Williamsburg’s Maggie Carver (33) attempts a short-range shot against Fayetteville-Perry’s Lilee Coffman (54) during a Division VI Southwest District 1 semifinal game Feb. 19, 2025, at Monore High School in Monore.
Ladycats’ 20-plus win season ends in district semifinals
Williamsburg’s Emily Earley, right, battles for the ball against Fayetteville-Perry’s Scarlett Crawford during a Division VI Southwest District 1 semifinal game Feb. 19, 2025, at Monore High School in Monore.
Williamsburg’s Peyton Jones rushes down the court in the opening minutes of a Division VI Southwest District 1 semifinal game Feb. 19, 2025, against Fayetteville-Perry at Monore High School in Monore.
Williamsburg’s Taylor Battista (2) tries to maintain possession of the ball against Fayetteville-Perry’s Aubrey Barber (4) during a Division VI Southwest District 1 semifinal game Feb. 19, 2025, at Monore High School in Monore.
MONROE — Fayetteville-Perry had revenge on its mind in the Lady Rockets’ rematch with neighboring county school Williamsburg, and the Lady Rockets took advantage of that extra motivation.
The Lady Rockets raced out to a 17-4 first-quarter lead and outscored the Ladycats 14-3 after Williamsburg pulled within five midway through the second quarter for a 58-38 victory in a Division VI Southwest District 1 semifinal game Feb. 19 at Monroe High School.
“They definitely had the taste of revenge because in the first game, we did not play our best game, we shot poorly and they had a fantastic game,” Lady Rockets coach Tory Rummel said. “I think that motivated the girls throughout the week. They did not want to have that feeling again.”
The top-seeded Lady Rockets advanced to the district championship against Anna. Williamsburg’s season ends at 21-3 overall, which included a crown in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference.
“They jumped on us early and against a very good team; you have to play your best ball,” Williamsburg coach Donnie Donohoo said. “We just got off to a slow start.”
The Ladycats defeated Fayetteville-Perry on Feb. 3, days before the sectional tournament drawings were released.
A little more than two weeks later, the Lady Rockets set a tone early by racing out to a 9-0 lead through the first 3:04 of the game and forced nine takeaways on defense.
“Scouting-wise, we knew what to expect from each girl. We knew which one was left-handed, right-handed, who likes to shoot outside and who likes to drive,” Rummel said. “In practice, we put girls in their jerseys and worked on taking everything away.”
By the 3:32 mark, Aubrey Barber tallied nine of the Lady Rockets’ 11 points as part of the team’s 11-2 advantage. Ryley Kleemeyer recorded the bucket and drew the harm, knocking down her foul shot to complete the old-fashioned three-point play two possessions later. Christina Murphy connected on a free throw, and Cara Rummel drained a bucket with 1:22 remaining in the opening quarter.
Williamsburg’s Delaney Donohoo accounted for all of the Ladycats’ first-quarter points, including a bucket on an assist from Peyton Jones at the 4:44 mark and an assist to Maggie Carver with 15 seconds left.
Williamsburg began to chip away at the double-digit deficit and positioned itself to flip the game in its favor.
Brynn Ayers connected on a jumper 29 seconds into the second quarter. Jones’ inbound pass to Carver resulted in the senior knocking down her jump shot attempt, cutting the Fayetteville lead to 17-8 with 6:25 to play in the first half.
The Ladycats’ perimeter shooting continued to shine, with Jones knocking down a mid-range shot and Carver’s pass to Donohoo resulting in another jumper. Murphy’s 3-pointer halted the Ladycats’ 8-0 run, but Ayers answered with a 3-pointer to pull the Ladycats to 20-15 with 4:37 left.
Donnie Donohoo quickly called timeout, hoping to gameplan for an eventual lead.
“We were trying to get the matchups and try different schemes and something that could consistently work,” Donohoo said. “Fayetteville just played really, really well.”
Instead, the stoppage worked in the Lady Rockets’ favor, which was a turning point in the game.
“I do,” Rummel said when asked if she thought the timeout served as a turning point. Anytime we can regroup and get ourselves refocused, we can get reset and go back out there and do what we need to do.”
Fayetteville concluded the quarter on a 14-3 run, with Williamsburg’s lone field goal in the final 4:37 coming on a Taylor Battista 3-pointer on a pass from Jones with 26 seconds left.
In the meantime, Barber connected on a bucket three seconds after the timeout. Scarlett Crawford scored on back-to-back possessions, the first on a runner and the second on a bucket and foul, to extend the Lady Rockets’ lead to 27-15. Cara Rummel connected for a 2-pointer and drew the foul on a bucket for a 32-15 advantage, and Barber ended the team’s first-half scoring with a 2-point field goal with 44 seconds to go.
“I can’t say enough about the rebounding, the assists — how they shared the ball was phenomenal,” Rummel said. “They are truly a ‘we’ over ‘me’ kind of team, and that’s how they play.”
The Lady Rockets cruised in the second half, but Williamsburg sophomore KK Pollitt put in productive minutes in the third quarter by scoring all her six points in the stanza. The Ladycats pulled within 11 at one point in the third quarter but couldn’t rally like they did in the second stanza.
Carver, the lone senior on the team, played her final game in a Williamsburg uniform. She finished with four points.
“She was amazing for us and a very good, unselfish leader,” Donohoo said. “She worked her butt off for us, and we’re sorry to see her leave.”