No. 1 Danbury showed plenty of fight against the No. 1 Loudonville girls’ basketball team in the Division IV Region 13 semifinals, but in the end Corri Vermilya was able to lead the Redbirds to a 46-40 to continue their quest toward a state title.
“We knew coming in that Danbury had an experienced and disciplined team, so it was going to be a competitive contest,” said Coach Tyler Bates. “I am proud of our girls for locking in defensively and taking care of the basketball down the stretch.
Loudonville is ranked eighth in Division IV by MaxPreps, and this is the second time in team history that they have made the Regional Finals of the tournament. The last time was in 1992 when the team won and went on to be state runners up. Their 25th win of the season also tied for the most in team history, with the others being 1992 and 2021.
The first quarter was especially tight with Danbury getting on the board first on a Kelly Uhinck free throw, followed by a layup. Uhinck played at a high intensity all night, and put up 21 points for the Lakers.
Then it was Vermilya’s time to turn things up a notch.
With 5:57 on the clock, Vermilya got her own rebound off a shot that rimmed out. She went up for a put back and missed, but was fouled. Vermilya drained both free throws to cut the lead o one. She scored again on a put back layup to go up 4-3. After a Michaela Harris layup for Danbury, Sophia Spangler sent a sweet pass to Vermilya who was cutting to the basket to go up 6-5. She then hit a step back three to make it a 9-5 game, as Vermilya took over for the first nine points of the night for Loudonville.
Her sister Mya Vermilya then got in on the scoring, as she drained a three and also hit a layup to make it a 14-8 game. At the end of one quarter it was 14-10 Redbirds.
Jena Guilliams started off the second quarter with a three to go up 17-10 off an assist by Corri Vermilya. Ella McDonald of Danbury then hit a three and a layup to cut the lead to two. However, the story of the night was whenever Danbury would get close, Loudonville was there to respond. Corri Vermilya sank back-to-back threes and it was a 23-15 game with 6:37 on the clock. After a drought of three minutes of scoreless basketball, Corri Vermilya snagged a defensive rebound, sent it up court to Spangler, who scored on a sweet fast break layup to go up by 10. At halftime it was a 26-22 lead for Loudonville, with Corri Vermilya leading all scorers with 16 points.
In the third quarter, Spangler showed off her passing skills with assists on layups by Alesha Felix and Spangler to go up 30-22. She was then fouled on a shot after grabbing her own offensive board, and made one of two free throws to put the lead at 31-22. After a put back layup by Felix it was 33-22, and Loudonville was on a 7-0 run to start the quarter. At the end of the third quarter it was a 38-31 Loudonville lead.
Danbury cut the lead to five in the fourth quarter, down 40-35 after a Uhinck layup. Then with 1:20 left Corri Vermilya made a great euro-step move to the basket where she made the shot and was fouled. Vermilya roared with excitement and then made her free throw to complete three point play. The Redbirds were able to hold on the rest of the way and take win against a tough Laker squad.
Corri Vermilya had 26 hard earned points, while pulling down 14 rebounds for a double-double. She also tallied seven steals, four blocks and four assists. She is now tied with former Ohio State Buckeye Carly Santoro for 10th all-time in Ohio’s scoring list at 2,387 points.
“When you think of all of the special players and talented scorers in the history of Ohio girls basketball, it's remarkable to ever imagine reaching the top 10 for any statistical category - let alone scoring,” Bates said. “However, Corri's consistency over the years has certainly made her worthy of such an accomplishment.”
Mya Vermilya had seven points and four steals. Spangler put up six points, five boards and five assists. Alesha Felix grabbed seven rebounds to go with her four points.
“I am really proud of our girls,” Bates said. “They work so hard. They are bought in to the concept of a team. It is a special group.”
Loudonville now heads to the Elite 8, taking on No. 5 Springfield who are 20-7 and won the last five games. They are coming off an upset win over No. 3 Richmond, where they squeaked by in a 34-31 victory. The Tigers are led by junior center Jameka Brungard, who is averaging 15.9 points, 11.2 boards, 2.9 blocks and 2.3 assists per game. The Tigers are ranked 39th in Division IV, according to MaxPreps.
The Regional Finals take place on March 9 at 7 p.m. at Massillon Perry High School.
