Mar 16, 2025
Waterford’s Kendall Sury celebrates with teammate Avery Wagner (30) after the Wildcats defeated Fort Loramie 48-46 in Saturday’s state final in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)
DAYTON — For Avery Wagner, Kendall Sury and Avery Smithberger, their high school basketball careers ended exactly as they began — hoisting the state championship trophy.
Waterford’s senior trio combined for 39 points to help lead the Wildcats to a nail-biting 48-46 victory over Fort Loramie in Saturday’s Division VII state final at UD Arena.
Wagner, Sury and Smithberger were freshmen on the 2022 team that won it all and are now the only three players in program history with two state crowns. It’s the third state title overall for Waterford, which won the first one in 2016.
The Wildcats lost to Fort Loramie 42-29 in last year’s state final. They had to wait a year for a shot at revenge and didn’t miss.
Wagner, who finished with team-highs of 16 points, five rebounds, four blocks, four assists and three steals, came up with two pivotal defensive plays down the stretch.
The Waterford girls basketball team celebrates with the student section after the Wildcats defeated Fort Loramie 48-46 in Saturday’s state final in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)
Waterford led 47-46 with 17 seconds left. Fort Loramie had the ball, but an entry pass into the post was stolen by Wagner. Brynnlee Pottmeyer was fouled and made 1 of 2 at the free-throw line to make it a two-point game.
Victoria Mescher, who scored a game-high 19 points, took a short jumper to try and tie it, but Wagner rejected the shot out of bounds with three seconds on the clock. The Redskins were unable to get another shot off, turning it over with seven-tenths of a second remaining. The Wildcats inbounded quickly to Sury, ending the game and kicking off the celebration.
“These three young ladies right here have put us in this position,” said Waterford head coach Jerry Close, gesturing to his three seniors during the postgame press conference. “They come in as freshmen and get us a state championship. They’ve been fighting to get back. Got back last year and were disappointed. These girls have no idea how much they mean to me. The leadership they’ve given us all year — they have been patient, they have been leaders, they have been encouragers, everything you need the three young ladies to be to get us to this point.”
In last year’s matchup, turnovers were a huge issue for Waterford. This time around, the Wildcats committed 15 — the same as Fort Loramie — but only allowed 14 points off those miscues.
“We knew they were going to come out and pressure us, because that’s what they did to us last year,” said Sury, who had 15 points, four boards and four dimes. “We had so many turnovers (last year). We knew they were going to bully us out there. First quarter, we really held that to ourselves and got through that. Second quarter, they kind of got to us. So in the locker room we kind of talked about ‘They’re bullying us. We can’t let them do that.’ Second half, we did way better with the pressure. We felt more confident driving in and kicking out for those shots.”
Waterford’s Avery Wagner (30) attacks the basket as Fort Loramie’s Avery Brandewie (40) defends during Saturday’s state final in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)
Fort Loramie head coach Carla Siegel felt Wagner’s length was a key factor in Waterford handling the pressure.
“They have a 6-foot-4 girl they kept outletting to,” Siegel said. “We knew that was going to happen, we were just hoping we would sneak a steal here or there before it got to her. Getting steals is our transition for offense and we really didn’t get into that as much today as what we’re used to.”
The Redskins did, however, get plenty of offense. They shot 40.5% (15 for 37) and were 5 for 7 from the 3-point line.
“If you’d have told me before the game we were going to score 46 points today, I would’ve said we were going to win the game,” Siegel said. “I know it was two defensive teams going at it. Last year, it was 42-29. So if you would’ve said, ‘Hey, you’re going to score 46 points today on Waterford,’ I’d be like, ‘That’s a pretty good number. I think we’re going to win the game.’”
However, 46 wasn’t quite enough as Waterford was 16 for 34 (47.1%) from the floor and made seven 3-pointers on 16 attempts.
Waterford’s Kendall Sury, left, signals to teammates as Fort Loramie’s Victoria Mescher defends during Saturday’s state final in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)
Smithberger, who tallied eight points, four rebounds and two assists, got the 3-point barrage started in the final seconds of the first quarter when she banked in a trey from the corner. That gave the Wildcats a 12-7 lead after one.
“We knew coming in today they were probably going to double down on Avery and Kendall,” said Smithberger, who added another 3-ball late in the second to make it 23-15. “(Assistant coach) Todd (Hilverding) told me I have to be ready to shoot. Getting that shot off and making it gave me the confidence to keep shooting. This game, we hit big threes when we needed them.”
Wagner, who hit a pair of 3-pointers of her own, added “We’ve been working on our shooting and the threes came in clutch this game.”
Sury, Elsie Malec and Ava Hurley knocked down one 3-pointer apiece.
Trailing by eight, the Redskins got a 3-pointer from Mylee Shatto and a basket from Mescher to cut it to 23-20 at halftime. Mescher then opened the third with another basket to make it a one-point game.
Waterford’s Ava Hurley (20) looks to pass as Fort Loramie’s Victoria Mescher defends during Saturday’s state final in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)
Waterford, however, responded with an 8-0 run to extend the lead to nine. Sury scored Waterford’s final six points of the quarter to make it 40-30, but Ariel Heitkamp’s off-balance triple at the buzzer made it a seven-point game with eight minutes to play.
The Redskins got a 3-ball from Autumn Turner and a basket by Avery Brandewie, who finished with eight points and a game-high 12 boards, to get within two.
Sury scored Waterford’s next six points to pull back ahead 46-40, but the Redskins used a 6-1 run, capped by Mescher’s final basket of the game, to make it 47-46 with 1:02 left.
The Wildcats turned it over on their next possession, giving Fort Loramie the ball with a chance to take the lead, but the Waterford defense rose to the occasion.
“It’s guts. It’s leadership. It’s everything,” Close said.
Waterford head coach Jerry Close, right, gives a pep talk to the Wildcats’ starting five prior to Saturday’s state final against Fort Loramie in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)
“You ask these kids — they’re beat up. To go through three years of going to the state tournament and playing 27, 28, 29 games a year, it’s tough. They’ve never, not one time, made an excuse to not step forward. That’s what’s special about the program right now.”
Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.
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