Lakota East girls ousted in ‘home game’ at West

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

That disturbance in the local girls basketball force felt Wednesday night was Lakota East playing a home game at — wait for it — Lakota West.

Ohio High School Athletic Association rules prohibit teams from playing tournament games on their home floor, so the Lakota East sectional had a change of venue for the second-round games between the 23rd-seeded Thunderhawks and seventh-seeded Princeton Vikings and third-seeded McAuley and 16th-seeded Sycamore.

Of course, East playing as the home team meant the Thunderhawks were the “Firebirds” on the scoreboard.

The general consensus among the East folks was, yes, it felt weird.

PHOTOS: Nick Graham’s gallery from the game

The only Thunderhawks who seemed to feel at home were the players. After losing by 15 points in both Greater Miami Conference regular-season games against Princeton, the teams were tied 38-38 in the last 30 seconds before the Vikings erupted for six points and a 44-38 win.

Freshman guard Willow White swished a tie-breaking 3-pointer from the top of the key with 26 seconds left. After East turned the ball over, junior DeAsia Reed was fouled while making a layup and added the free throw with 15.3 seconds left to send Princeton (17-7) into a sectional championship game Monday at East against McAuley. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.

“That’s a tough one to swallow,” Thunderhawks coach Gideon Dudgeon said. “We didn’t have the season we wanted, but we’re young. I’ll take a game like that any day of the week.”

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

White finished with a game-high 17 points. Sophomore guard Jordan Stanley scored nine points to lead East (6-17).

White gave Princeton a 38-33 lead on a 3-pointer halfway through the fourth quarter, but Stanley countered with her own 3-pointer from the right wing with 3:29 left and junior forward Secret Hughes tied the game on a soft eight-foot shot from the left baseline with 2:27 remaining.

“We executed better than we did in the first two games,” Dudgeon said. “The girls learned how to practice the way they needed to over the last three or four weeks. That’s the only thing that changed — the intensity in practice — and I hope that’s something that drives them next season.”

White scored 11 points in the first half, six during a 10-3 run that left Princeton leading 25-20 at halftime. Sophomore guard Logan Fox scored five points to help the Thunderhawks stay in the game during a first half that featured five ties and five lead changes. East coaxed 10 personal fouls out of the Vikings before halftime, but the Thunderhawks couldn’t capitalize, sinking 5 of 12 free throws.

The Vikings increased the lead to 29-22 before the Thunderhawks put together a 9-0 run for a 31-29 lead in the last minute of the third quarter. Kamya Sandidge scored on a layup with 22 seconds left to tie the game at 31-31 going into the fourth quarter.

The Thunderhawks ended the season with back-to-back wins after losing four straight and eight of nine. Dudgeon hopes that is something they can build on next season.

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

“It’s been a struggle, especially with three coaches in four years,” he said. “It takes time for them to get used to a new system, but they bought in. I give them credit. They could have said, ‘Let’s get the season over with,’ but they played hard.”

Princeton went on the road and beat East 53-38 on Dec. 17, then swept the regular-season series with a 46-31 triumph at home Feb. 4.

Princeton 11-14-6-13—44

Lakota East 7-13-11-7—38

PRINCETON (17-7): Aja Knott 3 0 6, Willow White 6 1 17, Jacquelyn Hinesmon 2 0 4, Kamya Sandidge 2 0 4, Jimeisha Smith 1 0 2, DeAsia Reed 4 3 11. Totals: 18-4-44

LAKOTA EAST (6-17): Jasmine Floyd 0 2 2, Shaniyah Reese 1 1 3, Danni Stoughton 1 0 2, Jordan Stanley 3 0 9, Grace Silverberg 1 0 3, Bryn Mangold 2 2 6, Secret Hughes 4 0 8, Logan Fox 1 2 5. Totals: 13-7-38

3-pointers: P 4 (White 4), L 5 (Stanley 3, Silverberg, Fox)

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