Ripley Union handles business at home
By: Jamey Spears
Posted on:
RIPLEY, Ohio (WOUB) — The 7-15 (4-8) Nelsonville-York Lady Buckeyes traveled to face the 14-8 (6-7) Ripley Lady Blue Jays in the first round of the OHSAA girls state tournament. After a strong second half, the Blue Jays broke away from the Buckeyes winning 63-22.
In the first quarter, Megan Booth got an easy bucket in the paint to go up early 2-0. But this was the last lead for Nelsonville-York as Brooklyn Manning scored for Ripley to tie up the game. The first quarter stalled out after that only 15 total points scored.
The Buckeyes found themselves in a hole early in the second quarter. A strong and-one by Alayna Okulich put Nelsonville-York within five points of Ripley. The Blue Jays ran a full-court press all game and forced 12 turnovers in the first half.
Going into the half the score was 23-16 Blue Jays.
Coming out of the break Ripley jumped out to an 18-4 run and never looked back. Raquel Hackney led the charge for the Blue Jays with 8 third-quarter points. Six of those points came from behind the arc. After this run it would be too late for the Buckeyes to come back in this one.
Ripley had strong performances by senior Grace Taylor who led the team with 19 points. Brooklyn Manning and Raquel Hackney had 18 and 13 points alongside the senior.
Nelsonville-York had two seniors on the squad that played their last high school game. Alayna Okulich and Megan Booth. The Buckeyes’ two leading scorers in this game were the only two seniors. Okulich led the team with 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals. Booth had 13 points of her own along with 7 rebounds.
“Megan (Booth) was the one of the smartest players I have ever coached,” Head Coach Mark Truax said. “Alayna has come so far from freshman year until where she is now.”
The seniors will truly be missed for this Buckeyes team that finished fifth in the conference. Nelsonville-York will return bright stars like Madi Pidcock, Cam Jolley, and Veda Stalder to their squad next year. Ripley continues in the OHSAA girls state tournament with a matchup against conference rival Whiteoak at Southeastern next Tuesday.