The question of whether the Union Local girls could answer the bell against a similarly talented team in a big game was answered Saturday with an emphatic yes.
Beating previously unbeaten Indian Creek by 19 points (64-45) on a neutral floor tends to put things in perspective.
Any thoughts of an emotional letdown were quelled Monday with a 79-49 win against John Marshall. It’s a team with no seniors and only one starter who will be legally able to drive a car by school year’s end.
So while many might believe Saturday’s first half was the first time this team had been in a close fight, that wasn’t quite the case.
“The first time we played Ferry, we were down one midway through the third and against Shadyside, it was a three or four point game at halftime,” recalled Union Local head coach Ron Barr. “Our first game against Monroe Central, we had four brand new starters on the floor and they were scared to death. We were down 13 in the first half but cut it to five at halftime and ended up winning by 15.”
None of the aforementioned teams are slouches and all will be playing in the OVAC tourney next week in their respective classification.
Union Local Last Unbeaten Team
The team fought through its early maturation process and stands alone, the last unbeaten team in the conference with a 19-0 mark. This team is built to win, and win big, averaging more than 70 points per game.
It’s a rare combination of size and speed that allows the Jets to play fast on both ends of the floor. The “smallest” player in the starting five is also its oldest in junior point guard Casey Kildow (5-6).
On the wings she’s joined by her sister, freshman Torre Kildow (5-11) and sophomore Hannah Merritt (5-8). Underneath stands the team’s tallest player along with its most physical in 6-1 frosh Reagan Vinskovich and 5-7 sophomore Keira Gregor, respectively.
Speed and tempo are their game.
“We go into every game, hoping we never have to run a play. It’s kind of our moniker,” Barr said of his team’s offensive philosophy. “That’s the way I like to coach and it’s the way they like to play.
“Offensively, we like when other teams press. It puts us into fast break mode and that’s to our advantage.”
That’s not to say Union Local can’t play in the half-court offense. Merritt and the Kildow sisters all can pop from the perimeter, and Torre connects at a near 50-percent clip from behind the arc.
They can also penetrate and attack the basket, or dump it off to the bigs underneath. Rinskovich averages a double-double per game with around 12 points and 12 boards per. But it’s a balanced scoring effort to be sure. Torre Kildow (16.5), Merritt (11.0) and Casey Kildow (10.5) all average in double figures with Gregor (6.8) not far off the pace.
Teamwork, Understanding
The girls understand their roles and have flourished in them.
“The lack of selfishness and finding their role has developed over the course of the season,” noted assistant coach Nikki Gregor. “Not everyone is going to be the leading scorer, but the important thing is to know your role and execute and if we can do that, winning is inevitable.
“The win belongs to all of them. They each play a part.”
Defensively, they are a nightmare as well. Multiple six or near-six footers creates issues when attacked the basket, moreso when long-legged and long-armed defenders can move and adjust quickly, covering ground in a hurry and allowing their teammates to take chances to force turnovers.
“The fact we can switch among defenses so easily gives us an edge,” Gregor said.
An uptempo offense that can excel in the half-court when necessary coupled with a diverse and conditioned defense is a tough match-up.
That begs another question though.
How good can this team be?
Union Local has featured some quality athletes this century and captured a few OVAC titles.
But you have to go back 20 years to the 2000-01 team coached by Rick Jones to find one as dominant, or even a few years further back to 1997-98 to find another that had a similar hot start to the season.
Gregor knows this more than most.
Back when she still used her maiden name Kemp, she was a senior on the 97-98 squad, also coached by Jones that started the year 15-0 before back to back losses to Bellaire and Indian Creek spoiled the perfection.
They finished 19-3, with the final loss coming against Fort Frye in a sectional. The Cadets later lost to Bellaire in the district semifinals.
That was a senior-laden team led by junior Erin Mason, Gregor, Jamie (Carruthers) Vinskovich, Dawn Renzler and Courtney (Feaster) Howard. Fellow juniors Angie Ault and Jess Chillinsky were part of a starting lineup that mixed-and-matched between six girls.
A few years later, Gregor’s younger sister Heidi Kemp was part of a group of seven seniors, also led by a junior in multi-sport all-Ohio athlete Jenny Campbell, that took things a step further.
Depth
Depth was one of that year’s team’s aces in the hole.
While the starting five usually consisted of Campbell, Jenny Chillinsky, Amy Scarnecchia, Casey Stenger and Amanda Mercer, Kemp and Miranda Thompson both drew starting nods depending on matchups.
The 2000-01 Jets were battle tested come the post season, having faced the likes of Bellaire’s Kacie Vavrek, Martins Ferry’s Lindsay Coyne, St. Clairsville’s Piccolini sisters, Bethany and Lindsey and even the Fort Frye duo Krista Ferguson and Cincinnati signee Leslie Knoch, though Knoch missed the regular-season showdown won by the Jets.
“Their guard size was comparable to ours,” Barr said of his team and the 00-01 version. “But they were more seasoned. And that year, it seemed like every team had two or three really good players. Every game was a dog fight.”
Union Local advanced through the sectional round and came within five points of winning a district title. But once again, the postseason nemesis of Fort Frye, this time at full strength, was victorious, 65-61.
The Cadets fell in the regional but were voted No. 3 in the final Division III AP Poll. Union Local was close behind at seven.
How do they match up?
There are a number of similarities when comparing the three teams. Each team boasts lights-out shooters, capable of attacking the basket or pulling up from the perimeter. All three hammered teams with transition offenses and showed equal tenacity and tempo defensively.
But when comparing present-day to 97-98, Gregor believes her daughter’s team has the advantage in the post.
“Jamie and Jess were our two ‘bigs’ and I played there as well, but Keira and Reagan have a huge advantage over the three of us in the paint,” Gregor admitted.
Vinskovich would tower over the 2000-01 team as well, as Stenger and Scarnecchia were the only true posts on the team and neither were near 6-1 in stature. But what they lacked in height they made up for in physicality.
Where the 2000-01 Jets may have the advantage is both in depth and conditioning.
“We had a rotation of seven girls that started or came off the bench and we didn’t really skip a bit no matter who was in,” Kemp recalled. “We not only ran a track-meet style offense, but we pressed A LOT. Having fresh legs running in and out made it doable.”
Turning to now
The OVAC Championship Tourney is approaching and soon after, the OHSAA tournament will begin.
Goals have been set and some have been achieved already. Others are further down the road. Eventually, the Jets will run into a veteran team that has the conditioning and talent to keep up with them for four quarters. None have yet, but it’s bound to happen.
That’s when the true test begins.
Barr noted that most of these girls have been playing together since they entered third grade. They may be relatively new to varsity basketball, but they are quite familiar with one another. That trust in their teammates shows.
“This team has incredible chemistry. They’ve played a lot of basketball together so you don’t even realize how young they really are,” Kemp said. “The sky is the limit for this group and I can’t wait to see how high they fly.”
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