Girls basketball: Russia can’t hold on, loses 56-52 to Tri-Village

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RUSSIA — There are many lessons Russia can learn from a nonconference showdown with Tri-Village on Tuesday, but chief among them according to coach Paul Bremigan is the squad should win games like it.

The Raiders led by 10 points at the end of the third quarter but couldn’t hold on and lost 56-52 in a battle between undefeated teams.

Tri-Village built a 24-12 lead early in the second quarter but Russia cut the gap to 27-24 at halftime, then started the third with a 13-4 run to take a 37-31 lead.

Russia (6-1) pushed its lead to 43-33 by the end of the quarter, but Tri-Village rallied in the fourth.

The Patriots (7-0) tried to penetrate more, and while they didn’t make many baskets, they drew fouls. Tri-Village made 15-of-18 foul shot attempts in the quarter while Russia was 0 for 6 from the free-throw line.

“We sent them to the foul line too much in the fourth quarter,” Bremigan said. “They only had three or four field goals the whole quarter. You can’t just do that, give them free ones.

“When you’re up 10 points, you’d like to think you’re going to be smarter in (shot selection). We took some out-of-character shots for us. And we took some shots we usually make that we didn’t make. It was a little bit of everything.

“… We should win games like this. That’s the bottom line. We’re an experienced team (with eight seniors). When we’re up 10 going into the fourth quarter, we should win, no matter who we’re playing. We should win games like this, and we didn’t, so we’ve got to learn from this.”

Russia junior forward Roni Poling kept Russia in it as Tri-Village battled back by scoring six points in the fourth.

After Tri-Village had retaken the lead, sophomore Addison Shappie came off the bench and hit a 3-pointer from the right corner to pull Russia within 53-52 with about 25 seconds left.

“She’s a good shooter, and we needed three shooters in the game at that time,” Bremigan said. “She plays well on JV, so we put her in. In that situation, you don’t ever know who’s going to be open. That’s why you put people in there like that, people who are used to making a 3.”

But Rylee Sagester split a pair of free throws with give Tri-Village a two-point lead, then freshman forward Kynnedi Hager grabbed a rebound after Russia forced a quick shot, drew a foul and made two free throws with less than a second left to push the final margin to four points.

Senior guard Cece Borchers and senior forward Kate Sherman each scored 14 points, all in the first three quarters. Senior guard Reese Goubeaux scored nine points, all in the first three quarters. Poling finished with eight.

“I thought our post players did a nice job,” Bremigan said of Sherman and Poling. “We needed to get them the ball more in spots they could score. We didn’t; we took some shots we shouldn’t have, especially when we were ahead.”

Sagester, who is committed to Marshall, led Tri-Village with 23 points. Hager, who is 6-foot-3, scored 18.

Tri-Village played without four-year varsity player Morgan Hunt, who was in a boot due to a sprained ankle. She is expected back in a few weeks.

The two squads had mostly cruised through their schedule. Russia’s last three wins were by running clock margins, and Tri-Village had won by running-clock margins of 35 or more points in five of its first six wins.

The squads played to a 9-9 tie, but Tri-Village scored the last basket of the first to take a lead, then scored the first eight points of the second to push the advantage to 19-9.

Tri-Village increased its lead to 24-12, but Russia finished with a 12-3 run to cut the gap to three points at halftime.

The Patriots, which have advanced to regionals six consecutive seasons, have several more strong nonconference opponents left this season, including a game at Sidney on New Year’s Eve and against Minster on Jan. 21.

Russia is scheduled to travel to Anna on Dec. 15 and host New Bremen on Dec. 17.

Russia senior guard Miah Monnin dribbles as Tri-Village’s Tori Richards pursues during a nonconference game on Tuesday at Clair C. Naveau Gymnasium in Russia.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/12/web1_sdfdsfadsfadsfadfsasdfafdsa-4.jpgRussia senior guard Miah Monnin dribbles as Tri-Village’s Tori Richards pursues during a nonconference game on Tuesday at Clair C. Naveau Gymnasium in Russia. John Hemp | Sidney Daily News

Russia’s Kate Sherman fights with a Tri-Village player for a rebound during a nonconference game on Tuesday at Clair C. Naveau Gymnasium in Russia.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/12/web1_Z91_3349r8-10-600ppi-copy-4.jpgRussia’s Kate Sherman fights with a Tri-Village player for a rebound during a nonconference game on Tuesday at Clair C. Naveau Gymnasium in Russia. John Hemp | Sidney Daily News
Patriots make 15-of-18 free throw attempts in 4th quarter to rally

By Bryant Billing

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Contact Bryant Billing at (937) 538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.

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