DAYTON, Ohio — Shaker Heights Laurel freshman Jordyn Meyer made a go-ahead layup with five seconds left to help the Gators beat Proctorville Fairland 53-52 in the OHSAA Division II girls’ basketball state semifinal at UD Arena on Friday.
Shaker Heights Laurel (19-10) will make its first appearance in the state championship game. This is the second time the Gators have made the state semifinals in three years.
“All year we’ve been talking about when the weapons form not allowing them to prosper,” Shaker Heights Laurel head coach Terrina Robinson said. “I think today more than ever we pushed through when adversity hit and we showed people what Laurel basketball is all about.”
Locked into a 40-all game entering the fourth quarter, both teams remained tied at 46 points with fewer than four minutes to go.
Shaker Heights Laurel’s Saniyah Hall made a turnaround jump shot giving the Gators a 48-46 edge with 3:05 left. Hall made one of two free throws with 1:58 to go. Needing a 3, Proctorville Fairland (26-2) got one from Bree Allen to tie the game at 49 with 1:02 remaining.
Both teams traded layups as the final minute ticked away.
Shaker Heights Laurel called a timeout with 15 seconds left. Breaking the huddle, Hall passed to Meyer under the basket, and Meyer made the go-ahead score to bring the game to 53-51 with 5 seconds left.
“We had to scratch the whole idea, and I had all the coaches yelling at me to get open,” Meyer said. “But the basket was wide open, and Saniyah, with her God-given talent, got where she needed to go. So it ended up having me wide open and if it wasn’t for Saniyah getting open then it would’ve never happened.”
Bailey Russell led Proctorville Fairland’s final try and was fouled on her last-second shot attempt. She made the first of her two free throws but missed the second.
“There’s nobody that came from Proctorville that would regret coming to this game,” Proctorville Fairland head coach Jon Buchanan said. “I mean, it was a really, really back-and-forth battle.”
Hall led all scorers with 26 points and 15 rebounds. Meyer finished with 14 points along with three 3-pointers. Russell was one of four Dragons to score 11 points. She was joined by Kamryn Barnitz, Kylee Bruce and Addison Godby.
Shaker Heights Laurel will play the winner of Copley-Cincinnati Purcell Marian in the Division II final Saturday at 5:15 p.m.
“A lot of people have been talking about revenge tours,” Robinson said. “We take things personal, and that’s all I got to say.”