Mar 16, 2025
Waterford’s Kendall Sury, center, Avery Smithberger, left, and Brynnlee Pottmeyer celebrate after the Wildcats defeated Fort Loramie 48-46 in Saturday’s state final in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)
DAYTON — Waterford and Fort Loramie know each other well.
The two girls basketball powerhouses had met twice in state championship games prior to Saturday, including last year when the Redskins claimed a 42-29 victory.
Right after that loss, Waterford senior Avery Wagner declared the Wildcats would be back. Fast-forward to Saturday’s Division VII state final at UD Arena, where Waterford won the rematch with Fort Loramie 48-46.
“Us three seniors, we keep our promises,” Wagner said. “We had a feeling it was going to be Fort Loramie. We knew we had to come in here and get it done. I have a lot of faith and trust in my teammates and I knew we could get right back here again and win it this time.”
As confident as Wagner and her classmates Kendall Sury and Avery Smithberger were that Waterford would get redemption, it’s never easy winning a state title in Ohio.
Waterford’s Avery Smithberger (24) handles the ball as Fort Loramie’s Avery Brandewie (40) defends during Saturday’s state final in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)
“It is extremely hard to get here,” said Waterford head coach Jerry Close, who has now guided three state championship teams (2016, 2022, 2025). “What has happened — the first time we came (to state) in 15, that group of girls laid the foundation for this. These girls see that as young ladies, and you’ve got other young ladies watching this. Nobody wants to be the team that lets the program down right now. They expect to win.”
Prior to that 2015 team breaking through, Waterford struggled for years to get past the regional tournament. Now, they’ve gotten past the Elite Eight eight times in the last decade, making the state finals five times and winning three — Wagner, Sury and Smithberger were part of two of those championship runs.
“Freshman year we came in and won,” Sury reflected. “It was good for those three seniors. We were like, ‘Hey, we want to do that our senior year.’ We came in this season for our senior year, and every single game we all did it for this point. I think we really dug deep. Throughout the tournament, we faced so much physicality. Going into this game, we knew it was one more game, 32 minutes left for our entire high school career.”
WAGNER’S IMPACT
At 6-foot-4, Wagner always makes her presence felt on the basketball court.
Waterford’s Avery Wagner (30) handles the ball as Fort Loramie’s Mylee Shatto defends during Saturday’s state final in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)
But, after finishing with three points in last year’s state championship loss, the Purdue-Fort Wayne signee was eager to come through for her squad this time around.
The result was an all-time clutch performance on both ends of the floor.
Wagner led Waterford with 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting and even buried a couple of 3-pointers. She also registered team-highs in rebounds (5), assists (4), steals (3) and blocks (4).
Fort Loramie had two offensive possessions in the final minute — Wagner halted both with a steal and a block.
And it wasn’t an easy defensive assignment as Wagner had to go toe-to-toe with Victoria Mescher, a Findlay volleyball commit listed at 6-feet tall.
Waterford’s Elsie Malec (3) handles the ball as Fort Loramie’s Mylee Shatto (12) defends during Saturday’s state final in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)
Mescher finished with a game-high 19 points, but took 16 shots and had to get creative to counter Wagner’s size.
“She was a lot taller than me, so I couldn’t just go straight at her,” Mescher said. “I needed to use my pivot and use some pump fakes to hopefully get her off of her feet. I feel like I did that successfully at times. I knew that she’s a shot-blocker so we had to figure out other ways to go around her.”
By the end of the game, Wagner was spent.
“I was tired,” she said. “She’s a great player, obviously. Me and her were just going back and forth.”
SCHEDULE PAYS OFF
Close said earlier in the season his team plays one of the toughest schedules in the state.
A quick check of MaxPreps confirms the Wildcats went through an absolute gauntlet this season.
Among Waterford’s 27 wins are Unioto (D3 Sweet 16), Fort Frye (D6 Final Four), Federal Hocking and Belpre twice apiece (D6 Sweet 16), Athens (D3 team with 18 wins), Marietta (D3 team with 20 wins) and Williamstown (top three team in W.Va. Class AA).
To come out of it with just one loss — to a Sheridan team that made the Elite Eight last year — is another example of how impressive of a year the Wildcats had.
“I never dreamed we’d be 27-1,” Close said. “I’m not saying — I expected to win this title, OK, but I didn’t expect them to only have one loss. What they’ve done this season is amazing.”
MAKING HISTORY
With this being the first year of Ohio high school basketball expanding from four divisions to seven, Waterford becomes the first team ever to win the Division VII state championship.
The Wildcats’ previous two state titles came in Division IV.
“We were hoping to get the last Division IV (title) and the first (Division) VII (title), but (Fort Loramie) got the last IV,” Close laughed. “We’ll take that. That’s something they’ll always have. They got the first one.”
Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.
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