Milee Smith’s 42-Point Takeover: Unioto Punches Ticket to the Final Four After 31 Years

Disclaimer: This commentary is based on reporting by the Chillicothe Gazette (Tom Wilson).

Some tournament wins are remembered for the final score. Others are remembered for a stretch—two or three minutes where the game stops feeling like a contest and starts feeling like a story you’ll hear about for years.

Unioto’s 66–44 Division III regional championship win over Bishop Hartley on Saturday, March 7, at Ohio Dominican University had both. It had the revenge angle (avenging a regular-season loss). It had the stage (a huge crowd, a regional title on the line). It had the history (a program trying to break through a barrier that’s stood since 1995).

And it had Milee Smith delivering the kind of performance that grabs the moment by the collar and refuses to let go.

The early scare that could’ve changed everything

The game was barely underway—less than two minutes old—when Smith went down in pain. Tears, uncertainty, and that split-second fear every team has in March: Is this really how it ends?

But Smith gathered herself on the sideline, returned a few minutes later, and immediately flipped the entire tone of the night. When she checked back in, she scored 12 unanswered points, including three consecutive 3-pointers, and Unioto suddenly had breathing room and belief at the same time.

That sequence wasn’t just scoring—it was a message. Unioto wasn’t going to play tight. Unioto wasn’t going to play scared. And Bishop Hartley wasn’t going to get a chance to settle into the game plan.

A first quarter that set the terms

Smith scored 15 points in the first quarter, and Unioto led 19–7 after one. An opening like that forces the opponent to chase the game—and chasing changes everything. It changes shot selection. It changes pace. It changes how long a team can stay patient before it starts pressing.

Smith’s final line was the headline: 42 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and 8-for-10 at the free throw line. She also hit eight 3-pointers, which is the kind of number that turns a defensive plan into a series of uncomfortable choices.

Unioto coach Jeff Miller put it in the simplest, most telling way: Smith doesn’t chase big numbers for herself—she gets them when the team needs them.

“She got us off to a great start and never stopped,” Miller said, adding that she’s the type of player who will “get 40 when her team needs to get 40 to win a game.”

That’s the difference between a scorer and a closer. And this game demanded a closer.

Hartley’s push—and the immediate answer

To Bishop Hartley’s credit, the Hawks didn’t fold after the first-quarter punch. They finished the second quarter on a 12–4 run, cutting Unioto’s lead to 26–19 at halftime. A run like that tightens a gym and makes a favorite start thinking instead of playing.

So what did Unioto do coming out of the break?

Smith scored the first five points of the second half, pushing the lead back to double digits before the game could turn into a one-possession grind. It was a quick reminder: if Hartley was going to make this a fight, Unioto was going to make it a fight on Unioto’s terms.

The third-quarter burst that broke it open

The game still had a moment where it could’ve gotten uncomfortable. Hartley got within 33–24 midway through the third quarter—close enough that one sloppy stretch could’ve changed the entire feel.

Instead, Smith slammed the door.

She scored 17 points in the third quarter, and the defining stretch was as loud as it was fast: 12 points in three minutes, pushing Unioto’s lead to 47–31. In a regional championship, that’s not just a run—it’s separation. It’s the point where the opponent stops believing it can get all the way back, because every time it reaches for momentum, Smith takes it first.

From there, Unioto was never really challenged again, closing out a 22-point win that looked and felt like a team ready for the next stage.

It wasn’t a one-player win—even if it was a one-player headline

A 42-point night will always dominate the conversation, but Unioto got real contributions around Smith:

• Keyairah Beard added 12 points.

• Magnolia Herbert had five points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

• Jillian Mathey finished with four points and 10 rebounds.

That matters because tournament games aren’t won on highlights alone. They’re won on rebounds that end possessions, passes that beat pressure, and teammates who keep the floor balanced when the defense is selling out to stop the star.

Smith herself made that point after the game, crediting her teammates for continuing to trust her and keep feeding her the ball. She framed the night the way championship teams do: the goal wasn’t a stat line—it was the Final Four.

The breakthrough moment, 31 years in the making

With the win, Unioto is headed to the state tournament for the first time since 1995. That’s 31 years of seasons, seniors, close calls, and the kind of program-building that doesn’t show up in a box score.

Miller captured that long view, saying this run didn’t start in October—it started years ago. The “paycheck,” as he called it, is the chance for these players to experience something that lasts.

Now Unioto’s next step is set: the Lady Shermans will face Akron St. Vincent–St. Mary at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at Wright State University. The Division III state final will be played March 13 at 3:45 p.m. at the University of Dayton Arena.

But before anyone fast-forwards to the next matchup, it’s worth sitting with what Unioto just did. This wasn’t a squeak-by. This wasn wasn’t surviving. This was a team taking control of a regional championship—and a star turning an early scare into a performance that will be talked about for a long time.

Final Four bound, at last. And Unioto didn’t tiptoe into history.

They kicked the door open.