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Regional Girls Hoops: Chippewa, Hiland, Loudonville and Triway dream of state berth

alex tichenor, wooster daily record
·6 min read

Two wins away.

Four Wayne/Holmes area teams enter this week with their state dreams alive. Chippewa, Hiland, Loudonville and Triway all have visions of Dayton Arena running through their heads somewhere. The only thing that stands in their way is their toughest competition of the playoffs yet.

Div. III Stow Regional

Triway vs. Chippewa (Wednesday, 6 p.m); Warrensville Heights vs. Keystone (Wednesday, 8 p.m.); championship game (Saturday, 2 p.m.) — all games at Stow-Monroe Falls High School

Chippewa senior Annie Henegar gets to the rim to put up this shot as she finished with eight points.
Chippewa senior Annie Henegar gets to the rim to put up this shot as she finished with eight points.

It's an all-Wayne County regional semifinal — one that seemed unlikely before the season began. Chippewa lost most of its rotation from its 2023 state runner-up team and Triway had never won a district in the history of its program. Now, one of them is guaranteed a spot in the regional finals.

Chippewa is coming off a miracle win over Smithville in the district final thanks to Bree Regan's lefty hook 3-pointer that beat the buzzer to win by a point. Odds are, that's not happening again, but the Chipps have the personnel to make life difficult for the Titans. They don't do it with one player. Only Aira Regan and Elena Moyer average double figures but the rest of Chippewa's staters — Bree Regan, Sky Regan and Annie Henegar — can all be the leading scorer on a given night. The Chipps speed their opponents up with aggressive, physical defense all over the court. They don't mind winning ugly and won't be intimidated by the moment.

'Once-in-a-lifetime': Bree Regan's miracle 3 gives Chippewa district title over Smithville

Triway has the pieces to match up with Chippewa, led by its two stars Caitlin Titler and Aaliyah Wirth. They won't be overwhelmed by Chippewa's quickness and athleticism that have baffled opponents all year long. Titler is always in control as a point guard and Wirth makes plays in transition that few high school girls have the ability to make. The supporting cast around those two — Sydney Frank, Payton Snyder, Kenzie Gatti, Zoey Baker and Tori Manley — all make contributions too. Winners of 21 of their last 22 games, including 20-plus-point victories in every playoff game so far, Triway is playing confident, efficient basketball on both ends of the floor.

Triway's Leah Wirth on a driving layup past Columbiana Alaina Johnson.
Triway's Leah Wirth on a driving layup past Columbiana Alaina Johnson.

In the other matchup, Warrensville Heights enters hungry for a state berth. The Tigers have been a regional regular for the past several years but haven't been able to break through to state just yet. Warrensville doesn't have the size it's had in year's past but its trio of dynamic point guard Leilani McNeil, sharpshooter Kamryn Ruffin and versatile forward Chelsea Johnson gives them as much talent as anyone in Stow. The Tigers haven't lost since Jan. 10, with wins over Laurel and Loudonville since then.

Keystone hasn't lost at all this year but hasn't played a schedule that compares with the other teams in the regional. But the Wildcats have been remarkably consistent, especially considering they only have one player — junior guard Brooklyn Barber (12.8 PPG) — score in double figures. The Wildcats thrive on forcing turnovers but will likely need to play a slower, uglier game to beat stay unbeaten Wednesday and beyond.

Ashley Mullet fires this runner in the lane and over the defense of Smithville's Leah Keib for two points.
Ashley Mullet fires this runner in the lane and over the defense of Smithville's Leah Keib for two points.

Div. IV Pickerington Regional

Hiland vs. Portsmouth Notre Dame (Thursday, 6 p.m.), Waterford vs. Newark Catholic (Thursday, 8 p.m.), championship game (Saturday, 7 p.m.) — all games at Pickerington North High School

Hiland is looking for a second state appearance in a row — and 20th overall. They have the team to do it. Point guard Ashley Mullet is one of the top players in Ohio and is a completely game-changer with her ability to create offense for herself and others. Forward Mallory Stutzman is a matchup problem for most teams with her combo of size and skill and post Joplin Yoder can take over games inside if teams if teams focus too much on other players. Players like Evie Mast (made five 3s in the regional final last year as a freshman), Trish Troyer (nine 3s against West Holmes this year) and Maci Mullet will be waiting for their opportunities as well.

Portsmouth Notre Dame is a perennial winner — nine straight 20-win seasons — but hasn't been able to break through the regional wall. They lost by 10 to Hiland last year, and this year's Hawks team is better in every aspect. The combo of Gracie Ashley (16.5 PPG, 8.1 RPG) and Katie Strickland (12.5 PPG, 8.9 RPG) is a matchup problem for most teams, but Hiland is equipped to deal with them.

Waterford and Newark Catholic have all the makings of state teams as well. Waterford is a perennial contender, winning a state title in 2022 and Newark Catholic hasn't lost a game all year. The two teams met in the regular season, with Newark Catholic emerging with a 62-61 overtime victory. Newark Catholic's trio of 6-foot-1 guard Sophie Peloquin, 6-2 Fini Kaiser and 5-7 Kylie Gibson makes them tough to guard and tough to get quality shots off on the other end. Waterford has its own matchup nightmare in 6-4 Avery Wagner, along with guard Kendall Sury.

Whoever comes out of this region will head to Dayton as one of the favorites to win the state title.

Loudonville's Corri Vermilya helped the Redbirds get past Mogadore in a Division IV district final at Norwayne.
Loudonville's Corri Vermilya helped the Redbirds get past Mogadore in a Division IV district final at Norwayne.

Div. IV Massillon Regional

Loudonville vs. Danbury (Thursday, 6 p.m.); New Middletown Springfield vs. Richmond Heights (Thursday, 8 p.m.); championship game (Saturday, 7 p.m.) — all games at Massillon Perry High School

Loudonville is looking for its breakthrough to state during a run of winning season after winning season. With star Corri Vermilya at the forefront, this is probably the Redbirds best chance to win a region since they were state runners-up in 1992. Vermilya (27.8 PPG, 12.0 RPG) is one the best in the state and capable of taking over games by herself. However, with every defensive gameplan focusing on her, and the opposing talent increasing every game, it's going to be tougher to come by those points than usual. Players like Mya Vermilya, Sophia Spangler and Jena Guilliams will need to have big games for the Redbirds to get to Dayton.

Danbury hasn't been seriously tested in tournament play, winning every playoff game by 15 points or more. They haven't faced a team of Loudonville's caliber yet, however, and haven't faced a player like Vermilya. Maria Maringer is the Lakers' go-to option on an otherwise balanced team.

Springfield is the returning regional champ but Richmond Heights enters as the favorite to advance to the final. A big reason for that is Honor Hall. The 5-foot-9 sophomore a game-breaking talent that few teams in Div. IV have the talent and athleticism to stop. Jameka Brungard is Springfield's player to watch but the Tigers will need to navigate Richmond Heights' pressure defense to get her the ball.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Girls Hoops: Previewing the Wayne/Holmes regional tournaments