full court press to put the final margin at 51-44.
Stasa finished with 16 to lead all scorers while Tester added 10. The Tigers (22-4) had two in doubles figures with McKormick tallying 12 and Paris-Grant had 10.
“We’ve had a fantastic season. They accomplished so many of their goals and I couldn’t be prouder of them,” said Borton when commenting on Wauseon’s season coming to an end at 21-5.
“I can’t say enough about our senior class and the mark they have left on our program. We will miss them tremendously and wish them the best of luck in all they do!”
WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS (51) – McKormick 12; Ballard 8; Moses 3; Thomas 9; Branch 5; Lewis-Gaines 4; Paris-Grant 10; Totals: 13-7-4 – 51
WAUSEON (44) – Stasa 16; Tester 10; Leatherman 0; Coronado 4; Hamilton 0; Rupp 8; Reyes 6; Totals: 15-3-5 – 44
WHHS 15 15 18 3 – 51
WHS 15 15 6 8 – 44
GAME STATISTICS
WAUSEON: FG – 18/34 (53%); FT – 5/11 (45%); Rebounds – 25 (9 offensive); Turnovers – 18; WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS: FG – 20/48 (42%); FT – 4/8 (50%); Rebounds – 15 (7 offensive); Turnovers – 7