Lady Red Devils take regional title

SESSER — Postseason was made for sweet revenge.
Sesser-Valier got that about a year earlier than anticipated here Thursday night, whipping up Johnston City, 64-42, to avenge an earlier season loss and take the Class 2A Sesser-Valier Regional title.
Sesser-Valier's Jaylin Haley took the game over in the third quarter, scoring 12 of the Lady Red Devils' 15 points. Procuring a 40-33 lead heading into the final eight minutes, Haley delivered the dagger early in the fourth with her second three-point bucket to push the advantage to 10.
Sesser-Valier owned the fourth quarter with teammate — and the team's only senior — Karson Severs knocking down a pair of back-to-back treys during a 12-0 run that saw S-V go from a five-point lead to 17.
"I said, 'Whose got us there all year long?' I said, 'Karson Severs, so we're going to go with Karson Severs,' " said S-V coach Rick Metcalf. "We ran her off a couple of staggered screens twice. We went to the well till the well ran dry, and bam, bam, hit them both."
Haley led Sesser-Valier (23-4) with 25 points. Severs and Paige Tucker added 12 points each.
The Red Devils outscored Johnston City 24-9 in the final frame and were absolutely deadly from the charity stripe, canning 21-of-25 attempts. The Lady Indians were nearly as accurate from the line, hitting on 13-of-17 attempts.
However, the Lady Indians couldn't buy a bucket in the second half, shooting a miserable 6-of-25 while the Red Devils were 11-of-19 from the field in the last 16 minutes.
Johnston City senior Paige Rich led the Indians with 21 points.
Metcalf said it was Johnston City, who hadn't won a regional since 1987 and defeated the Lady Red Devils by five points earlier in the regular season that was supposed to be advancing.
"We weren't supposed to be there. This was supposed to be their night. They played real well but we stepped up to the plate tonight. The girls actually circled that game (rematch with JC) for next year. They couldn't wait to play them again. We got them on our home court. It couldn't have worked out any better," he said.
Johnston City ended its season with a mark of 26-4.
S-V advances to the Trico Sectional where they will face the state's top-ranked Class 2A team in Breese Central.
"They're the number one team in the state with 10 seniors. They've got you outmatched at every spot. There's only one team that can beat them on a night and that's us," Metcalf said.
Breese Central advanced with a 47-29 victory over Belleville Althoff and will play the Lady Red Devils at 7 p.m. Monday. Vienna and Dupo regional winners will face off on Tuesday night and the championship game is 7 p.m. Thursday.
Another Franklin County team advanced to a sectional on Thursday. Christopher topped Webber Township, 59-49, for the Class A title at Steeleville.