CUYAHOGA FALLS – If Jenna Pew hadn’t been so strong in the paint and her Smithville teammates hadn’t been so good at getting her the ball, and if Elyria Catholic can make, oh, a quarter of its shots, maybe EC is planning a trip to Columbus today.

If, if, if. No trips to Columbus in the works.

Pew was very strong in the paint, 31 points worth, and her teammates very good at getting her the ball, and the Panthers didn’t make even a fifth of their shots.

The inevitable result was Smithville’s 58-30 runaway victory Saturday afternoon for a Division III regional championship and a berth in the Final Four. At

3 p.m. Thursday, the Smithies (25-1) will meet top-ranked Findlay Liberty-Benton in a state semifinal at Value City Arena on the Ohio State campus.

The loss marked the end of a week that must have seemed almost yo-yo-like to the Panthers – up with a first-ever and thrilling district final victory, down when they were beaten soundly by Regina on Wednesday night, then up again when they learned the next day they were back in the tournament because Regina had to forfeit.

But then Smithville and another downer, more tears.

“I’m really proud of our season as a whole, but this game – I mean, we were given this opportunity and we didn’t take advantage of it,” said senior guard Mimi Rothgery. “Too many of our shots weren’t going in and we had plenty of opportunities. They just weren’t falling.

“And 42 (Pew), there was nothing much you could do with her, she was so good. She was like a one-person team. Honestly, if she wasn’t on the team I strongly believe we could have won.”

It didn’t start so badly. The Panthers took 2-0 and 4-2 leads on the inside moves of junior post Ashley Schuster. But that was the last time they led, although they stayed close and trailed just 12-9 after a quarter. But Smithville opened the second quarter with a 12-2 run and was in control, 29-15, at the break.

Schuster hit a foul shot to open the second half, but the Smithies staged a 20-2 run that took most of the third quarter and the game was out of reach. EC failed to score in double digits in every quarter.

Still, the Panthers (21-5) made school history as the first girls basketball team to win 20 games and the first to win a district championship.

“It’s been an amazing ride,” said senior forward Katie Shoemaker. “All the girls have worked hard, from JV players to varsity players, and our school has really come out to support us. I mean, I’ve had text messages and phone calls from people saying, ‘We’re proud of you, we’ll be there for you,’ and it’s meant a lot.

“I’ve worked toward a goal (district title) for four years,” she said. “We achieved our goal to get to regionals – and state, I could taste it. That’s really hard.”

Junior guard Emily Taylor, who surpassed 1,000 career points during the season, finished with a team-high 13 points. Schuster added 12, and she had to work hard to do it. The Smithville defense gave her a tough time under the basket.

“They caved in on Ashley pretty well and we couldn’t get anything to drop, really,” Panthers coach Eric Rothgery said. “It was a tough day, but I’m happy. We worked hard all year, we got to regionals and it was weird here with us in the finals. But we have a good team and we’re gonna put it together again next year.”

Contact Bob Daniels at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

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