VANDALIA — Xenia had the unfortunate circumstance of facing Wayne in the first round of the girls Division I sectional Feb. 16 at Butler High School.
The Buccaneers won only a single game during the regular season while Wayne entered the game winners of its last eight games and 14-4 overall. You can guess the outcome. Wayne dominated the game to walk away with a 96-17 victory.
the two Greater Western Ohio Conference teams did not meet during the regular season. Wayne is in the GWOC’s National East divison, while Xenia plays in the GWOC American South. The Warriors advance to face another GWOC South opponent next: West Carrollton (7-15) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at Butler.
Wayne opened the game with a 20-0 run against Xenia, and had a 34-4 lead by the end of the first quarter. Sophomore standout Aubryanna Hall scored 12 of her game-high 24 points in the opening quarter while Olivia Trice had seven, including a 3-pointer; Destiny Bohanon had six, Lovie Malone four and Kyra Willis two as Wayne put the game away by the end of the opening period.
Seniors Destiny Bohanon finished with 20 points and Olivia Trice 14 while junior Nyla Hampton had 10 even though all three distributed the ball to open teammates throughout the contest. Ten of 14 players on the Wayne roster contributed to the victory.
Sophomore Kamea Baker, who led the team this season with a 9.6 points per game scoring average, led Xenia with six points scored against the Warriors. Freshman Bryanna Mardis scored on a 3-pointer, while freshman Haley McManus, sophomore Reaghan Wakefield, freshman Makyna Carr and junior Kelli Hatfield each scored two points. Alashia Adams is the lone senior listed on Xenia’s roster for this season, and played her final game as a Buccaneer.
Wayne’s coach, Travis Trice, had good things to say about Xenia coach Jamie Hand and his program.
“I had a good talk with Xenia’s coach,” Trice said. “I think he is a good guy and I think the right guy probably for the job over there. He’s got the right mindset and he is playing some younger kids. He said it is going to take him some time to build the program and I think that is the right approach to have.”
