Meyer’s shot fell into the cylinder as the horn blew, bounced left-to-right and back to the left caroming up and out of the basket.
“I was really scared,” Hunt said. “We weren’t supposed to touch anyone, which we didn’t. I guess the odds were (in our favor) today.”
The top-ranked Patriots beat second-ranked Fort Loramie 32-30 in a Division IV regional final thriller on Saturday at the Vandalia Butler Student Activity Center, sending the Patriots to the state tournament for the first time since 2012.
“It’s indescribable,” Hunt said. “It’s an amazing feeling. It was nerve-wracking, but as soon as the ball went out, it was celebration.”
No. 1 Tri-Village 32, No. 2 Fort Loramie 30. This one lived up to the hype. TV took a six-point lead midway through the fourth on two DEEP 3-pointers by Rylee Sagester. The Redskins fought back and nearly won the game on this last-second shot by Carissa Meyer. What a game. pic.twitter.com/T7yUHh8oAv
— Michael Cooper (@ByMichaelCooper) March 4, 2023
Fort Loramie senior Ava Turner had eight points for the Redskins, which finished its season 25-3. They dealt a blow early in the game when leading scorer sophomore forward Avery Brandewie left the game with an injury.
“I’ve got to give so much credit to my team,” said Redskins coach Carla Siegel. “This game should’ve been 15 points without (Brandewie). … I’m so proud of my team. I know we lost, but I’m so happy for them. We talked about this the other day — we weren’t supposed to be here this year. It was a great effort to keep them to 32 points. If you would’ve told me this morning that we were going to hold them to 32, I would’ve thought we won the game and would be heading to UD.”
Patriots senior Rylee Sagester had a game-high 17 points, hitting two deep 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter to give Tri-Village a 31-25 lead with about four minutes remaining.
“No one is going to guard anybody out there,” said Patriots coach Brad Gray. “She finally just decided I’m going to pull it (and shoot). The place erupted, especially on our side. When she hit the second one, it’s just what she’s done her whole career. She’s got unlimited range. Fortunately, she got a couple to drop right when we needed them to.”
Turner hit two straight buckets to pull Fort Loramie within two points at 31-29 with about two minutes remaining.
Redskins senior Olivia Mescher hit a free throw with 43.8 seconds left to cut the lead to 31-30.
“We play all these tough teams and so many times this year we would get down in the second or third quarter and this team, it doesn’t faze them,” Siegel said. “When we got down today by six or whatever, there was no panic button for anybody.”
After a timeout, the Redskins nearly forced a Tri-Village turnover with a 10-second call, but the officials gave the Patriots a timeout right before the whistle blew.
With 14.5 seconds remaining, the Redskins fouled Tri-Village freshman Kennedi Hager, who missed the front end of a one-and-one to give Fort Loramie the ball back. The Redskins were unable to score and fouled Hager again with 2.9 seconds remaining.
The freshman hit the first free throw and Fort Loramie called a timeout. Hager missed the second free throw, setting up Meyer’s last-second heave.
“We got the shot that we wanted,” Siegel said. “It was a beautiful shot by Carissa Meyer. She’s second in our team in 3-pointers. When she let it go, I said, ‘Please go in.’ It was so close. I just told the girls they need to be proud. I know they’re hurting. What an effort by all of them.”
As the shot rimmed out, the Patriots bench stormed the court in celebration. Tri-Village’s three seniors — Sagester, Hunt (six points) and Torie Richards (eight points) — combined for 31 of Tri-Village’s 32 points.
“All three of the seniors did exactly what we needed them to do,” Gray said.
The unbeaten Patriots (28-0) advanced to face either Berlin Hiland or Portsmouth Notre Dame in a D-IV state semifinal game at 8 p.m. Thursday night at University of Dayton Arena.
“Hopefully, we can win a couple more,” Gray said. “Our goal is to win two more.”
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