Sidney junior guard Larkyn Vordemark looks to pass with pressure from Tippecanoe’s Laney Cleckner during a Miami Valley League game on Saturday in Sidney. Vordemark scored a game-high 17 points in Sidney’s 51-45 win, which clinched the squad a share of its third consecutive MVL title.
Bryant Billing | Sidney Daily News
SIDNEY — Sidney senior guard Kiara Hudgins walked off Sidney’s court for the final time after a game on Saturday afternoon sporting three ice packs. It was indicative of the physicalness of a contest against Tippecanoe — and of the way Hudgins has played throughout her career.
A little while before she left, Hudgins did something indicative of the success she’s enjoyed in her four years: hold a trophy.
The Yellow Jackets beat Tippecanoe 51-45 to win a share of their third consecutive overall MVL title. They finish regular-season play with a 17-5 overall record and 15-3 league record.
Sidney’s players and coaches posed for a photo with a league trophy after Saturday’s game. Hudgins was front and center holding the trophy.
It was a celebration of the team accomplishing its goal to prove its “We’re still here,” slogan. That motto came in the wake of losing three starters to graduation from a year ago.
“Going into the season and having a lot of people feel unsure about us, we wanted to prove ourselves,” Sidney coach Jamal Foster said. “We’ve created this expectation over the years, and these girls rose to the occasion. They came in, they practiced, they were coachable.
“We felt forgot about at the beginning of the year. These girls had something to prove. ‘We’re still here,’ seemed appropriate, and now we get to cut down the nets, which was a big goal for us this year.”
Hudgins fell hard onto the floor a couple of times and was shoved into the wall hard after a collision in the fourth quarter. Despite the pain, she made 4-of-6 free throws late to help clinch the win.
“When they were physical like that, we just kept playing through it,” Hudgins said. “… We just keep playing hard. That’s what we do.”
Hudgins scored 14 points and had four steals and four assists.
“She’s the type of player who, for what she’s given us the last four years, she deserves a curtain call,” Foster said. “Her knocking down those free throws to end it is about as great as a curtain call as you could have.
“… All year long, she’s battled and led. To see this season be the success it has been, and with her as the leader, that’s awesome. I’m proud of her. You don’t see too many Kiara Hudgins.”
Sidney junior guard Larkyn Vordemark scored 17 points and had three rebounds. She scored 10 points in the first half (including two 3-pointers) to help Sidney take a 29-19 halftime lead.
“Extending her range to the 3-point line while still getting to the bucket, the foul line, is great,” Foster said. “She’s a three-level scorer and super vital for what we do offensively. She’s starting to realize how much her consistency matters for this group.”
Sidney used a full-court press through much of the first half, which helped the squad amass a double-digit lead.
“I feel like our pressure was getting things done,” Vordemark said. “We were moving the ball throughout, making a bucket after they turned it over.”
But the Red Devils (15-7, 14-4) slowed things down in the second half and made three 3s to help the squad rally. They twice pulled within four points, but Sidney pulled back ahead each time.
Courtney Post made a basket with 29 seconds left to bring Tipp within 48-45, but Hudgins made 3-of-4 foul shot attempts to secure it.
“The game swung where they were hitting a couple 3s, got it closer than we wanted,” Foster said. “But we buckled down and got some stops.”
Sidney junior guard Jordan Scully scored 14 points despite being smothered for much of the game. She also had four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
“She’s seeing (all different types of defenses), and now she’s not getting flustered by it,” Foster said. “She’s handling the pressure that comes with it and is still mentally tough enough to make plays. That’s great to see from her. She’s battled health, she’s battled a lot of things this year, seeing different coverages. She’s rising to the occasion at the right time.”
Sidney is now looking to make a postseason run. The goal is do something the squad hasn’t the last three years: earn a district berth.
“We’re definitely looking one game at a time, but we want to get to Cincy for sure,” Vordemark said.
The first step to reaching a district final will be on Feb. 21, likely against a familiar opponent: Centerville.
The Yellow Jackets are the No. 5 seed in the Dayton Division I sectional and took a first-round bye. They will open postseason play in a sectional final against the winner of No. 8 Centerville (13-9) and No. 15 Northmont (7-15).
The Elks beat Sidney 51-49 in overtime in a district semifinal last year. The teams faced off on Jan. 11 in Sidney, and the Yellow Jackets won 44-38.
“They pressure more than what Tipp did and have some bigger players who (play well) in the paint,” Hudgins said.
Vordemark had 15 points and seven rebounds in the regular-season matchup.
“They have some key players we’re going to have to be able to stop to win the game,” Vordemark said. “It’s definitely doable.”
Foster said he believes Sidney is battle-tested heading into the tournament.
“We know Centerville is hunting for us,” Foster said. “They’re a good team. We want to take the time off we have before the game, address ourselves and be the best version of ourselves.”
Sidney had a week without a game before Saturday’s matchup with the Red Devils and will go a week and a half without one before the Feb. 21 sectional final.
Vordemark and Hudgins said the practice time was beneficial, and Foster said it also allowed the players some rest.
“We had to get back to the essentials. We had to get back to us,” Foster said. “We went back to practice and we went through everything that for the last few years has made us defensively better. Intensity, finishing, fundamentals, tempo.
“This week was very big for us finding who we were again. We wanted to really take advantage of all the time we had. It looked like it paid off.
“… Being able to press and establish that tempo and create steals and turnovers, that’s who we’ve been and that’s who we are. That’s the game we like to play. For us to be able to do that for four quarters is pretty good.”
Vandalia-Butler (17-5, 15-3) also earned a share of the overall MVL title and claimed an MVL Miami Division title.
Sidney also finished first place in MVL Valley Division standings; the squad has won the division each year since the league formed in 2019.
Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.
