Tigers continue remarkable tourney run in Dayton

ATTICA – The Final Four.The Seneca East girls basketball team wanted to make a deep run in the tournament but wasn't expecting to go to state for the first time in program history.Now, the glass ceiling is broken.SE will be facing Russia in the state semifinals Friday at 1 p.m. at Wright State University's Nutter Center."It hasn't hit me yet that we are going to state," SE coach George Parks said. "I will probably look back in two weeks and realize how special it is."According to Maxpreps, the Tigers (20-7) are currently ranked eighth in Division VII, while the Raiders (24-3) are ranked No. 1."It's such a rewarding experience to be able to go from where we were freshman year to where we are now," senior guard Izzy Stockmaster said. "Just being able to be there is surreal."Four years ago, SE had a 1-22 record. Over the next three years, the program has undergone a major rebuild and it hasn't gone unnoticed by their opponent."They have been a great example of what hard work is," Russia's coach Mike Bashore said. "Going from only winning one game to the Final Four is amazing. We are looking forward to a great game between two great teams going at it."But SE isn't the only team having a first.It's Russia's first trip to state as well."We are very excited to play on Friday against Seneca East," Bashore said. "What a great experience for our girls, and for both teams to play for the first time is exciting."But it won't be a walk in the park.Russia will be the third consecutive team with 20-plus wins that SE has faced. The Raiders haven't lost a game since January 13th against Anna. They are bringing in a 12-game winning streak into Friday's tilt.SE brings a balance of both offense and defense to the floor.On the offensive side of the court, two seniors have over 1,000 career points, which is rare to have in one season. The first is Alexa Snay, a 5-foot-10 forward who can rebound and score near the net. She averages 13 points per game, and seven rebounds. Stockmaster averages 13.4 points per game, five rebounds per game, two assists per game, and 4.8 steals. She is a critical part of the Tigers explosive offense, as well as defense.The Raiders have five girls that are on their third year of varsity in the starting lineup, including SCAL's player of the year Hazel Francis. Francis averages 10.3 points per game. Russia has junior forward Celeste Borchers as well, who scored 15 points to help lead Russia to defeat Cedarville 40-32. The other shooter for the Raiders is sophomore guard Aryana Cordonnier who scored 10 points in the game against Cedarville. Borchers can attack on the inside, while Cordonnier can be dangerous from the outside and can createlong-range options."We know Seneca East is a very physical team," Bashore said. "We know they are a great defensive team as well."Defensively, the Tigers have senior guard Cami Lantz, senior forward Madi Smith, and the lone freshman on the team, guard Aubrey Ritzler.Lantz nailed a huge triple to pull SE over Maplewood and according to Parks is a defensive specialist. She forces two turnovers per game, as well as two steals, and has two rebounds per game.Smith scores five points per game, though in the game against WR, she scored 10 points, six rebounds, and three steals. The winner of the semifinal will face either No.2 Ottoville (22-4) or No. 3 Strasburg-Franklin (23-5) on Saturday at the University of Dayton Arena at 10:45 a.m. "We are going to embrace the moment," Parks said. "We will give it everything we got and go from there."