SUGAR GROVE – There was no doubt about it. The Danville girls basketball team ran into a team on a mission.
The Blue Devils couldn’t keep up with Sugar Grove Berne Union and fell, 59-26, in the Division IV district championship game on Friday, Feb. 26.
The long, active Rockets used seven first quarter steals to take control early, closing the period on a 13-2 run to take a 17-6 lead.
The top-seeded Rockets (24-1) outscored Danville 16-2 in the second quarter to remove any of the drama on the way to their second district title in program history and their second in two years.
“We’re trying to get to state, and that’s been the focus all year,” Berne Union coach Matt Little said. “We got a taste of it last year and I think (because of) that taste of it, we want more. Even tonight, I feel like we wanted to prove ourselves again. We can’t mess around. We can’t afford to mess around. We have to take care of business, get it over with and move on to the next round.”
“We were just careless with the ball,” Danville coach Matt Proper said. “Their length kind of got to us. They run that loose, sagging defense. They can because their length allows them to do that. We weren’t careful with our passes and momentum just got away pretty quick.”
It was a big departure from Danville’s performance in a 78-36 win over Fairfield Christian in Tuesday’s semifinal.
The hot-shooting Blue Devils (15-9) certainly had Berne Union’s attention.
“They made just about every shot they took that night,” Little said. “So I just preached to our girls (that) it didn’t matter who you were guarding, we weren’t going to give an open shot. And we have length, and that length helps a lot.”
The Rockets are battle-tested. The have wins over Worthington Christian, Liberty Union, Portsmouth Notre Dame and Glouster Trimble, all of which played or will play for a district title this season. Their only loss is to Beverly Fort Frye — another district finalist.
Next, Berne Union will play Peebles in a regional semifinal on Wednesday at Pickerington North.
Against the Devils, the Rocket defense was just too much, grabbing 19 steals as a team and winning the rebounding battle 30-17 while allowing no Danville offensive rebounds along the way.
Sophia Kline went for 16 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of steals; Bella Kline had 13 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals; and Emily Blevins added 11 points and five steals to lead Berne Union.
Brooklynn Hess had nine points, six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals; and Jaylyn Smith added seven points to lead the Devils, who had won five in a row.
Proper has virtually his whole team — minus Rachel Wilson — coming back next season. Hess, an all-around threat, was just named Player of the Year in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference; and Alenah Boeshart proved to be vital both offensively and defensively.
Plus, the emergence of freshmen Ella Proper and Kylee Hess gives Coach Proper reason to believe big next season.
“I think the offseason will — hopefully — be back to normal a little bit,” he said. “We’ll just pour some time and effort into it. Hopefully, they’re willing to do that. I’m giving them the opportunity, and hopefully they’ll make the best of it.
“There’s a lot of potential there, it’s whether or not they want to make it a reality moving forward. Hopefully, they do.”
