Miamisburg beat Troy 37-27 in a Division II district semifinal game on Wednesday night at Fairborn’s Skyhawk Arena. They last qualified for the district tournament in 2010.
Vikings senior Madalyn Ball had 12 points and senior Addi Leber added 11 as Miamisburg improved to 6-18 overall.
“We were just really excited and kind of motivated to get to that point,” said Miamisburg coach Sean Sims. “Credit to Troy — incredible team that plays with incredible toughness. I’m just proud of our girls. We’ve battled a lot of adversity through this year, and for them to see success at the end — we play in the (Greater Western Ohio Conference) and it’s tough, it’s a gauntlet — so for us to turn around in tournament time and make a splash, we’re just really happy. I’m excited for my group. They earned it."
The Vikings jumped out a 10-1 lead on a 3-pointer by Ball late in the first quarter and led 13-6 at the half.
Troy cut the lead to 14-11 on a bucket by sophomore Elayna Ernst early in the third quarter, but the Vikings took a 19-14 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Trojans cut the lead to four points at 22-18, but a 3-pointer by Leber and a steal by freshman Katie Willis that led to two free throws by Leber increased their lead to 27-18. Troy wouldn’t get within four points the rest of the.
“(Leber’s) been just grinding and doing a great job of leading the group,” Sims said.
The Vikings hit 13 consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter to pull away for good.
“That’s just really good for us,” Sims said. “They were obviously fouling us a little bit down the stretch, and we just converted on the free throws. Super proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish.”
After a 2-17 start, the Vikings have won four of their last five games, including victories over Edgewood, West Carrollton and Xenia.
They’re happy for a few more days together, Sims said.
“We get to practice tomorrow, which is incredible,” he said. “We’re just excited about the opportunity to do that — there’s a lot of teams that don’t get to do that, and we do and so we’ll keep working hard and it’s on to the next one."
They advanced to face Cin. Seton (19-3) in a district final game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Fairborn. The Saints beat Loveland 63-34 in their tournament opener on Wednesday night at Fairfield.
“We’re gonna get ready and give them the best battle that we can,” Sims said.
Stebbins 52, Northmont 42: The Indians, the Miami Valley League Valley Division champions, held off a late surge by the Thunderbolts to advance to a Division II district final game for the second straight season.
Stebbins senior Audrey Fritz had 13 points and senior Mackenzie Roche added 12 for the top-seeded Indians (16-7), who advanced to face Loveland (15-8) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Fairborn.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Indians coach Autumn Johnson. “I think our girls are excited. I feel like, over the last couple years, we’ve been really trying to change the culture in a better direction, so I think they’re excited.”
The Thunderbolts cut the lead to 34-31 on bucket by freshman Ashlen Simpson, who had a game-high 16 points.
The Indians would then go on a 10-1 run capped by a 3-pointer from freshman Aurora Stringfield with 3:40 remaining to put the game out of reach. The Thunderbolts wouldn’t get closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Northmont senior Jenna Hall had 10 points for the Thunderbolts, which finished its season 6-17.
“I think our kids worked hard, and I think they wanted to win at the end of the day,” Johnson said. “We probably didn’t play our best today, but I think in spurts, we played really well. We just got to clean up the other little pieces.”
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