Columbiana’s Megan Moser lines up for a three against Southern on Wednesday as her teammates look on Wednesday. (Photo by Michael Burich)

SALINEVILLE –Southern Local girls basketball coach Mike Skrinjar knew he had a special group this season and he believed that a perfect regular season was entirely within the Indians’ grasp.

“I’ve been watching the teams that go play in Dayton and I keep telling these girls this is something we can do,” Skrinjar said. “We have the right recipe. The girls work hard and commit especially during the season. We have the nucleus.”

On a night when Southern senior Allyssa Shroades reached the 1,000-point mark for her career and scored the winning basket with 10.7 seconds left, the Indians celebrated the school’s first outright Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference title as well as a school record 22-0 regular season in a thrilling 47-45 win.

“I knew I had to step up,” Shroades said. “It was now or never. I knew I had to take that shot.”

With freshman star Katie Kellogg having fouled out with 1:17 left to go and the score tied at 45, the Indians looked to their next best option.

“When we originally designed that play we originally wanted to go left, but (Shroades) told me why can’t we go right so she can use her right hand,” Skrinjar said. “But tonight she went left. She’s a phenomenal athlete and could handle it. The scouting report probably said force her right, but she went and took what the defense gave her.”

Shroades, whose sister Ashley is the second all-time leading scorer in Columbiana County history, went over 1,000 points for her career with 6:28 left in the third quarter on a three-pointer. She now has 1,006 for her career after a 10-point, three assist and two steal night.

Playing a secondary role for most of her career, the 1,000-point mark wasn’t something that was necessarily in reach until things started really clicking her senior season.

“I didn’t see that happening my first two years, but last year my coach came up to me and talked to me about it,” Shroades said. “He said I could accomplish it and now I have.”

Columbiana lost by 16 to Southern in the first meeting of the season. Just last season Columbiana cruised to a 22-0 regular season and beat the Indians 58-18 and 42-11. The Clippers go into the tournament 17-5 overall and 12-2 in the EOAC.

“I just wanted to come here and show that Columbiana is still Columbiana,” Clipper coach Dave Crismon said. “I wanted to compete on the big stage and I think the kids did that.”

The Clippers had an opportunity to steal a win in a crowded gym in front of a live television audience as Megan Moser hit one of her four threes on the night with 2:14 to play to give the Clippers a 45-41 lead. Moser paced the Clippers with 15 points.

But Southern’s aggressive defense coupled with a few ball-handling errors by the Clippers opened the door for the Indians’ big celebration.

“It’s just a matter of taking care of the basketball in those crucial moments. Sometimes we got a little careless with the ball,” Crismon said.

Kellogg led the winners with 25 points five rebounds, six steals and two assists. She picked up her fourth foul with 3.8 seconds left in the third quarter and was on the bench until 5:38 left in the fourth quarter.

Southern, the fifth seed in the Div. VI Northeast region, will host the winner of No. 22 seed Hillsdale and No. 29 Black River on Feb. 19 in a sectional final.

The Indians will have to be careful though as the undefeated Columbiana team from last season was eliminated in the first tournament game by a team from the Wayne County Athletic League.

Skrinjar thinks that the example exists that a team from the Northeast region can do great things in the tournament and he hopes that the Indians are the ones in that position this season.

“Look at what Rootstown did,” Skrinjar said. “They went all the way to the state championship from our super district. McDonald has done it. Loudonville has done it. Anybody in this super district can make it to the state championship.”

Columbiana will now turn its attention to the postseason. The Clippers are the 10th seed in the Div. V regional and will host 13th seed Ravenna Southeast on Feb. 21 in a sectional final. If the Clippers post two wins in the tournament they could be headed for a district final with Crestview who earned the top seed.

“We’re going to take a few days off and then go compete against Southeast,” Crismon said.

Notes

¯ Crismon thought Southern was in the running for the best team the Clippers faced this season. He said Wheeling Central and Western Reserve were also very tough teams.

¯ Skrinjar didn’t want to commit to saying how his opponents ranked but said Columbiana was in the mix with OVAC tournament opponents Shadyside and Caldwell.

CO: 12-6-15-13–45

SO: 8-12-14-13–49

COLUMBIANA SCORING: Evy Rapp 3-3-9, Annah Clemmer 3-1-7, Megan Moser 5-1-15, Sydney Spaite 0-0-0, Tori Waselich 3-3-9, Camile Jeffries 2-1-5, Lexi Davis 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 16, 9-14: 45.

SOUTHERN SCORING: Katie Kellogg 4-11-25, Allyssa Shroades 4-0-10, Kalayah Crute 4-2-10, Makenna Jones 1-0-2, Haylee Kellogg 0-0-0, Raelea Carosiello 0-0-0, Maddy Jones 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 13, 13-16: 47.

Three-point goals: Columbiana 4 (Moser), Southern 6 (K. Kellogg 4, Shroades 2)