Lady Wave come close to upset win; but lose to Tecumseh in playoffs

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By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

TROTWOOD — The Lady Wave competed all game long against the third seeded Tecumseh High School girls basketball team on Feb. 6 at Trotwood-Madison High School. As the 18th seed, Greenville came close to an upset but ultimately fell 64-56 to the Lady Arrows in the first round of the Division II Southwest District Sectional Tournament.

Head coach Rachel Kerns said the team played well for a majority of the game. The small stretch of time where the team had their struggles was the difference in the game.

“Possession for possession, I said we had to play really well for 32 minutes and we played pretty good for about 29 minutes. If we could go back and take three minutes out of that game and play really well, I truly believe the outcome would be different,” Kerns said.

The Lady Wave led 16-14 after the first quarter. They came out with great intensity and competed well against Tecumseh.

The offense was able to get behind the Lady Arrows’ defense often in the first quarter. While the offense missed their first few shots, they capitalized on their opportunites after.

Senior Skylar Fletcher and sophomore Megan Lind both had six points in the first quarter. Fletcher was able to drive to the hoop easily during the opening quarter. While Greenville was bringing the ball up, Lind got some free runs to the hoop and had some layup opportunites.

In the second quarter, it was tied up at 25-25 with just under four minutes left. The Lady Wave did have a small stretch of turnovers where the Lady Arrows took advantage and gained the lead.

With the clock winding down, Greenville was able to stay within three points of Tecumseh. But from all the way near the three-point line on the other side of the court, Tecumseh heaved a last second half-court shot and drained it. The Lady Arrows had a 35-29 lead going into halftime.

During the third quarter, Greenville had another small stretch where the offense stalled and Tecumseh took advantage. Entering the fourth quarter, the Lady Arrows had a 51-39 lead.

Greenville did not quit after the third quarter. The seniors stepped up and helped the Lady Wave inch closer to the Lady Arrows.

“The seniors that I have this year is why you want to keep coaching. Talk about our seniors, four of my five starters are seniors and they played some of their best basketball tonight. How exciting for them to get to go off on such a high positive note,” Kerns said.

Senior Gracie Thacker had six points in the final quarter. Seniors Minaxi Pandey and Josie Camocho each had a big three-point shot to make it a closer game.

Kerns said she didn’t think Tecumseh felt comfortable during the game. Even when they had a double-digit lead, the Lady Wave made them work for their points.

But because of the last second three pointer before half from Tecumseh, Greenville had to play the foul game with two minutes left in the game. Despite their great effort, Greenville couldn’t get the upset win.

Pandey led the Lady Wave with 14 points. Fletcher finished the game with 11 points. Thacker and Lind both had 10 points while Camocho had nine points.

Greenville finished the 2022-23 season with a 6-16 record and a 5-13 conference record. While they will lose a great senior class, the Lady Wave will be returning some young talent that will be ready to compete next season.

“I think we got a lot of young ones coming back that are hungry and now they understand how it goes. It will be exciting to see what the future does hold,” Kerns said.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]

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