Generals stave off late rally to reach district

LOGAN - Sheridan tried its best to give away a hard-fought win on Saturday.

Donna Swinehart wasn't about to let it happen, however.

Determined McArthur Vinton County cut an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit to two with :11.3 left, but Swinehart sank two free throws in the closing seconds to preserve a 53-49 win in a Division II sectional final at Logan's Jim Myers Gymnasium.

Sheridan (20-4) twice led by nine points in the fourth and still maintained a 50-42 advantage with 2:38 left. But four turnovers down the stretch and eight points from Michaela Puckett, an inside-out bruiser, allowed the Vikings to get within 51-49 after Erin Jones' 3-pointer with 13 seconds left.

They fouled Swinehart with 11 seconds left, hoping to get another chance. But she hit both free throws to push the lead to four points, and the Vikings, who ended a 17-7 season, never got closer.

Swinehart, a senior guard, said she never felt any pressure, even with the season on the line.

"When they hit that 3 we were a little bit worried, but I just told myself that I was going to knock these free throws down and put the game away," Swinehart said. "There was no doubt."

First-year Generals coach J.D. Walters admitted there were some high stress moments down the stretch.

"My heart is pounding a little bit. That was an exciting finish," Walters said. "We did a nice job maintaining an eight-, 10-point lead for most of the second half, but the Puckett girl is an amazing player. She did everything she could to will them to victory there late."

He was as comfortable as Swinehart when the latter stepped to the line late.

"She's scored 800 points for us in three years," Walters said. "She's somebody we want to have the ball in late-game situations."

Sheridan (20-4), the No. 2 seed, earned its 13th sectional title and first since 2013-14. The Generals advanced to play No. 4 seed Chillicothe, which outlasted top-seeded Washington Court House Miami Trace, 32-19, in the other sectional final on Saturday.

The two will meet in the district semifinals at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday at Chillicothe Southeastern. The finals are at 7 p.m. on Feb. 24.

Walters hopes his team's clutch play continues.

"Most of our wins have been by 10 points or more," Walters said. "That was a good one to get going into the tournament."

Sheridan got a timely breakout game from Emily Bartholic, whose 14 points led three Generals in double figures. She had two baskets in the post in the final two minutes of the second quarter, pushing a 24-21 lead to 28-22 at the break, which followed a Vikings 10-2 run that featured six points from Puckett.

Bartholic banked in a timely 3 midway through the third, which gave Sheridan its biggest lead at 37-26, and she had four more points early in the fourth, the latter of which pushed a six-point lead back to 43-35 with 5:23 left.

Her performance wasn't lost on her coach. Nor were the 12 first-half points from freshman Rachel Cooke, who hit a pair of 3s during a 13-4 run to start the game.

"Since coming over (from New Lexington) she's probably had more of a diminished role from what she expected, and she's had a positive attitude all season," Walters said of Bartholic. "Today she really stepped up and led us to victory."

Vikings coach Rob Bentley, whose team had its most wins in 10 years, lamented his team's inability to convert down low at critical times in the second half, as well as four misses at the line.

Puckett, expected to play collegiately, led all scorers with 21 points.

"That was just a good hard-fought game between two pretty evenly matched teams," Bentley said. "We knew it was going to be tough."

sblackburn@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

740-450-6723

Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

Stat book

Vinton Co. 10-12-8-19 -- 49

Sheridan 16-12-9-16 -- 53

Sheridan: Geary 1 3-3 5, Moyer 0 2-2 2, Householder 2 2-2 6, Taylor 0 0-0 0, Swinehart 3 4-7 10, Cooke 5 0-0 12, Bartholic 5 2-2 14, Scheuvront 3 0-0 6, TOTALS 19-37 11-14 53. Three-point goals: 4-10 (Cooke 2, Bartholic 2). Rebounds 34 (Scheuvront 10, Householder 8), Assists 7 (Householder 3). Steals 7 (Swinehart 2). Turnovers 19.

Vinton County: D. Radabaugh 0 0-0 0, Jones 4 0-0 9, Hale 3 2-4 8, Owings 0 0-0 0, Fee 3 2-3 8, Thompson 1 1-2 3, H. Radabaugh 0 0-0 0, Puckett 5 10-12 21, TOTALS 16-55 15-21 49. Three-point goals: 2-16 (Jones, Puckett). Turnovers 12.

Officials: Michael, Merb and Norris.