Loudonville launch themselves into Div. IV regional final with demanding win over Danbury

MASSILLON − Loudonville head coach Tyler Bates knew.

He knew going into this season that he had a special group. So, in order to challenge that belief, Bates purposely scheduled high-quality opposition he knew would test and prepare his team come tournament time. Boy, did he ever.

In the regular season, Loudonville beat the likes of Lexington (Division II district semifinalist this season), Clear Fork (Division III district semifinalist), South Central (Division IV district semifinalist), Mogadore (Division IV district finalist, who Loudonville also defeated in the final), Port Clinton (Division II district semifinalist), Colonel Crawford (Division III district finalist) and Columbia (Division III team that went 19-4), with their only two losses coming against Division I Ellet (Akron City league champions) and Division III powerhouse Warrensville Heights (district champions ).

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That tough scheduling paid dividends in the Redbirds (25-2) well-earned 46-40 victory over Danbury (24-3) in their Division IV regional semifinal game at Massillon Perry High School, that pushed them one more win from advancing to state.

"I think our girls were used to this environment tonight," said Bates. "I know throughout the game we made some silly mistakes, which is normal, but we were not nervous. The girls were locked in. They were excited. There weren't a lot of nerves and that's because of the environment we've played in this year and summer."

In a matchup between two of the top 10 ranked teams in Division IV (Danbury 8th; Loudonville 9th), this regional semifinal game was one that proved to be physically demanding on the Redbirds.

Why?

Because the Redbirds were working, moving, rotating, sliding and recovering so relentlessly hard on the defensive side of the ball − especially in the second half − that it might have appeared that they were getting exhausted.

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Nah. Not even the slightest. They've prepped for this all year.

"We were picking them up full-court," said guard Jena Guilliams. "I don't think we were tired. We were in shape for this."

"I think in the second quarter we didn't get tired but just a little lazy," said point guard Sophia Spangler. "Coach picked us up at halftime and we were more intense in the second half and that helped us."

"I told the girls, 'That's why we lift, run and stay in good physical condition to play the game of basketball, especially the further you get into the tournament,'" Bates said. "I felt like in the third quarter, we started to see some of their players hands on their knees, gasping for air and our girls are like, 'We got this.'"

In many ways, this was a game of runs.

Loudonville went up 25-15 in the second quarter with four minutes left, after some hot 3-point shooting by Guilliams, Corri Vermilya and Mya Vermilya but a 7-1 run by the Lakers to end the quarter shrunk their lead to 26-22 heading into halftime.

The most important run of the contest came at the start of the third quarter, where a huge concentration was put on the first four minutes.

"He [Bates] told us the first four minutes are our most important," Spangler said, who tallied 6 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. "He wanted us to widen the gap between the two teams."

"We needed to come out in the first four minutes and take the game," said Vermilya. "I think we did that."

They did just that.

Loudonville went on an 8-0 run, that involved a few transition points from Mya Vermilya (7 points, 4 steals), Alesha Felix doing the dirty work underneath (4 points, 7 rebounds) and industrious rotations on defense − which proved to be the central facet in the Redbirds win − that created that distance needed.

But it was the all-around play of the best player in Division IV and maybe the entire state of Ohio in Corri Vermilya (game-high 26 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, three 3-pointers made) that shined the brightest.

She attacked the defensive and offensive boards. Her distance shooting kept Danbury on their heels. She handled the ball well against the Lakers press. What stood out the most and what sometimes gets overlooked was her helpside defense (4 blocks) and quick anticipation in reading the Lakers passes (7 steals) in the paint area.

Yet, it was her 3-point play − that got her fired up − off a drive and finish to the hoop with her left hand with 1:30 minutes left in the fourth quarter that pushed Loudonville's lead to 43-35 and shut down any chance of Danbury coming back.

"And-1s actually get me really excited," she said. "Obviously, late in the game with it being close, it was exciting for me but I know my team was hyped about it too. I'm just really happy I made the free throw after it."

Her two senior teammates and close friends loved it too.

"That was so hyped," Spangler said.

"I feel like that kind of called it the game," Guilliams said. "That was the play."

With that, Saturday will be Loudonville's second regional final appearance in school history (1992) and the opportunity to get one doorstep closer to Dayton.

"Feels awesome," Vermilya said. "My freshman year (2021) we lost this game. We have bigger goals this year, so it's awesome we can check this off and keep going and make it to state."

"We've never been here before, so it's so exciting," Guilliams said.

"It's just really a proud moment because of all the hard work we've put in is paying off," Spangler said.

jsimpson@gannett.com

Twitter:@JamesSimpsonII

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Loudonville hold firm, defeat Danbury in Div. IV regional semifinal