Girls Basketball: Upper Arlington looks to grow from tight loss to Sheridan
Saturday, December 16, 2023
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Upper Arlington’s Elizabeth Hunt drives to the basket during the Golden Bears’ game with Sheridan at the “Battle in the 614” at Ohio Dominican Dec. 16. Photo: Kevin Rouch
The Upper Arlington girls basketball team calculates what sophomore Elizabeth Hunt called “game-winning metrics” that involve rebounding and hustling every game.
Through the season’s first two-plus weeks, the Golden Bears have come out on top against their opponents in those totals enough times to ensure that their matchup against perennial Division II-power Thornville Sheridan on Saturday in the finale of the Battle in the 614 at Ohio Dominican was one between unbeaten teams.
Fittingly, the game wasn’t decided until the game’s final minute, with the Generals rallying from a 12-point second-half deficit to earn a 59-57 victory.
While Sheridan improved to 6-0 and figures to again be a tough out in the Southeast portion of Ohio after earning a district runner-up finish last winter, UA is 5-1 overall and has the look of an area elite after losing in a Division I district semifinal last winter.
“We all just really trust each other, and our bond is really unbreakable,” Hunt said. “We know we’re going to work hard on defense and call out ball screens. We try to get every offensive rebound and defensive rebound, and in practice, we just work really, really hard. That’s showing up in games.”
Upper Arlington’s Hannah Hunt (3) and Ella Hanky battle for a loose ball with Sheridan’s Jamisyn Stinson during the “Battle in the 614” at Ohio Dominican Dec. 16. Photo: Kevin Rouch
The Upper Arlington girls basketball team calculates what sophomore Elizabeth Hunt called “game-winning metrics” that involve rebounding and hustling every game.
Through the season’s first two-plus weeks, the Golden Bears have come out on top against their opponents in those totals enough times to ensure that their matchup against perennial Division II-power Thornville Sheridan on Saturday in the finale of the Battle in the 614 at Ohio Dominican was one between unbeaten teams.
Fittingly, the game wasn’t decided until the game’s final minute, with the Generals rallying from a 12-point second-half deficit to earn a 59-57 victory.
While Sheridan improved to 6-0 and figures to again be a tough out in the Southeast portion of Ohio after earning a district runner-up finish last winter, UA is 5-1 overall and has the look of an area elite after losing in a Division I district semifinal last winter.
“We all just really trust each other, and our bond is really unbreakable,” Hunt said. “We know we’re going to work hard on defense and call out ball screens. We try to get every offensive rebound and defensive rebound, and in practice, we just work really, really hard. That’s showing up in games.”
A three-point play by Hunt with 47 seconds remaining gave UA a 55-54 lead, but Sheridan responded with a basket by Ava Heller with 36.4 remaining.
The Bears set up an inbounds play to Tatum Thrush that she turned into a basket with 16 seconds remaining for a 57-56 lead, and the Generals turned it over four seconds later.
But then with nine seconds to go, Sheridan’s Halle Warner got a steal to give her team one final opportunity.
After calling timeout, Heller passed it to Payton Powell, who swished a shot two feet behind the 3-point line for the game-winner.
Upper Arlington’s Quinn Buttermore drives the baseline during the Golden Bears’ game with Sheridan in the “Battle in the 614” at Ohio Dominican Dec. 16. Photo: Kevin Rouch
“We were up 10 at the half, so I feel like we kind of let it get away a little bit,” UA coach John Wanke said. “The fact we were up 10 at the half and up one with 12 seconds left, I don’t think we necessarily executed per se. We could have controlled our own destiny there, but credit Sheridan. (Powell) made a big shot, a fully contested shot. We were down one and executed pretty well with the baseline out of bounds (to set up Thrush’s shot), so I couldn’t be prouder of our kids, the energy, the effort. I thought they competed at a high level and put ourselves in a position to win, but it just didn’t go our way.”
Sheridan, which opened with a 41-35 win over perennially strong Division I-Watterson on Nov. 29 and returns all five starters from last year’s 22-3 team, got 15 points from Jamisyn Stinson and 14 from Powell.
“We really showed some resiliency today,” Sheridan coach Justin Walters said. “We kind of got down on ourselves and struggled a lot in the first half handling their pressure. They were really playing well, but for us, we kind of blew a game in the second half (in last year’s district final) when we had a double-digit lead, so our whole theme (this season) has been to finish. The second half we did a much better job finishing.”
UA is 2-0 in the OCC-Central and returns to league play Dec. 22 against Olentangy Liberty, which was a district runner-up last season and also is 2-0 in the league.
Hunt, who believes she’s played “less scared this year” while averaging 18 points, finished with 20 against the Generals while senior Quinn Buttermore and junior Ava Harrigan both scored 12.
“Elizabeth’s done it all,” Wanke said. “The exciting thing about Elizabeth is as well as she’s played at times, to her it’s not about Elizabeth, it’s about team first. As you can see on her face, she’s disappointed, and she should be because she works at it. She’s passionate about it. She works really well and we’re fortunate to have her.”