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But there was sophomore point guard Amy Velasco catching an inbounds pass 80 feet from victory and dribbling all the way to the basket. Priefer hadn’t over-thought the final play either. Velasco was supposed to shoot a layup or pass to a shooter in the corner.
“I tried to stay calm and relaxed, not over-think it and do my thing,” she said.
Velasco’s thing was a buzzer-beating layup that left fifth-seeded Springboro in shock and started a Centerville celebration. The top-seeded Elks had won 65-63 and avoided the upset.
“We tell our kids never to quit,” Priefer said. “At the start of the fourth quarter, I don’t think many people other than the kids on our bench thought we had a chance. And they kept believing and believing.”
Next for the Elks (23-2) is a district final Saturday at Princeton High School against Lakota West, the No. 2 seed in the Cincinnati sectionals.
Alexis Hutchison began the Elks’ 17-3 closing run on a 3-pointer with 3:04 left. Then Velasco, who scored 22 points, made two free throws and 3-pointer. Sam Chable’s 3-pointer with 1:43 left made it a one-point game. Kelsey George put the Elks up 63-62 with 53 seconds left. Julia Secrist gave the lead right back to the Panthers (15-10).
With 25 seconds left, Velasco tied the score with a free throw. Springboro was holding for the last shot, but a traveling violation set up Velasco’s heroics.
“I told them I have no words that can make what just happened better,” Springboro coach Tom Benjamin said. “Terrible regrets. I told them I should have had some kind of decision that got us over the top, and I didn’t come up with one. Give credit to Centerville. They’re a really good basketball team, and they made more plays in the fourth than they did probably in the first three quarters.”
The Elks start three seniors, sophomore Velasco and freshman Cotie McMahon, who kept the Elks just close enough with 21 points. Chable added 14 points. Priefer said youth or tournament inexperience was not to blame for the slow start.
“Springboro did an unbelievable job today using their height and length to their advantage, causing problems for us all night long and hitting a lot of shots,” Priefer said. “Coach Benjamin and his staff probably outcoached us all night. We just made some adjustments late.”
Centerville was confident it would come back. The Elks fell behind Fairmont 17-0 this season and rallied to win on Velasco’s last-second 3-pointer.
“We have heart and we want it,” Velasco said. “We trust each other, we want to play together and we did it for each other.”
Fairmont 53, Beavercreek 34: Jeremy Finn took over at Fairmont this season, saw the height of his team and settled early on a 3-2 zone as the Firebirds' primary defense. The zone shut down the Beavers on Monday night in a Division I sectional final at Troy High School.
Quarterbacking the zone from the middle position at the top is senior Mali Morgan-Elliott, who will play at Toldeo next year.
“I try to communicate to my teammates on who has the top wings,” she said. “And in the back they try to communicate to me. Communication is the biggest part on defense.”
Morgan-Elliott is 6-foot, Madison Bartley is 6-3 and Madeline Westbeld is 6-2. The defense allowed the Firebirds (16-8) to build a 29-9 halftime lead. Beavercreek (15-10) cut its deficit to 12 entering the fourth quarter, but the Firebirds scored the next 11 points.
The Firebirds had success getting the ball inside to Bartley for 19 points and Westbeld for 13. They hurt the Beavers with a high-low post game of Westbeld passing to Bartley for layups.
“The high-low’s tough to defend,” Fairmont coach Jeremy Finn said. “Our goal offensively is to be patient, especially against their matchup zone. We thought we could go high-low a little bit. Madison and Madeline have been fantastic working together.”
Fairmont, which made 19 of 23 free throws, plays in a district final Saturday at Princeton against the winner of Wednesday night’s game between Cincinnati-area top-seed Mt. Notre Dame and Anderson.
Wayne 66, Tecumseh 35: The Warriors won their 11th straight game in a D-I sectional final at Butler. Wayne (17-4) will play Walnut Hills in a D-I district final at Princeton on Saturday. Walnut Hills defeated Ursuline Academy 52-37 on Monday. Tecumseh (17-8) had its six-game win streak snapped.
Franklin 47, Fenwick 35: Layne Ferrell accounted for 17 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks to lead the top-seeded Wildcats in a D-II sectional final at Lebanon. Franklin (20-4) will play Tippecanoe (19-5) in a D-II district final at Mason on Friday. Tipp advanced by defeating Kenton Ridge 40-37 on Monday at Springfield.
Valley View 46, Bellbrook 42: Chloe Smith's 15 points led the Spartans in another D-I sectional final at Lebanon. Valley View (18-7) advances to its first district final since 2015 against Roger Bacon (20-4) at Mason on Friday. Bacon eliminated Indian Hill 50-46 on Monday. Kayla Paul had 10 points to lead Bellbrook (14-11).
Waynesville 59, Arcanum 39: The undefeated Spartans rolled in a D-III sectional final at Covington. Waynesville (22-0) will play Bethel-Tate in a D-III district final at Springfield High School on Saturday. Tate defeated Summit Country Day 39-35 on Monday.
West Liberty-Salem 58, Miami East 46: Kelsey Day scored 21 points in leading the Tigers in a D-III sectional final at Covington. WL-Salem (22-3) will play Purcell Marian (20-5) in a D-III district final at Springfield on Saturday.
Versailles 48, Anna 26: Caitlin McEldowney had 14 points as the Tigers won a D-III sectional final at Covington and qualified for their sixth straight D-III district final. Versailles (20-5) will play Williamsburg (20-4) in a D-III district final at Springfield on Saturday. Williamsburg defeated East Clinton 58-38 on Monday.
Cedarville 48, Southeastern 39: The Indians won a D-IV sectional final at Monroe. Cedarville (19-6) will play the Mechanicsburg/Fort Loramie winner in a D-IV district final at Troy on Saturday.
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