LOUDONVILLE — When comparing the Loudonville and Mapleton girls basketball teams on paper, there were times when the similarities didn’t seem to end.
Unfortunately, in their Division VI district semifinal Tuesday at Loudonville, the Ashland County showdown many expected never materialized.
The Redbirds used a smothering pressure defense and some veteran grit built through recent tournament runs to cruise to a 37-19 win over the up-and-coming Mounties.
Loudonville (16-8) forced Mapleton (18-6) into 25 turnovers and held the visitors to just four field goals in the entire game — none in either the first or third quarters.
The defensive dominance catapulted the 10th-seeded Redbirds into a district championship game for the fourth time in the last five seasons. That will take place Saturday against second-seeded Smithville (21-3) at Norwayne High School.
“We keyed on what we felt like would be their best weapons to make sure they didn’t hurt us early, and they didn’t,” said first-year Loudonville coach Daryl Young, whose squad didn’t allow a bucket from the field in the game’s first 14 minutes. “That helped build on it a little bit and the girls got some confidence.
“Our defense has been on point in most of our wins and it was on point tonight.”
The Redbirds improved to 12-0 this season when limiting teams to 30 or fewer points.
They lost the vast majority of their offensive production from last season’s 26-3, Division IV Final Four team with the graduation of all-time Ashland-area leading scorer Corri Vermilya (2,407 career points) and a season-ending knee injury to her sophomore sister, Mya Vermilya (13.5 points per game last year).
But junior guard Addison Wolford — averaging 4.7 steals per game — was one of multiple defensive menaces against the Mounties on Tuesday. Wolford said LHS has continued to lean on its tried-and-true pressure defense to guide it.
“Defense-wise, we brought a lot back because (this year’s) starters were coming off the bench (last year) and were good defensive players,” she said. “We made sure we locked down their shooters and were just playing really tough defense tonight.”
Mapleton finished just 4-for-33 from the field (1-for-16 from 3-point range), as sophomore forward Emilee Beecher (six points) was the only Mountie with two field goals in the game.
The MHS trio of senior forward Hailey Bergosh and freshmen guards Addison Hess (eight rebounds) and Kenzie Hellickson entered the night combining to average 30 points per game. The trio managed just 12 total points against the Redbirds, as Mapleton misfired on several inside shots early that could have made things much more interesting.
“I don’t know if we really got in any offensive flow, and we don’t have enough players to create our own offense,” Mapleton coach Matt Hess said. “We’ve got to do that together and we didn’t quite do that right away.
“Some things could have changed in that first quarter if we could have gotten some shots to fall. We had some good looks.”
Loudonville post Alesha Felix (game-high 10 points) was a tone-setter early. The senior either scored or assisted on 11 of the host’s first 14 points, as the Redbirds built a 19-3 lead through the game’s first 13 minutes.
Felix was a solid role player last year, averaging 3.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. But she entered Tuesday night as the best rebounder in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference (10.8 boards per game) and was averaging a double-double (10.1 ppg) as a senior.
Despite all that, Felix was in constant foul trouble against Mapleton, missing nearly half the game.
Young said key minutes inside from senior Sophie Lee and sophomore Elly Hensel — who both had seven points — were critical in helping keep the Mounties from climbing back into the game.
“To get through (Felix missing so much time) and come out with an 18-point win showed a lot of character and grit,” Young said. “She brings a dynamic that we get used to having on the floor, so when she’s off, it’s not there.”
Both teams had seven turnovers in the second quarter, but Loudonville still carried a 28-10 lead into the half. That ended up being the difference, as both offenses sputtered to just nine points apiece after halftime.
Lacking a bit of their usual depth due to sickness, five of the seven Mounties to play Tuesday were underclassmen. That crew accounted for 19 of the team’s 25 turnovers.
“Coach Young does a nice job with those guys,” Hess said. “They hit some shots early and we weren’t able to fight back.
“We’ve had some games this year where we looked like we had three or four freshmen on the floor. I know they don’t like hearing me say that, but I think some of that inexperience in these environments maybe showed a little bit.”
Just like the Redbirds, who tied for second place in their first year in the KMAC, Mapleton took the runner-up spot in the Firelands Conference (11-3) — its highest league finish since winning it in 1999.
The Mounties are loaded with young talent (their freshmen lost just one game in middle school), and they soon will be welcoming seventh-grade and eighth-grade teams that won FC championships this winter.
They also should add talented guards next season in Audrey Hellickson and Kail Callihan, would-be starters who both missed this year due to knee injuries.
“Some of these (contributing freshmen) were playing eighth-grade basketball last year, so to go 18-6, I’m super proud of this group,” Hess said. “I don’t know if too many people outside of our locker room thought they’d be able to win 18 games this year.
“We’ve got a good core group, we’ve got great, supportive parents and I think these guys can certainly make a push to be competitive at the top of the league for the next few years.”
He said the squad will miss Bergosh, who averaged 13.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and hopes to continue her playing career in Division III at the College of Wooster.
Tuesday’s matchup had plenty of intrigue and storylines to go around before tipoff.
Despite both being Ashland County schools, they hadn’t met since Mapleton beat LHS in the 2016 sectional tournament, 50-43 in overtime. The two hadn’t played in Loudonville since 2007, when the Redbirds claimed a 70-27 win.
Meanwhile, both coaches are Mapleton graduates — Young in 1987 and Hess in 2002.
Young actually coached the Mounties for three seasons from 2021 through 2024, compiling a 38-28 record at his alma mater.
Hess had been the coach at MHS for seven seasons from 2012 through 2019, leading the Mounties to four consecutive district title games at one point.
When Mapleton brought Hess back to coach this season, Young was named the new coach at Loudonville, replacing all-time Ashland County wins leader Tyler Bates (202-69 in 11 seasons at LHS, 23-1 at Strasburg this winter).
Young, whose Redbirds are 11-2 since a 5-6 start, said Tuesday’s game was bittersweet.
“I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve been on a first-name basis with all the girls that were playing on both sides, especially in a postseason game,” the coach said. “My emotions got to me some today, for sure. But this is about what our team has gone through this year to get to this point.”
“Matt’s done a great job with his young team and the injuries they’ve had,” he added. “They should be very proud of their record and all that they did this year.”
Winners of 16 games for the ninth consecutive season, the Redbirds will face a familiar foe in the Wayne County Athletic League-champion Smithies.
Smithville and Loudonville have become postseason rivals in recent years, with SHS eliminating the Redbirds in both 2023 and 2020, and LHS knocking out the Smithies in 2017.
Wolford feels Loudonville has built the postseason moxie to challenge Smithville for a spot in the Sweet 16.
“The coaches have all the confidence in us,” Wolford said, “and the seniors have really stepped up and made sure we’re ready to go.”
