Sagester had a game-high 22 points as Tri-Village beat Berlin Hiland 51-34 in a Division IV state semifinal in front of 2,914 fans on Thursday night at University of Dayton Arena.
“I thought our kids rose to the occasion,” said Patriots coach Brad Gray. “This is a group of kids that likes to take challenges. Our last couple games have been a grind and you get rewarded by playing one of the top teams in the history of this state. I thought their response today was really good.”
As they walked off the floor for the penultimate time, Sagester gave her longtime teammates one last piece of motivation.
“I think I said, ‘If we’re going to be here, let’s do it’,” she said.
The top-ranked Patriots (29-0) advanced to face Toledo Christian in the Division IV state championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena. The Eagles (23-4) beat New Middletown Springfield 57-29 in the other D-IV semifinal.
“This has obviously been our goal for four years now,” Richards said. “It means a lot to do it our senior year. I’m just really happy.”
The Patriots led 14-10 after the first quarter and extended their lead to 30-27 on a 3-pointer by Sagester with 1:43 remaining in the first half. The Hawks cut the lead to eight on five straight points by sophomore Joplin Yoder, but they wouldn’t get any closer.
Hiland face-guarded Sagester all over the floor, denying her the ball as much as possible. However, when she was able to get her hands on the ball, the Ohio Miss Basketball runner-up was able to get her shots off quickly, hitting four 3-pointers in the first half.
“We really felt like their other players were good players, but we felt like we didn’t want to lose to (Sagester),” said Hawks coach Brady Schlabach, whose team finished the season 22-7. “That was definitely where our focus was and we were going to go down aboard that ship. Their role players stepped up and made some big shots. … We lost (Sagester) a couple times. Her speed and ability to shift and change gears is something that’s hard to replicate in practice or even against other teams. By the time we got adjusted to that, it was a little too late.”
As Hiland focused on Sagester, the remaining Patriots made them pay — as they have to other teams all season, Gray said. Richards scored eight points, hitting two 3-pointers, while Hunt and junior Bella Black each added seven points.
“We’ve got so many other good players,” Gray said. “We really believe in each other.”
Tri-Village led 33-22 at the half and 45-32 after three quarters. The Patriots allowed just two points in the final eight minutes to seal the win. They led for all but 40 seconds of the game.
In 2012, Tri-Village fell to Berlin Hiland in its only other appearance in the D-IV Final Four, which gave the Patriots even more motivation for Thursday’s semifinal.
“They were in the stands watching that,” Gray said. “I think it kind of fueled their fire to go out and do the same thing.”
Tri-Village will see a familiar opponent in the state championship game. The Patriots beat Toledo Christian 50-35 on Jan. 16 at the Classic in the Country showcase.
“It seems like a long time ago,” Gray said. “I’m sure both teams are different now than what we were then. I know we probably did not get their best performance that day. They probably felt like they could’ve played a little bit better. They’re going to come in spirited for sure and want to redeem themselves. The challenge for us is we’ve got to throw that game out the window and act like it didn’t happen and not come in overconfident and we won’t. Our kids will be really focused on the task at hand.”
Both programs will be making their first appearance in the state championship game — meaning a new D-IV champion will be crowned. The Patriots want nothing more than to bring the trophy back to New Madison.
“This is something you dream of,” Gray said.
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