The Loudonville Redbirds (15-1, 4-0) bounced back from their first loss of the season with a big 56-30 win over a talented Colonel Crawford squad (16-2, 9-1) on Jan. 31, with the team playing terrific defense while getting three players into double digits in scoring.
“Crawford is very disciplined defensively - they entered the game giving up 28 points per game on the year and are always prepared,” Coach Tyler Bates said. “So for us to be able to double that number, score 56 and still hold them to 30, we are really pleased.”
Loudonville led right from the start with a 13-9 first quarter, with the Vermilya sisters hot out of the gate. Corri Vermilya had seven points and Mya Vermilya hit a pair of threes.
In the second quarter it was all Redbirds, but this time Sophia Spangler was the star with 10 of the team’s 20 points. Corri Vermilya had six points and Mya added a free throw. Colonel Crawford scored 13 points in the quarter, and it was a 33-22 game at halftime.
It was a low scoring affair in the third quarter, with the Redbirds having a 6-4 advantage. Corri Vermilya was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the quarter, and Alesha Felix added a bucket.
Loudonville finished with a huge 17-4 fourth quarter with six different Redbirds putting up points in what was a well-balanced attack to seal the win.
“We were pretty efficient tonight offensively and showed some of the balance that has been our calling card this year,” Bates said. “That’s good to see.”
Per usual, Corri Vermilya posted a double-double with a line of 19 points, 10 boards, four assists and five steals- all leading the Redbirds. It wasn't the most dominant effort of the highly touted senior, but Bates praised her for her overall play.
“While it was one of Corri's lower scoring games of the year at 19 - she was locked in on both ends of the floor and did a great job making timely winning plays for us all night,” Coach Tyler Bates said.
Vermilya is averaging 26.3 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 7.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
Spangler once again filled the stat sheet, putting up 14 points, seven boards, four steals and three assists in the win. These eclipsed her already impressive statistics of 11 ppg, 4.2 boards, 3.3 assists and 3.9 steals.
Bates was impressed by her performance on both ends of the court. The Eagles have a great talent in Mira Holt, but she was stifled by Spangler throughout the night.
“Our team knows that we are at our best when Sophia is being aggressive and creating for us,” Bates said. “Everyone sees the offensive game that she had yesterday, but she was tremendous on defense - holding their best player to 10 points and making her uncomfortable for four quarters.”
Freshman Mya Vermilya scored 12 points and grabbed three rebounds. She continues to show that the future is in good hands for the Redbirds, and is always a major presence on the court in a variety of ways. On the seasons she is second on the team in scoring at 14.9 ppg, while averaging 3.5 boards, two assists and 3.1 steals.
“Mya gives us a big boost,” Bates said. “She plays well beyond her years and no moment is too big for her.”
Rounding out the scoring was Felix with five points, Sophie Lee with three points, Addison Wolford with two points and Jena Guilliams with a free throw.
This game was a late add to the schedule and Coach Bates was happy to give the Redbirds the experience going up against a top tier Northern 10 team on the road.
“That was a great crowd and tournament atmosphere for a girls basketball game,” Bates said. “We haven’t gotten to play too many N10 teams over the years - that was a lot of fun.”
He added, “Props to Coach Bauer and Colonel Crawford for making this game possible tonight. It was a great experience for us- something we can build on for sure.”
The Redbirds have another tough non-conference road matchup ahead of them. They travel to Port Clinton (12-6, 4-3) to battle 1,500 point scorer DC Lanier and the Redskins on February 5.
