Corri Vermilya has been dominant all season for the No. 1 Loudonville Redbirds (21-2, 4-0), and she took her game to another level in an 89-11 win over No. 37 Valley Christian (1-22, 1-13) in the first round of the Division IV Northeast 3 Sectionals.
Vermilya went off 30 points in the just the first half in the win, and also pulled down 11 rebounds to make it a double-double. She was huge on defense with eight steals, and also dished out four assists.
The Redbirds skunked the Eagles in the opening quarter, 38-0, and Vermilya scored 24 of those points that included a pair of threes. Sophia Spangler put up six points, while Jena Guilliams and Addison Wolford each hit threes.
"It’s not every day that you see a high school kid score 24 points in a quarter," said Coach Tyler Bates. "Corri had 11 offensive rebounds and a number of steals in the first half, so obviously she was very active."
It didn’t get any easier in the second quarter, as Valley Christian was held to only one point. Vermilya tacked on six more points, but the quarter was led by her sister Mya with all nine of her points. Guilliams hit her second three of the night in the quarter, and Loudonville went up 61-1 at the half.
They were in the driver’s seat the rest of the way, outscoring the Eagles 7-3 in the third and 18-7 in the fourth quarter to finish out the blowout victory.
On the day, Sydney Strouse put up 12 points with eight coming in the fourth quarter. She hit a pair of threes in the win. Mya Vermilya had four assist to go with her nine points. Spangler scored seven points and tallied three assists.
The Vermilya, Spangler and Guilliams did not play after the second quarter, and the team was able to split up time in the second half for the remaining 10 Redbirds.
“It was great to get 14 girls some legitimate minutes tonight in a tournament game,” Bates said. “While our normal rotational players didn't get to play a ton, I was pleased with what I saw when they were in the game."
Vermilya’s 24 points in the first quarter moved her higher in the record books, passing Crestview graduate Renee Stimpert as the all-time leading scorer in the Mansfield/Ashland area. She now has 2,313 points, which is 15th on in OHSAA history.
“Corri has worked extremely hard to become the all-time leading scorer in the history of North Central Ohio,” said Bates. “She is a great model of consistency. She shows up to work every day. I am really proud of her."
Loudonville was set to face No. 38 Lordstown in the second round, but the Red Devils opted out of the tournament and the Redbirds won automatically by forfeit. This would have been a home sectional final, so in turn, the Redbirds have won the sectionals and now move onto round three in a quest for the district title.
"We are going to spend the next week cleaning up some things that we will need to be better at," Bates said. "We have a lot of work to do in the gym, in the weight room and in the film room."
Loudonville will take on the winner of No. 17 Bristoville Bristol and No. 15 Lowellville on Feb. 28 at Norwayne with a 6 p.m. tip off.
