Redskins Too Much for Weir
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WINTERSVILLE -- Indian Creek took care of business, and now the Redskins have the opportunity to play for their second championship of the season.
The No. 1 seed Indian Creek girls basketball team raced out to an early lead against fourth-seeded Weir and never looked back in a 64-23 Wheeling Hospital OVAC Class 5A semifinal victory Monday night at home.
"We came out really aggressive," Indian Creek (18-1) coach Steve Eft said. "The girls played with a lot of energy at the start.
"I thought after we got to that 12-1 lead, we got kind of impatient, and we forced some shots. We missed some shots we normally make. At halftime, we talked to the girls about keep doing what they were doing on defense, and we talked about taking our time on offense. We wanted to take our time. We wanted to slow down. We wanted to get great shots instead of good shots. I thought we did a really good job of doing that."
Weir got into a big hole early and was never able to dig out of it.
"They are a really good team, there is no doubt about that," Weir (11-9) head coach Rick Stead said. "We told the girls there is no shame losing to a really good basketball team. Indian Creek is well coached. Their girls are disciplined. They did all of the little things you need to do to win.
"They took us out our rhythm on offense. We could not run any of our sets. They sped us up. They forced turnovers. Some of those were self-inflicted, and other times they just made good plays. They boxed out. They limited us to just one shot. Then, they would clear the ball, go down the court and after a couple of passes they would score. To play with them, you have to be able to score. We were not able to trade baskets with them."
With the win, Indian Creek will now play No. 2 seed Wheeling Park in the championship game at noon Saturday at Ohio University Eastern. Wheeling Park defeated No. 3 seed University, 67-48, Monday night at home in the other semifinal.
"They have a lot of offensive firepower," Eft said about the Patriots. "Bella (Abernathy) does a good job on the inside. They have shooters all over the floor. They are a real complete team. They have a really good offense.
"One thing people don't talk about is how good they are defensively. They are a good defensive team. They are going to be a big challenge for us."
A trio of players produced double digits for Indian Creek. Taylor Jones tallied a game-high 24 points, Kylie Kiger collected 16 and Makenzie Taylor contributed 10. Jones, who was the only Redskin to shoot a foul shot, was 8-for-8 from the line, while Kiger's four 3-pointers were the only four shots made from beyond the arc by either team.
"We rested up for a week," Eft said. "The week off was good for us. We had some girls battling flu and some other stuff. We were able to refocus on the end of the season and tournament time."
Sophia Mikula, who surpassed the 1,0000-point mark for her career earlier this season, scored a team-high seven points to lead Weir, while Reagan Hoover recorded six.
"Weir is much improved," Eft said. "I thought they would switch up defenses. They started in man and then went to a 1-3-1. They have been down before and come back. They have been done in the last four or five games and have come back to win. We had to be ready to go tonight."
The Redskins led 17-5 at the end of the first quarter, and the hosts extended their advantage to 32-11 at halftime. They later led 51-18 entering the fourth.
"Since they have gone to this format, this is the first Weir High team to make it this far," Stead said. "The last time the girls won a championship was back in 1996 when they still had the old points format. This is the first time we have played in this. Even though we lost the game, we are headed in the right direction of where we want the girls basketball program to go."
Weir will play University Thursday night on the road in the consolation final.
"It means a great deal," Stead said about making the tournament. "It is another first for us. We have had a lot firsts this season. We won back the city championship. We have two wins against Steubenville and against Brooke. We have a 21-point comeback against Catholic Central. We have done what we have had to do win some games."
Indian Creek rallied to defeat Wheeling Park, 67-57, in a battle of the unbeatens Jan. 13 at home.
"As the game went on, our girls just got more confident," Eft said. "The girls made plays. We had an unbelievable crowd that night. Our fans have been great all year. We are expecting another big turnout Saturday. Our girls feed off of that. They feed off the energy of the fans. Our fans have been unbelievable this season."
The Redskins won three straight tournament titles from 2008-10, but Indian Creek has not won one since then. The Patriots have won 13 overall conference championships, and three of those have come under the current format (2011, 2012 and in 2017).