Photos by Steven Wright | Greene County News
Xenia junior Jada Dyer (21) is pressured by a pair of Chaminade Julienne defenders during Wednesday’s Division I sectional tournament game at Butler High School. Xenia’s season ended in a 62-50 defeat to CJ.
Leading Xenia with 16 points against CJ was sophomore Nataiya Madison (40).
Xenia senior Tayler Elliott (22) scored 14 points in her final game for the Buccaneers.
Some of the best success Xenia had to slowly get back into the game was attacking the paint as freshman Milani Channels (33) did her to score two of her four points.
Xenia senior Gabby Winegarner (4) tries to create a driving lane on offense.
Xenia senior Alaiya Meaux (11) led the MVL in steals this season and also finished in the top-5 for assists.
VANDALIA — After the first quarter ended, Xenia settled in and used every remaining second in the game available to put a scare into Chaminade Julienne.
Those initial eight minutes created too much of a deficit to overcome though as the Buccaneers lost in Division I sectional tournament opener 62-50 on Wednesday at Butler High School.
Xenia was seeded 13th and CJ 7th and the early minutes of the contest gave off the belief it would be a one-sided affair before eventually becoming a more even matchup.
What was a 7-4 game early in the first quarter quickly got away from Xenia. CJ scored 23 of the next 25 points and converted seven of eight possessions into points at one point over nearly 5:30 of game action to go up 30-6 after one.
Numerous turnovers trying to get the ball up court against the CJ press led to easy baskets, and when the Eagles were forced into running its offense against Xenia’s zone it still impressively shot over the top with ease.
If the game had started from that point on, Xenia could have pulled out an impressive win.
Recovering in the second quarter and gaining the upperhand against the Eagles, Xenia’s relentless attacking of the paint in both transition and half-court offense got them quickly filling up the scoreboard. Despite replicating what CJ was able to pull off during the first quarter, Xenia still was not able to pull any closer than 16 due to an excellent shooting from the perimeter by the Eagles which hit seven shots from deep in the first half.
Xenia (10-13) stayed with CJ throughout most of the second half, but never was able to get closer than 13 until the final 90 seconds on a made three by Tayler Elliott. She hit another with under a minute remaining as the only other make from long range for the Buccaneers in the game.
Nataiya Madison scored 16 points to led Xenia and Tayler Elliott had 14.
Janae Cain had 24 points for CJ, which advanced to play Kettering Fairmont in the next round.
Contact Steven Wright at 937-502-4498 and follow on X (formerly Twitter) @Steven_Wright_.
