DAYTON, Ohio — In a rematch between Fort Loramie and Waterford from the Division IV state title game a year ago, it was the Wildcats who were victorious this time around 48-46 in the OHSAA Division VII girls’ basketball state championship game at UD Arena on Saturday.
Avery Brandewie laid in a fastbreak score as Fort Loramie carried an 8-0 run across the third and fourth quarters chiseling away at what once was a 10-point second-half deficit. Waterford (27-1) led 40-38 with less than six minutes to go.
Kendall Sury made a free throw and followed it with a 3-pointer 30 seconds later to push Waterford’s lead to six with 5:17 left to play. Fort Loramie’s Victoria Mescher and Sury traded layups, then the Redskins (25-4) went without a bucket for the next three minutes while Waterford would go without a field goal for the final 4:15.
Mescher hit a jump shot and brought the Redskins within 47-46, their closest margin of the game, with 1:02 remaining.
With 17 seconds left, Avery Wagner forced a steal leading to an immediate foul by the Redskin. Brynnlee Pottmeyer made a free throw, then Waterford forced Fort Loramie to turn the ball over as time expired to seal the game.
“We came in this season for our senior year, and every single game, we all did it for this point,” Sury said. “And I just really think we really dug deep, and throughout the tournaments we faced so much physicality, so going into this game, we knew one more game, 32 minutes left of our entire high school career, so we knew what it needed to take and we went out on the court and we did just that and so it came out to a win.”
Wagner led Waterford with 16 points and Sury tallied 11. The Wildcats shot 47% from the field including 7-for-16 beyond the arc.
Waterford won the first-ever Division VII state championship after the OHSAA expanded to seven divisions before this school year. The Wildcats are champions for the first time since 2022 and third time under 20-year head coach Jerry Close, who has taken Waterford to the state title game six times since 2015.
“These girls have no idea how much they mean to me and this team and community,” Close said. “The leadership that they have given us all year to bring the other three younger players along — we just played six most of the time in big games. These guys have been patient, they have been leaders.”
Mescher recorded 19 points, most among all scorers, on 7-of-16 shooting. Fort Loramie shot 41% but went just 35.3% in makes during the first half.
“I mean, 32 minutes. Back and forth. We started off slow in that first quarter, but tremendous heart from this team,” Fort Loramie head coach Carla Siegel said. “I appreciate the seniors, and I think they just left everything on the line today.”
Here are photos from all the winning teams and runners up:
