LOUDONVILLE — Celeste Ryman is like an air traffic controller who also pilots the jet.
She moves fast. She stays busy. She stays focused. And she is critical to everyone’s success.
The 5-foot-3 junior point guard scored 15 points, distributed nine assists and led a ferocious Loudonville full-court press as the 15th-ranked Redbirds knocked off Wooster Triway 65-43 in a girls’ Division III sectional title game on Saturday afternoon at LHS.
“Celeste does a lot for our team,” Loudonville coach Tyler Bates said. “She handles the ball. She guards the other team’s best player. She makes shots. She gets us into the offense. We typically go as she goes.
“There are a lot of things she does well that don’t show up on the stat sheet. Today was one of those games, for sure,” Bates said.
The win improves Loudonville’s record to 22-1 and earns the Redbirds only their second trip to the district semifinals since 2001. Triway finishes 14-10.
WIN AND ADVANCE: Despite the 22-point margin of victory, it was not an easy afternoon for the Redbirds. Loudonville built a 29-16 halftime lead, but the Titans trimmed it to 37-29 with 1:26 to go in the third quarter. It took a 23-8 run over the next four-plus minutes, including five back-breaking triples, to put Triway away.
Sophomore forward Emily Seboe connected on four of the triples during the run, finishing with a game-high 21 points. Loudonville connected on nine treys during the game against a Triway team that authored none.
“They say in tournaments you survive and advance and that’s just what we did today,” Bates said. “It wasn’t pretty all four quarters, but we want to give Triway a lot of credit for that. They are a well-coached team. They have got a lot of experience at certain positions on the floor.
“They made us work for this one. We wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Triway coach Brian Kiper lamented his team’s first half, which included 12 turnovers, an 0-for-6 effort at the foul line and some missed lay-ins.
“I thought the difference was the first half,” Kiper said. “I really thought we could have been right with them or even ahead if not for turnovers, missed free throws and missed bunnies,” he said. “We told the team before the game if we could keep (turnovers) under 15 (for the game), we had a chance.”
Instead, the Titans finished with 18.
Even then, Triway was in the game until the long-distance rain began.
“We finally thought we were getting there, but they just have so many kids who can hit threes,” Kiper said.
Senior Emily Long led Triway with 16 points, the only Titan in double figures. Twelve came in the second half.
TOURNAMENT TIME: Triway knocked off Black River, 49-13, on Wednesday, giving the Titans a game of post-season experience, while Loudonville had a bye.
“We played 22 games this season. We scrimmaged in the preseason,” Bates said. “We played all summer. I am not one to say if a team gets to play before us that it makes a difference or not. In the first half, (Triway) came out and played really hard. We were a little careless with the basketball.
“Our goal is to play hard for four quarters. If we do that, it usually works out pretty well for us.”
Loudonville, the district’s No. 3 seed, plays second-seeded Orrville in the district semifinals Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. at Wooster. The Red Riders (19-4), winners of the Principals Athletic Conference, eliminated Waynedale 65-48, on Saturday. The first game at Wooster on Wednesday matches No.-1 seed Chippewa against No.-5 seed Northwestern at 6 p.m.
Two of those Orrville wins came during the season against Triway, 47-46 and 58-43. Kiper said it will be a great match-up.
“Orrville is battle-tested. They are a deeper team than we are and they have a great post player. Orrville also likes to play a lot of zone, so they are going to have to find the (Loudonville) shooters. I will definitely be there,” Kiper said.
Bates said his teams have never played Orrville.
“At this point in the district, we know anyone we play will be tough,” Bates said. “We will practice the next two or three days and go give it a shot.”
