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CRESTON -- Southern's memorable girls basketball season which included a share of the Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference crown, came to a surprising end Wednesday night as the No. 6 seeded Indians were upended by No. 9 seeded Mogadore 51-41 in a Division IV district semifinal at Norwayne High School.
Tthe Indians bow out with an 18-7 record.
Afterward, an emotional Southern head coach Michael Skrinjar with tears welling up in his eyes, talked of all his team accomplished and the many memories they created this season.
"It's a complete team," said Skrinjar. "Four years ago when we played against Maplewood in the tournament, both (seniors) Ashley (Shroades) and Josie (Stanley) decided to reinvent the program and they did that in their four years with over 60 wins as a team. The things that they did together -- this is a very emotional time and a very difficult time because of all of the memories you get to share with these young ladies. They built the foundation for the rest of the crew."
Mogadore (13-11) advances to Saturday's D4 district championship game against No. 1-seeded Loudonville which rolled past Lowellville 65-17 in the first half of Wednesday's district twin bill.
"We thought it was going to be a very close game -- a tough fought game because they (the Indians) are a great team and have weapons just like we do," said Mogadore head coach Jen Ritch.
"Respect to Mogadore, they came out and played a great game," said Skrinjar. "It was very competitive and they definitely played a hustle game, they were working really hard and that's what you want to see -- you want competitive basketball and that was at the highest level and that's what you're going to get from championship basketball."
Southern was led by senior star Ashley Shroades, the Columbiana County girls' basketball player of the year, who took game-scoring honors with 24 points, despite being double-teamed throughout the game. Teammates Makenna Jones and senior Josie Stanley added 10 and seven points, respectively, for the Indians.
"We obviously had to get a hand in her face because she (Shroades) is a great player," said Ritch. "She's a great offensive threat, she can shoot the three, she can drive and she's great at the foul line, so we had to stay between her and the basket and try not to get into foul trouble."
Mogadore displayed a well-balanced offensive attack as Brooklyn McIntyre led the way with 18 points, Ari Tompkins finished with 17 markers and Julie Thompkins and Amelia Morris added eight points each.
"Considering we were under .500 at the halfway point and as soon as Brook (McIntyre) came back (from an injury) we started getting it together and got our chemistry back," said Rich.
Mogadore jumped out to an early 5-0 lead but Southern outscored the Wildcats 17-12 the remainder of the period and took a 17-14 lead after one period when Stanley hit a deep three-pointer at the buzzer.
But Mogadore, which held a 14-9 rebounding edge over the Indians in the first half, chipped away at the Indians' advantage and took a 23-21 lead when Ari Tompkins converted a short fielder with 1:28 showing before halftime and made that score stand up at the break.
Shroads had 12 of the Indians' 21 points in the first half.
Mogadore, which led 35-30 after three quarters, locked up the win in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats went up by as many as 14 points on two occasions, the last coming at 49-35 late in the game before Southern closed the final deficit to 10.
Skrinjar says he will always remember this special season for Southern and he knows his team members will as well.
"The girls have got to take that moment (all of the success) and let it soak in and I'm super proud of the program," said the Southern coach. "We were demanding out of them and they rose to the occasion and played together as a team."
Game notes
• Reigning Ohio Division III player of the year Corri Vermilya scored 25 points in the Loudonville win.
Vermilya is averaging 28 points per game this season for the 23-2 Redbirds.
• Lowellville ended its season 11-14.
First Game
LOU: 19-22-14-10--65
LOW: 3- 9- 4- 1--17
LOUDONVILLE SCORING: Mya Vermilya 5-3-17, Corri Vermilya 9-5-25, Hanna Porter 0-0-0, Jena Guilliams 0-0-0, Addison Wolford 0-0-0, Braylayn Hauderschild 0-0-0, Sydney Spangler 6-0-12, Abby Eikleberry 0-0-0, Laila Machester 0-0-0, Kyler Staten 0-0-0, Sophie Lee 1-0-2, Elly Hensel 0-0-0, Elly Hensel 0-0-0, Alesha Felix 3-1-7. TEAM TOTALS: 25, 9-12: 65.
LOWELLVILLE SCORING: Aubrey Kester 0-1-1, Sydney Procick 1-1-3, Morgan LEwsi 1-0-3, Alyssa Kuzan 0-0-0, Gianna Palumbo 0-0-0, Serinna Tych 4-1-9, Isabella Willrich 0-0-0, Victoria Beatty 0-1-1. TEAM TOTALS: 6, 4-16: 17.
Three-point goals: Loudonville 6 (M. Vermilya 4, C. Vermilya 2), Lowellville 1 (Lewis).
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Second Game
M: 14-9-12-16--51
S: 17-4- 9-11--41
MOGADORE SCORING: Julie Thompkins 3-0-8, Amelia Morris 4-0-8, Brooklyn McIntyre 6-4-18, Ari Tompkins 5-6-17, Savannah Thomas 0-0-0, Olivia Kidd 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 18, 10-20: 51
SOUTHERN SCORING: Alyssa Shroades 0-0-0, Makenna Jones 4 2-3 10, Hailey Maines 0-0-0, Haylee Kellogg 0-0-0, Addyson Martin 0-0-0, Raelea Carosiello 0-0-0, Ashley Shroades 8-4-24, Josie Stanley 3-0-7. TEAM TOTALS: 15, 6-9: 41
Three-point goals: Mogadore 5 (Julie Thompkins 2, Brooklyn McIntyre 2, Ari Tompkins 1). Southern 5 (Ashley Shroads 4, Josie Stanley 1).
Total fouls: Mogadore 15, Southern 17. Fouled out: none.