Beavercreek, Tecumseh D-I rematch set

Surrounded by an outstanding group of untested underclassmen, it was senior Keaira Youngblood’s challenge to be the leader of the Beavercreek girls basketball team.

“You kind of have to take on that mother role,” admitted Youngblood, who tallied a game-high 16 points in a 41-27 defeat of Greater Western Ohio Conference rival Centerville in a Division I sectional semifinal at Butler on Wednesday night. “We just weren’t ready for our season to end.”

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Tecumseh converted 18 of 21 fourth-quarter free throws to eliminate Fairmont 54-45 in the second game. That puts Beavercreek (16-8) against Tecumseh (22-2) in a sectional final rematch at 1 p.m. Saturday also at Butler. Tecumseh overwhelmed Beavercreek 63-46 in last season’s sectional final.

Youngblood, a slick 5-foot-8 slasher and also a shutdown defender, was money for the Beavers when needed most. She hit a pair of second-half 3-pointers and all six free throws.

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Tied 19-all at halftime, Beavercreek laid a defensive hammer on Centerville in the second half to take another low-scoring matchup. It was the third time the GWOC National East rivals had played, both winning by six at home in the regular season and no winner scoring more than 46.

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Beavercreek dropped its final two regular-season games to Springboro and Fairmont, then rebounded with two postseason wins.

“This is where we expected to be,” said Beavercreek coach Ed Zink, in his 42nd season coaching the Beavers and the state’s all-time winningest girls coach. “We knew we were going to lose some games because we had a heck of a schedule. It was a disappointing finish … so these two wins have been nice.”

Centerville (14-9) was paced by Victoria Harrison’s 11 points.

“Our defense was really good,” Elks coach Adam Priefer said. “We had some good looks but just weren’t able to score.”

Tecumseh 54, Fairmont 45: The Arrows overtook Kenton Ridge to win a Central Buckeye Conference title and were ranked No. 6 in the final Associated Press D-I state poll, but could do no better than a No. 4 sectional seed. That's why returning to another sectional final is significant.

“This means a lot,” said super sophomore Presley Griffitts, who scored a game-high 22 points. “People thought we weren’t going to make it this far and we showed them we could.”

Tecumseh converted free throws for its final 16 points with less than three minutes left to secure its 10th consecutive win. Corinne Thomas, another promising sophomore, hit 9 of 10 free throws and added 14 points. Yet another sophomore, Macy Berner, added 11 points.

Tecumseh’s only losses are to two-time defending D-II state champ Alter and Carroll.

Also featuring a mostly underclass lineup, Fairmont (12-12) was paced by freshman Madeline Westbeld’s 12 points. Senior Mariah Roe added 11 points and freshman Madison Bartley 10.

“We had three freshmen on floor most of the time,” Firebirds coach Lacy Drake said. “We’re young and we’ve got a very bright future.”


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View photos and video from the game at MyDaytonDailyNews.com

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