Two of the most prolific scorers in the Ohio girls’ basketball went head-to-head on Feb. 5 and the game was as advertised with Corri Vermilya dropping 40 points to top DC Lanier's 26 points in a 64-58 Loudonville (17-1, 4-0) win over Port Clinton (13-7, 5-3).
The Redbirds took an 18-10 lead after one quarter, and Vermilya was off to a hot start with an 11 point showing. Mya Vermilya had four points in the quarter, as well.
Port Clinton had a 17-12 second quarter advantage thanks to nine points for Lanier, and at the half it was a 30-27 Redbird lead. Vermilya led all scorers with 17 points and Lanier was tight behind her with 16.
In the third quarter, Port Clinton battled to tie the game up at 45-45. Vemrilya put up 10 points in the frame, and Lanier had seven points for the Redskins. Vermilya took over in the final frame with 13 of the team’s 19 points to secure a big road victory against a tough Port Clinton team.
Game in and game out, Vermilya has shown that she is one of the best players in the state. This time she had her highest point total with 40 points, and also controlled the glass with 16 rebounds and three steals.
“This was another classic Corri Vermilya performance tonight,” Coach Tyler Bates said. “We really didn't shoot the ball well - but Corri put us on her back. After the game, their athletic director gave her the ultimate compliment, saying that she was the best opposing player to ever play in their gym. After you have seen so many of these games from her, it's easy to take them for granted, but she is as special as it gets.”
Vermilya reached the 2,000 point milestone earlier in the season, and DC Lanier has 1,595 career points, making this a marquis matchup. Lanier scored 26 points in the game, but the Redbirds did a great job limiting her to only five points in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
“When the opportunity to play at Port Clinton presented itself, we knew we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity,” Coach Bates said. “For us to travel almost two hours during the week and play against one of Ohio's most explosive scorers in DC Lanier, and come out with a hard fought win, we are really pleased.”
Bates said they knew it would be a difficult task to take on the Redskins on the road, especially as they were were on a three game winning streak and recently kept it a 10 point game against state ranked Margaretta.
“It was great to see us make enough winning plays at the end to get the victory,” Bates said.
Ellet 73, Loudonville 64
Loudonville (17-2, 4-0) had another solid opponent in Ellet (16-4, 10-0), who are on top of the Akron City Conference and have won the past eight games. Going into the game, the Orangemen have outscored opponents 1,062-750 this season. Ellet has a duo of scorers in Caitlyn Holmes and Sanaiiya Gray who can go off at any time. Holmes is averaging 17.7 points, 3.5 assists and 3.6 steals this season, and Gray is at about a double-double with 14.3 points and 9.7 boards.
While the Redbirds dropped their second game of the season with a 73-64 loss to Akron Ellet, it was another outstanding performance for Vermilya. She had her best scoring output of the season with 47 points, and also tacked on 13 boards, four steals and three assists. This was her second straight 40 point game, and for the second time in as many game, a season high for scoring.
Spangler also had a quality night with eight points and eight assists.
Loudonville had a one point lead after one quarter, and at the half it was a 31-28 lead for the Redbirds. They outscored the Orangemen 16-14 in the third quarter, but Ellet took over in the final frame with a 31-17 advantage.
While Coach Bates said he is always proud of the girls, he was disappointed in the team’s effort on defense int he second half. Bates called it a heartbreaking loss.
“I don't how else to describe it,” Bates said. “We fought and scratched and clawed for three quarters and put ourselves in a great position to win the game and then we just stopped executing, didn't take care of the basketball and failed to defend in the fourth quarter.”
