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SPORTS

Southeastern wins first SVC title since 1985-86

Derrick Webb
Reporter
  • With a 61-53 win over Huntington Thursday night, Southeastern won its first SVC title in 30 years.
  • Sophomore Ella Skeens led the way for the Panthers with 24 points and eight rebounds.
  • Dylana Gragg was the Huntsmen' high scorer, tallying 15 points alongside four boards.

CHILLICOTHE - It's been a while; too long in fact.

Southeastern's 61-53 win over Huntington Thursday night gave the Panthers (19-3, 13-1 SVC) their first outright Scioto Valley Conference title since 1985-1986 and their first conference crown of any kind since 1990-1991.

"We're dusting that banner off," Southeastern coach Mike Adams said. "I want to see that '16 up there and it's going to be a beautiful sight. I told the girls that after losing their first two games of the year, what they've accomplished since is just tremendous. It's taken a lot of hard work."

The win comes right before Southeastern's Division III sectional final contest against River Valley slated for Saturday at Athens High School.

"We've still got work to do," Adams said. "We'll take care of some things in practice tomorrow. We've got a good scouting report on River Valley and they're a good team. I went down and watched them in Vinton County. It'll be a tough first sectional game. We're not going to take them lightly."

Per usual, two-time SVC Player of the Year Ella Skeens was prepared quite well. However, her supporting cast including Audrie Wheeler, McKinley Mitten and Rachel Collins put in notable work as well.

Those four scored 55 of the team's 61 points.

"We knew they were going to triple team Ella and when they did, I feel like we did the right thing in finding the open shot," Adams said. "If we can just get that third scorer in double-digits, we're tough to beat. But when you talk about four or a possible fifth, that's even better. But we've still got some improvements to make and those are on the defensive end."

Skeens scored the game's first basket at the 7:23 mark in the first quarter before Huntington's Dylana Gragg put the Huntsmen (15-7, 9-5 SVC) on the board at 6:43, tying the score at three.

From there, Collins notched a basket, followed by a Mitten strip and score on the ensuing inbound to make it 7-3 with 5:34 to play in the first. After Huntington's Ariel Sams buried a 3-pointer, making it 9-6, the teams sparred to the end of the quarter that saw Southeastern leading 18-14.

In the second, the Huntsmen continued to rely on the 3-pointer as Southeastern found open shots. When the Huntsmen went cold from beyond the arc, the Panthers took advantage and stretched the lead to 34-27 heading into halftime.

After the intermission, Collins and Skeens immediately lit up the scoreboard, making it 38-27 with 7:25 to play before Huntington put together a 7-0 run, bringing the count to 38-34 at 5:20. Huntington's Jillian Snyder then kissed the glass on a triple, capping off a 10-0 run and making it 38-37.

On the ensuing inbound after a Panthers' timeout, Skeens made a 3-pointer before Wheeler and Kali Mitten followed suit. After their lead was just one, Southeastern closed the third on a 9-2 run to take a 47-39 advantage into the final eight minutes.

The Huntsmen would get as close as four points — thanks to back-to-back 3's from Rikki Magill late — but eventually fell as Southeastern put the game away at the foul line.

"That was the gameplan, getting to the line," Adams said. "We wanted to pound the basketball inside. Starting the game off, I thought we did a nice job of that. But we have to hit more of our free throws down the stretch."

Skeens led all scorers with 24 points alongside eight rebounds and three assists while Collins followed with 11 points. Wheeler added 10 points and eight rebounds as McKinley Mitten finished with 10 points and five boards.

Gragg led the Huntsmen with 15 points and four rebounds while Sams scored 12. Magill had nine and Carolane Cox contributed significantly with seven points, six rebounds, and five dimes.

Saturday, second-seeded Southeastern will turn its attention towards River Valley and fourth-seeded Huntington will also begin its postseason run at Valley High School against Piketon.

dwebb@chillicothegazette.com

Twitter: @dw1509

Stat Book

Southeastern: 18-16-13-14 — 61

Huntington: 14-13-12-14 — 53

Southeastern: 21-48 FG, 16-29 FT, 3-13 3pt. (K. Mitten 1, Wheeler 1, Skeens 1), 28 rebounds (Skeens 8, Wheeler 8), 11 turnovers, 10 Assists (Morris 3, Skeens 3). Scoring: Skeens 10 3-6 24, Collins 4 3-4 11, Wheeler 2 5-6 10, M. Mitten 3 4-6 10, K. Mitten 2 0-1 5, Morris 0 1-6 1.

Huntington: 19-47 FG, 6-12 FT, 9-27 3pt. (Magill 3), 23 rebounds (Cox 6), 13 turnovers, 8 Assists (Cox 5). Scoring: Gragg 6 2-2 15, Sams 4 2-5 12, Magill 3 0-0 9, Cox 3 1-3 7, Snyder 2 0-0 6, Neighbors 1 0-0 3, DeBord 0 1-2 1.