NEW CARLISLE – The Mississinawa Valley Lady Blackhawks handily defeated the Middletown Christian Lady Eagles of the Metro Buckeye League 63-39 to capture the OHSAA Division VII District Championship.
The Lady Hawks entered the district title game as Western Ohio Athletic Conference champions, sporting a perfect 10-0 WOAC record and an overall 19-4 mark. Mississinawa advanced through tournament play with wins over Triad (84-9) and Botkins (48-33) before earning the district crown.
“I’m happy for the kids – it’s all about the kids,” said WOAC 2025-2026 coach of the year Kirk Comer. “This is one of their goals, and I am happy that we were able to get this goal and win the conference … and we have some more goals, so hopefully we can continue to keep playing.”
Mississinawa Valley wasted little time asserting itself.
Brooklynn Seubert opened the scoring with a 10-foot jumper in the lane at the 7:50 mark of the first quarter, giving the Lady Hawks a 2-0 lead they would never relinquish. The Darke County squad bolted out to a commanding 22-4 advantage by the end of the opening period.
The Lady Eagles responded in the second quarter as Mississinawa Valley eased off the accelerator. Middletown Christian claimed the quarter 14-9, trimming the deficit to 31-18 at the break.
“We got that lead, and then we relaxed,” Coach Comer stated. “We have done that before – we can’t do that, we have to be consistent for 32 minutes, and we’ll have to be that way on Wednesday.”
The two teams played nearly even in the third quarter, with Mississinawa Valley edging the period 17-16 to extend its lead to 48-34 heading into the final eight minutes.
The Lady Hawks then put the game away in the fourth.
A Brooklynn Seubert basket at the rim pushed the lead to 50-34, followed by back-to-back Cora Hoggatt free throws. Makenna Hoggatt knocked down a three-pointer, and Seubert added three consecutive two-point baskets as Mississinawa built a 61-37 cushion with 2:09 remaining. The comfortable margin allowed Coach Comer to empty the bench.
Cassidy Seubert capped the scoring with a basket in the final 30 seconds, sealing the 24-point district championship victory.
“Brooklynn (Seubert) played really well again,” said Comer. “She got a lot of big rebounds, and even though Paige (Emrick) got in foul trouble, she still made some plays, Tenlee (Woodbury) made some nice passes, and it was just another good team effort.”
Mississinawa Valley received solid production from its bench, with freshman Cassidy Seubert scoring eight points and junior Lilly Geesaman adding six.
“Lilly has been improving throughout the season,” Comer noted. “We needed her the last two games when Paige got in foul trouble.”
WOAC Player of the Year Brooklynn Seubert led the Lady Hawks and all scorers with a game-high 16 points.
With the victory, Mississinawa Valley stands as the lone WOAC girls basketball team advancing to the 2025-2026 Sweet 16.
“We’re happy to be still playing, and I feel for the other teams in the conference,” Comer said. “We were hoping we could all move on, but I am blessed that we’re able to keep playing.”
“It’s been a good season,” he concluded. “The season has prepared us for what we’re going through now.”
Mississinawa Valley advances to play Cedarville in first round regional action at Vandalia-Butler High School, Wednesday, March 4th with a 7:30 pm start time.
BOX SCORE:
MISSISSINAWA Valley 63, MIDDLETOWN CHRISTIAN 39
MISSISSINAWA VALLEY – B. Seubert 16, P. Emrick 11, C. Seubert 8, C. Hoggatt 8, M. Hoggatt 8, T. Woodbury 6, L. Geesaman 6 – TOTALS 23 5-10 4 63
3-POINTERS
Mississinawa Valley 4 (M. Hoggatt 2, T. Woodbury 2)
SCORE by QUARTERS
22-09-17-15-63 Mississinawa Valley
04-14-16-05 39 Middletown Christian
