On Jan. 6 the Loudonville girls’ basketball team continued their string of lopsided victories with an 85-21 win over Crestline, putting them at 13-0 and 4-0 in conference play. The Redbirds have now secured their eighth straight Mid-Buckeye Conference title.
The game was out of reach from the start, with Loudonville putting up a 34-0 first quarter where Corri Vermilya scored 12 points, Sophia Spangler had eight points and Mya Vermilya had nine points including two threes.
They had a 26-11 second quarter advantage, with Corri Vermilya having all 21 of her points before halftime. Sydney Strouse had a pair of threes in the second quarter, and Spangler had five points including a three.
Sophia Spangler led the charge with a double-double line of 14 points, 10 assists, six boards and six steals. Corri Vermilya led the team in scoring with 21 points. She also grabbed nine boards and three steals, while dishing out six assists. Mya Vermilya had a strong all-around game with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists. She had three makes from downtown. Strouse added eight points in the win.
Loudonville had third and fourth quarters of 15-4 and 10-6 to finish off the game handedly.
Coach Tyler Bates was very happy with the performance of Spangler, and added that a win like this is the perfect chance to go to the bench and let them shine.
"It was great to have the opportunity to play 14 kids throughout this game,” Coach Bates said. “I thought that Sophia Spangler did an outstanding job of playing efficient basketball today with double-digit assists, and all of our girls were a threat with the ball in their hands - with 12 different kids scoring.”
Jena Guilliams and Elly Hensel each had six points, Addison Wolford scored five points and Kylar Staten had a three in the fourth quarter. Hanna Porter, Laila Manchester and Sophie Lee had a bucket each to round out the scoring.
The league play ended when Lucas let the Redbirds out of their contract with them for the second league play, according to Coach Tyler Bates. He said the JV will now be playing the Lucas varsity squad on Feb. 2.
The Redbirds have replaced the Lucas game with a road matchup with Port Clinton on Feb. 5.
Bates pointed out that with the recent addition of Colonel Crawford on their schedule at the end of the month, are some huge games for Loudonville coming up. On Jan. 10 they face 8-2 Wellington at home. They will travel to Akron Ellet on Jan. 17, facing a team that is first place in Akron City and defeated them last year 62-45.
On Jan. 23 they head to Warrensville Heights to face a 10-1 squad that is ranked 12th in Division III. Colonel Crawford is 11-1 and proves to be a formidable opponent on the road on Jan. 31.
Port Clinton is also having a solid year at 8-3, and Loudonville will face them in their home turf on Feb. 5. On Feb. 17 they will face Columbia in front of a home crowd. Columbia is 9-1 overall and ranked 20th in Division III.
