“When you don’t come out and play well, it’s pretty hard to build up momentum and play well in the second half,” said Trojans coach Matt Harner. “That’s what this team is about. Never give up. Never back down.”
Southeastern junior Kelsey Vollrath scored 10 points as the Trojans fell to 12-9.
Bradford’s Austy Miller scored a game-high 24 points and Isabella Hamilton added 10 as the Railroaders (11-9) advanced to face second-seeded Catholic Central in a second round game on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at Trotwood.
The Railroaders opened the game shooting two free throws after Southeastern was called for a technical foul for circling their opponent during warmups.
“I think being out of our normal routine to start the game hurt us,” Harner said. “Credit to Bradford. They played well and played hard. (Bradford coach Chris Besecker) coached them really well tonight.”
The Railroaders took a 19-13 lead with a minute remaining in the first half, but Trojans senior Lily Bertemes nailed a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 19-16 at halftime.
Bradford took a 29-28 lead on a buzzer-beating layup by Miller to end the third quarter.
The Trojans stormed back in the fourth quarter. Trailing by five points at 33-28, Vollrath scored seven straight points to give Southeastern the lead at 35-33.
“She does a great job of being our spark plug and that was a prime example right there,” Harner said.
Southeastern took a 39-38 lead on a basket by Bertemes with about three-and-a-half minutes remaining, forcing a Bradford timeout.
The Trojans wouldn’t score again. The Railroaders used a Triangle-and-2 zone defense the rest of the game, forcing the Trojans to take tough shots.
Bradford reclaimed the lead at 40-39 on a bucket by Miller with three minutes remaining. As the Railroaders attempted to stall, the Trojans were forced to start fouling. Miller hit six straight free throws to seal the victory.
Harner felt his team wasn’t as sharp as it needed to be and it showed in their play, especially the first half.
“If you’re not focused for an entire game, you’re going to get beat,” Harner said.
The Trojans will graduate two seniors from this year’s squad in Bertemes and Lily Hudson. The rest of their varsity rotation is expected to return, including Vollrath, the team’s leading scorer at 14.4 points per game. They’re also adding sisters Brooke and Carly Nelson, who transferred from Springfield midway through their freshman season. The Trojans hope to again be a contender in the Ohio Heritage Conference South Division next winter.
“It’s never going to be easy,” Harner said. “It’s always going to be tough. I think it’s a solid group of juniors who will step up and lead well. They’ll keep us progressing forward from where we were.”
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