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Hartley girls basketball falls to Unioto in OHSAA regional final
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- Hartley girls basketball falls to Unioto in OHSAA regional final
Although it wasn't the finish she hoped for, Shannon Payer took pride in her first season as Hartley girls basketball coach.
The Hawks (19-7) saw their season end March 7 with a 66-44 loss to Chillicothe Unioto in a Division III regional final at Ohio Dominican.
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"It was tough because these kids have accomplished so much more than they set out to do this year," said Payer, a 1995 Hartley graduate who played in the program. "My heart breaks for them because I have seen them in one short year really start to change the culture of this program. ... It's hard when you lose in a game like this, but it doesn't take away from everything else they've done to get to this point of the season."
Hartley seniors Ella Schindler, left, and Keegan McKnight accept the runner-up trophy from assistant principal Andrew Jahahan after the Hawks lost 66-44 to Chillicothe Unioto in a Division III regional final March 7 at Ohio Dominican.
One other central Ohio team was in action March 7. Africentric (22-5) lost 54-42 to Ottawa-Glandorf in a Division V regional final at Mansfield Senior.
Pickerington Central (Division I), Big Walnut (Division II) , Circleville (Division IV) and Harvest Prep (Division VI) advanced to the state tournament with wins March 6.
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Senior guard Milee Smith led Unioto, making eight 3-pointers and scoring 42 points.
In Hartley's 62-46 win over Unioto on Dec. 6, Smith suffered an ankle injury in the first half and missed the rest of the game.
The University of Dayton signee came out firing in the rematch, hitting three 3s in the first quarter to help Unioto build a 26-19 lead. That would be the closest the Hawks would get the rest of the way.
Unioto led by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter.
"[Smith is] a great player," Payer said. "When you're a senior like that, you're not willing to let it go. She played the game of her life."
Hartley assistant principal Andrew Jahahan presents a runner-up medal to coach Shannon Payer following the Hawks' 66-44 loss to Chillicothe Unioto in a Division III regional final March 7 at Ohio Dominican.
Sophomore Naomie "Pinky" Burnett led Hartley with 11 points and junior Zakhari Harrison had 10.
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Hartley played without junior guard Miah Smith, who missed the game because of a family commitment. Smith made the game-winning 3-pointer in a 36-35 overtime win over Granville in a regional semifinal March 5.
Senior guard Keegan McKnight missed Hartley's final three postseason games after breaking her left collarbone Feb. 23 in a 58-18 win over Bexley in a district semifinal.
"It was really hard [missing those games]," McKnight said. "It felt like I couldn't do anything to help my team. I could support them, but I couldn't actually do anything."
Unioto (25-2) will play Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (21-5) in a state semifinal March 12 at Wright State.
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"It's tough right now, but there's still a lot of positive things ahead," Payer said. "This is going to sting for a few days and we're going to look at what we have to do better next year and how we get to that next step. We're going to get back in the gym in 30 days and we're going to do that."
High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Unioto beats Hartley for OHSAA girls basketball regional title
