VANDALIA – For the last two seasons, Fort Loramie has sent Cincinnati Country Day's girls basketball team home with a loss.
Last year it was at districts. Two years ago, it was in the Division IV regional final.
Thursday, coach John Snell's Nighthawks said enough was enough.
CCD played relentless defense and held last year's state champion Redskins to their second-lowest point total of the year in a 47-40 victory.
More:Which Cincinnati teams advanced in the OHSAA Division I girls basketball regionals?
CCD never trailed in the game. It was just the second loss for Fort Loramie, who ends the season 24-2. Their last loss was against Liberty-Benton (Findlay) Feb. 5.
"This means a whole lot to us for sure," Snell said. "It was something that we really geared up for. Our seniors really stepped up and said, 'Hey, let's do this!' I think we just bought in along with them."
Snell's Nighthawks played several bigger schools throughout the season and within their own Miami Valley Conference where Division III Purcell Marian also is a game away from a state semifinal.
More:OHSAA Division III girls regional: Purcell Marian's young Cavaliers have a shot at state
The tough schedule paid off, as well as the toughness of a group of soccer players from CCD's recently successful teams. Senior Sarah Zimmerman and her sophomore sisters Elizabeth and Megan run the pitch as well as the plywood, as does senior forward Jada Moorman, whom Snell calls the "X factor" due to her defense.
"They're like my favorite teammates ever," Sarah Zimmerman said of her sisters. "It's been so fun playing with them. It (soccer) keeps us in really good shape. We have a really competitive soccer team and we didn't get as far as we wanted in the tournament this year so it's time to get there in basketball."
Sarah Zimmerman will continue her soccer and basketball career at Washington and Lee University in Virginia.
Non-soccer player Gracie Barnes and Megan Zimmerman topped the Nighthawks with 11 points and now hope to advance to the University of Dayton next week with a victory in Saturday's regional final.
"We worked so hard all season," Barnes said. "We were the underdogs. No one expected us to even win districts. We deserve this more than anyone."
CCD has never been to the state semifinals in basketball.
CCD raced out to a 14-5 to start the game somewhat to the shock of Fort Loramie fans who saw their Redskins win a DIV state title a year ago. A 3-pointer by sophomore Samantha Easter ended the first quarter.
In the second, Fort Loramie 5-foot-3-inch point guard Riley Heitkamp tried to shoot her team back in it, but the CCD attack continued. To end the half, Barnes nailed a trey for the 10-point advantage.
By the end of third quarter, Fort Loramie had made six treys to cut into the lead. Heitkamp had four of those and CCD's lead was five at 34-29.
Heitkamp would finish with another 3-pointer to lead Fort Loramie with 15 points, while senior Ava Sholtis added 13. The Redskins were seven points short, however, as CCD's girls jumped for glee and some students stormed the floor.
The Nighthawks are now 20-4.They will return to Vandalia Butler for the 1 p.m. Division IV final Saturday against New Madison Tri-Village. CCD began their season with the Patriots back on Nov. 20 to begin the season.
"I think it'll be a little bit different game for us," Snell said. "I think they'll be a little bit more ready for us. I think it's going to be a tough game. This school's never made it to state. It would be a great honor if they did."
CCD 14 14 6 13 47
FL 5 13 11 11 40
CCD: Easter 2 2 8 S. Zimmerman 3 1 7 M. Zimmerman 3 4 11 E. Zimmerman 4 0 8 Barnes 3 3 11 McClean 1 0 2
FL: Brandewie 2 0 5 Turner 1 0 3 Heitkamp 5 0 15 Sholtis 5 3 13 Meyer 02 2 Meecher 1 0 2
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