St. Paul, NL seek district title games

Two area Firelands Conference teams will look to return to a district championship game in their respective divisions Wednesday night. In Division VII, St. Paul (11-12) will rematch with St. Mary Central Catholic (11-13) at 6 p.m. in a district semifinal at Gibsonburg High School. FC champion New London (20-3) takes on Woodmore (17-6) in a Div. VI district semifinal at 7:30 p.m. at Fremont Ross High School. The Flyers were the No. 3 seed in their Northwest District group. St. Paul advanced with a 41-38 win over Old Fort in a sectional title game on Feb. 21 in Norwalk. They trailed 34-30 with under four minutes left before outscoring the Stockaders 11-4 the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the No. 5 Panthers won two narrow sectional games to earn the rematch against St. Paul. First, SMCC topped Maumee Valley Country Day, 55-53, in overtime on Feb. 18. The Panthers then topped Danbury, 38-32, on Feb. 21 to advance. The winner of Wednesday's game will face either No. 1 Seneca East (16-7) or No. 5 Hopewell-Loudon (9-14), who match up at 7:30 p.m. in Willard. Both teams have also had dramatic turnarounds to get to the point where the winner will be assured a district trophy at 3 p.m. Saturday back in Gibsonburg. The Panthers ended a years-long, 82-game losing streak midway through the 2024-25 season. They have reached double-digit wins this season while being led by two freshmen, Reid Didion and Evelyn Shafrath. Didion averages 14 points and six rebounds per game for the Panthers, who are averaging 41.2 points while allowing 46.2 points per contest. Shafrath adds 6.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. Senior Allison Lill adds seven points and 4.8 rebounds, while another freshman, Rae Roth, averages 5.9 points and 3.1 assists per game. The Panthers also average 34.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game, while St. Paul counters with 32.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists per contest. Turnovers will be key for both teams. SMCC averages 18.7 per game, while the Flyers are even higher at 23.4 per contest. St. Paul was 8-63 overall and 3-39 in the FC over the past three seasons before this season's jump to 11 wins and a 7-7 mark in the conference. The Flyers average 36.4 points and allow 42.9 per game. They are led in scoring by senior Morgan Endsley at 7.1 per game. Freshman Raeleigh Friend adds 6.9 points and 1.5 steals, while junior Ella Kalizewski averages 5.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game. Junior Aubrie Bogard is averaging 4.8 points and six rebounds, while freshman Deanna Vazquez adds 4.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game. Three months ago, the Panthers visited the Flyers on Nov. 25 in Norwalk in the second game of the season for both teams. St. Paul claimed the 31-28 win. In that game, the Flyers actually trailed 28-22 with under three minutes left but closed out the game on a 9-0 scoring run for the win. St. Paul tied the game on back-to-back 3-pointers from Morgan Endsley and Annie Friend. Aubrie Bogard then scored on a rebound putback underneath the basket for the lead, and the Flyers stole the ball on SMCC's final possession to seal the win. Endsley and Bogard each scored eight points to lead St. Paul. Didion scored 12 for the Panthers. St. Paul last played for a district championship in the 2016-17 season, a 70-64 overtime loss to Buckeye Central. The Flyers are in a district semifinal for the first time since the 2020-21 season. NL seeks title game return The Wildcats are the No. 2 seed from their district group. Their all-senior starting five recently finished off an FC three-peat on a conference record 43-game win streak over three-plus years. In the district round for the third straight year, New London looks to return to the title game, where it last was in 2023-24 when it fell to Danbury. Last season, the 'Cats lost to Colonel Crawford in a semifinal game. The winner of Wednesday's game will make the long trip to Napoleon for a 3 p.m. district title game Saturday against the winner of Toledo Ottawa Hills (15-8) and Liberty Center (11-12), who meet Wednesday night in Napoleon. Both Woodmore and New London — who each share the Wildcats nickname — also have balanced senior starting fives. Woodmore is averaging 50.4 points and allowing 31.3 per game. Senior guard Kelsey Naylor averages 11.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 4.1 steals per contest. She is complemented by the trio of Keira Travis (8.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 steals), Camille Strong (8.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 3.2 steals), and Ariana Florio (7.5 points, 6.4 rebounds). New London is averaging 46.8 points and allowing 27.4 per game. NL has won nine straight, allowing a 42-31 loss on Jan. 10 vs. Div. V No. 4 Norwayne (20-2). Valery Henry paces NL with 11.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. The post duo of Gracie Thomas (9.7 points, 8.5 rebounds) and Pailee Wilson (7.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.7 blocks) are next. The backcourt of Raeann Mitchell (7.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists) and Olivia Yetter (7.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists) rounds out the five. New London typically plays just six players, with Addison Yetter coming off the bench.