- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,171,325
- Reaction score
- 59
COLUMBUS — With the game less than two minutes old in a Division III regional championship against Bishop Hartley, Unioto star Milee Smith went down writhing in pain on Saturday, March 7.
At that point, things did not look promising, as Smith was in tears, but she quickly gathered herself on the sidelines, re-entered the game a few minutes later, and what happened after that will be talked about for a long time.
When Smith came back into the game, she proceeded to score 12 unanswered points, including three consecutive 3-pointers to give the Lady Shermans a 12-point lead. Smith scored 15 points in the first quarter alone. It would just be the start of a monster game, as Unioto avenged a regular-season loss to the Hawks.
With Smith leading the Way, the Lady Shermans were never really challenged in a 66-44 victory in front of a huge crowd at Ohio Dominican University.
More: Unioto boys, girls basketball teams advance in tournament
For the first time since 1995, Unioto is headed to the state tournament and will face Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, at Wright State University. The Division III state final will be played on March 13 at 3:45 at the University of Dayton Arena.
“This is so special for me to be able to share that and let our players experience it,” Unioto coach Jeff Miller said. “I got to experience it as a player, and I know what it feels like. It feels just as good to coach as to play, but knowing what these 15 girls are going to experience means a lot. This isn’t something that just started in October; it started years ago. I am so happy for them. It’s such a long season, and you have ups and downs, you fight through adversity, and this is your paycheck at the end of it.”
Everything started and ended with Smith, who finished with 42 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. She also went 8-for-10 at the free throw line.
“She got us off to a great start and never stopped,” Miller said. “I’ve told people she is special. The biggest thing is that she does it because she wants her teammates to feel success. She is never a kid who says I’m going to go get 40 for me. She is going to get 40 when her team needs to get 40 to win a game. She just wants her team to feel the success.”
Smith also connected on eight 3-pointers, scored 15 in the first quarter, and scored 17 points in the third.
Smith wanted to credit her teammates after her monster performance.
“I felt like it was my teammates, to be honest, because they kept giving me the ball and had trust in me,” Smith said. “We had a goal, and that was to get to the final four, and we did that as a team. This is something that we all have dreamed of. Every year, we fell short in the regional, but we showed how much we wanted it today. I’m proud of my performance, but getting this win is the only thing that matters, not what I did as an individual.”
Keyairah Beard added 12 points for the Shermans, and Magnolia Herbert chipped in five points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Jillian Mathey finished with four points and 10 rebounds.
Unioto led 19-7 at the end of the first quarter, but Hartley was able to finish the second quarter on a 12-4 run to close the gap to 26-19 at halftime.
However, like she did in the first half, Smith knew her team needed a spark and she delivered by scoring the first five points of the second half to push the lead back to double digits, and it stayed that way the rest of the game.
The Hawks got within 33-24 midway through the third quarter, but Smith scored 12 points in the three minutes to push the Shermans’ lead to 47-31.
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at [email protected] for comments or story tips. Follow him on X at twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Milee Smith leads Unioto girls basketball past Bishop Hartley
Continue reading...
At that point, things did not look promising, as Smith was in tears, but she quickly gathered herself on the sidelines, re-entered the game a few minutes later, and what happened after that will be talked about for a long time.
When Smith came back into the game, she proceeded to score 12 unanswered points, including three consecutive 3-pointers to give the Lady Shermans a 12-point lead. Smith scored 15 points in the first quarter alone. It would just be the start of a monster game, as Unioto avenged a regular-season loss to the Hawks.
With Smith leading the Way, the Lady Shermans were never really challenged in a 66-44 victory in front of a huge crowd at Ohio Dominican University.
More: Unioto boys, girls basketball teams advance in tournament
You must be registered for see images
For the first time since 1995, Unioto is headed to the state tournament and will face Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, at Wright State University. The Division III state final will be played on March 13 at 3:45 at the University of Dayton Arena.
“This is so special for me to be able to share that and let our players experience it,” Unioto coach Jeff Miller said. “I got to experience it as a player, and I know what it feels like. It feels just as good to coach as to play, but knowing what these 15 girls are going to experience means a lot. This isn’t something that just started in October; it started years ago. I am so happy for them. It’s such a long season, and you have ups and downs, you fight through adversity, and this is your paycheck at the end of it.”
Everything started and ended with Smith, who finished with 42 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. She also went 8-for-10 at the free throw line.
“She got us off to a great start and never stopped,” Miller said. “I’ve told people she is special. The biggest thing is that she does it because she wants her teammates to feel success. She is never a kid who says I’m going to go get 40 for me. She is going to get 40 when her team needs to get 40 to win a game. She just wants her team to feel the success.”
Smith also connected on eight 3-pointers, scored 15 in the first quarter, and scored 17 points in the third.
Smith wanted to credit her teammates after her monster performance.
“I felt like it was my teammates, to be honest, because they kept giving me the ball and had trust in me,” Smith said. “We had a goal, and that was to get to the final four, and we did that as a team. This is something that we all have dreamed of. Every year, we fell short in the regional, but we showed how much we wanted it today. I’m proud of my performance, but getting this win is the only thing that matters, not what I did as an individual.”
Keyairah Beard added 12 points for the Shermans, and Magnolia Herbert chipped in five points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Jillian Mathey finished with four points and 10 rebounds.
You must be registered for see images attach
Unioto led 19-7 at the end of the first quarter, but Hartley was able to finish the second quarter on a 12-4 run to close the gap to 26-19 at halftime.
However, like she did in the first half, Smith knew her team needed a spark and she delivered by scoring the first five points of the second half to push the lead back to double digits, and it stayed that way the rest of the game.
The Hawks got within 33-24 midway through the third quarter, but Smith scored 12 points in the three minutes to push the Shermans’ lead to 47-31.
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at [email protected] for comments or story tips. Follow him on X at twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Milee Smith leads Unioto girls basketball past Bishop Hartley
Continue reading...
