TROTWOOD – The Versailles Lady Tigers started slowly but finished strong to defeat the Valley View Lady Spartans 60-40 in second-round OHSAA DV tournament play.
“It’s good to have some of that adversity in the tournament, especially to be able to come out of it and play together as a team and get a ‘W,’” said Versailles veteran coach Tracy White.
The Lady Spartans grabbed a 14-8 first-quarter lead with a 3-point buzzer-beater to close out first-period play.
Versailles earned its first lead of the night, 15-14, with a Taylor Wagner layup at 5:29 in the second quarter and took the second period 20-10, led by eight Wagner points, including 4-4 at the charity stripe but not before Valley View would get a last second trey sending the teams to the break with the Lady Tigers holding a slim 28-24 advantage.
Valley View battled back to trail by a 30-29 lead with 6:06 showing on the third quarter clock before Versailles stepped up play at both ends of the court, outscoring the Germantown School 12-3 for their first double-digit lead of the night, 42-32 with 0:44 on the board where the score would stand after three complete.
The Lady Tigers continued to pull away in the fourth, taking the final period by an 18-8 count, giving the Versailles girls a 20-point win and advancing in tournament play.
“It was physical, a fight,” Coach White said. “It’s nice to say we were not on top and faced some adversity. Early in the season, when that happened, we stayed individual, took the ball on ourselves, and didn’t make those adjustments. Coming out of halftime and getting back to level and saying play our game, be fundamental, play as a team and come together, it’s fun to watch, and it’s fun to play, and that’s what we did in those last two quarters.”
Versailles senior Sarah Stammen took the court under the weather but played well throughout the game, helping the Lady Tigers win.
“She was so frustrated because she said she couldn’t get her feet moving, and you could tell she did not feel good, but she had everything in her that wanted to stick this one out and play,” White noted. “Late in the game, I was going to say let’s just call it quits and not play you, and she said, ‘Coach, just let me finish through,’ so that says a lot for her.”
Taylor Wagner led Versailles and all scorers with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Sarah Stammen chipped in 16 points for the Lady Tigers.
“Taylor has been playing really well,” Coach White said. “This is her third double-double in the last six games, so she has been playing really well and going to get every touch on the rebound she can.”
Versailles advances to play Cincinnati Mariemont, 49-31 winners over Cincinnati Summit Country Day on Saturday, February 22, at Trotwood Madison High School with a 1 p.m. start time.
BOXSCORE:
VERSAILLES 60, VALLEY VIEW 40
VERSAILLES – T. Wagner 23, S. Stammen 16, K. Litten 9, K. Hager 6, G. Osborne 4, I. Barga 2 – TOTALS 17 14-19 4 60
VALLEY VIEW – R. Lemke 10, A. Gehron 8, S. Holp 8, P. Phillips 7, J. Degroat 5, K. Sargent 2 – TOTALS 7 8-12 6 40
3-POINTERS
Versailles 4 (S. Stammen 2, K. Litten 1, K. Hager 1)
Valley View 6 (S. Holp 2, J. Degroat 1, A. Gehron 1, R. Lemke 1, P. Phillips 1)
SCORE by QUARTERS
08-20-14-18 60 Versailles
14-10-08-08 40 Valley View
