LONDONDERRY — To win big contests, defense has to be the calling card in playoff basketball.
The Valley Indians’ and South Webster Jeeps’ girls basketball programs both put together gritty efforts defensively Monday evening in a OHSAA Division VI District Semifinal that was held at Chillicothe Southeastern High School in Londonderry.
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However, rebounding and second-chance opportunities proved to be the ultimate difference in the contest.
Katelyn Queen posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Brooke Riehl added in 10 rebounds of her and Ella Thompson 10 points and four steals, as the Valley girls basketball program ultimately advanced to its first OHSAA District Championship Game since 2009 with a 37-29 win over South Webster.
Valley girls basketball alumna Whitney Cunningham was in high school the last time that the Lady Indians appeared in a OHSAA District Championship Game. Many of Valley’s players weren’t born yet.
The Lady Indians, who had primary utilized a 1-3-1 zone defense throughout the year, switched to a man-to-man look, and face-guarded South Webster star talents Ava and Addi Claxon for much of the 32-minute contest en route to claiming the win.
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“I’m very proud of the girls,” Cunningham said. “I have a really good group of kids. We haven’t played a man defense all year. We’ve stuck to our 1-3-1, and we really just took this week to prepare. I felt that we had a good matchup with South Webster, and our girls played hard. They came out and were hungry for the win, for sure.”
Despite the setback, Ryan Dutiel’s group enjoyed a year where the Lady Jeeps ultimately made a 10-win improvement from the 2024-25 season with four freshmen and two sophomores playing among its top-seven in the rotation. South Webster hit six three-point attempts in the contest but Valley’s man-to-man defense and lack of second-chance opportunities for the Lady Jeeps proved to be the difference in the game.
“It was one of those games where we got into a hole, and never got out of it,” Dutiel said. “We allowed (Katelyn) Queen to put up eight points in the opening quarter, and allowed her to set the tone inside. That was something that we harped on over the few days that we had practice, trying to slow her down. It just didn’t materialize.”
Queen, a terrific post presence inside who averaged 13.1 points, eight rebounds and three steals on 52.1 percent shooting coming in, was a difference-maker from the opening tip for Valley on Monday.
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Along with her eight-point performance in the opening quarter, Queen added in four rebounds, a steal and a block to control the interior in the opening quarter as Queen ultimately scored eight of Valley’s first 13 points.
Emilie Barr added in a three from the left side, Thompson scored off of a steal and conversion on the other end, and Riehl finished a low post bucket off of an assist from Queen, helping Valley take a 15-6 advantage after the opening quarter of action. The Lady Indians led 13-3 to start the frame en route to taking its nine-point advantage after the opening quarter.
“We pride ourselves on defense and I believe the girls will tell you that, too,” Cunningham said. “We’ve spent a lot of time on defense in practice, and they just take it to heart. We played with a lot of heart (on Monday), which was awesome to see.”
Despite not scoring until the second quarter, South Webster used effective defensive play, led by senior Addi Claxon and freshman Violet Edwards, to work the deficit down before the halftime break.
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Along with their defensive work — holding Valley to five points in the second quarter and just two field goals in the frame — the duo combined for seven of South Webster’s 10 points in the second quarter, with Addi Claxon scoring five straight tallies to pull the Lady Jeeps to within 18-16 before Thompson’s bucket with less than 16 seconds to play in the first half allowed Valley to lay stake to a 20-16 advantage at the break.
“We were able to battle our way back and hit on some things that we were doing right,” Dutiel said. “Shots were falling for us and we have the ultimate competitor on our side in Addi Claxon.”
But Valley answered in the second half with a terrific defensive performance coming out of the locker room.
The Lady Indians not only held South Webster to one field goal in the third quarter and just five Lady Jeep points in that frame overall, but got nine points between Thompson and Queen, six from the former alone, and received five rebounds from Riehl in the third frame of action as well.
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Behind the lead trio, Valley moved its 20-16 halftime lead back out to a 32-21 advantage by the end of the third quarter and never led by less than seven points the rest of the way, with the closest South Webster push being off of a Natalee Eskridge three-pointer that pulled the Lady Jeeps within seven, 36-29, with just under two minutes to play in the game.
“We were very cold from the floor,” Dutiel said. “We got several good looks on threes, but we were not getting second-chance opportunities. That hurt us.”
Riehl and Barr led Valley throughout the fourth quarter with key hustle plays and defensive stands, while Austin Frantz had a timely three for Valley during the second half as well, setting the tone for the Lady Indians as Valley sealed its first district championship game appearance in 17 years with the win.
“Brooke has had some killer practices lately for us,” Cunningham said. “We knew that she was going to come out and have a game for us. She was excellent on the glass (on Monday). Katelyn is always just a beast down there. I love the leadership that Emilie brings to the table,” Cunningham said. “I felt it on the floor (on Monday). She wasn’t feeling good and played through it. We kept joking with her, saying, ‘Flu game!’ She stepped up (on Monday) and her senior leadership was really big for us.”
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With the win, Valley improved to 15-9 for the 2025-26 season, and will play Federal Hocking (14-8) in a OHSAA Division VI District Championship Game matchup. The winner of that affair will play at Ohio Dominican University in a Division VI, Region 23 semifinal.
“We have a chip on our shoulder,” Cunningham said. “Fed Hock beat us (in 2025) in the district semis, so we know what to expect. They come at you with waves of pressure defense. We’ll just keep working, try to prepare for Saturday and see what happens.”
As for South Webster, the Lady Jeeps lose an irreplaceable place in Addi Claxon, who averaged better than 14 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals in her senior season.
While the NCAA Division II Gannon (Pa.) volleyball signee departs the lineup, South Webster does return Eskridge, Edwards, Ava Claxon and Emma Campbell for 2026-27 and the following two seasons after that, as well as sophomore reserves Raelynn Humble and Eden Smith for 2026-27 and 2027-28. Addi Claxon was the team’s lone senior.
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“Addi was on board with anything that we suggested,” Dutiel said. “She was always full of energy and others fed off of her. We can’t replace her. The younger kids, after having some seasoning from this year, have learned a lot. They’ve grown up a lot. To be in the district semis as freshmen, straight out of junior high with 21 games under their belt — I believe they’ve done really well. They represented their community and our school really well. They gave everything that they had. They played with a lot of grit. They never gave up.”
