Girls Basketball: Reynoldsburg Raiders stick together during Makiya Miller’s absence

As their teammates funneled out of the locker room after a 56-53 victory over Pickerington Central on Jan. 13, both Imarianah Russell and Mya Perry used the word “trust” to discuss the most important factor for the Reynoldsburg girls basketball team.

Learning to lean on that has been a years-long process for the Raiders, one that got more complicated when senior point guard Makiya Miller had surgery Dec. 16 because of a broken bone in her left foot. She was still two to three weeks away from returning when the Raiders held on against the Tigers in their closest win against a team from Ohio up to that point.

Miller has long been the team’s steadying hand, a four-year varsity contributor who helped the Raiders reach a Division I regional final as a freshman.

Perry, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, joined the program as a sophomore and Russell, a 6-0 senior guard, moved into the district last season.

Having a trio of senior Division I signees in Miller (Wright State), Perry (Ohio State) and Russell (West Virginia) puts the Raiders in a position unlike any other in central Ohio in terms of proven talent, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t complicated — especially with Miller missing so much time.

“I’m ready for (Miller) to come back,” coach Jack Purtell said. “She understands the game. She’s been playing point guard for us for four years and has a really high basketball IQ. She’s been on the bench cheering and helping.

“We just have to make shots and take better shots. There’s a long way to go for us to get better.”

Based on their regular-season schedule, no one will be able to argue that the Raiders won’t be prepared for the Division I district tournament, where they’re likely to be the No. 1 or No. 2 seed alongside Dublin Coffman.

Reynoldsburg was second in the state poll released Jan. 18, behind defending state champion Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame, while the Shamrocks were fourth.

The Raiders fell 60-57 to Coffman in a regional semifinal last winter, marking the second consecutive season they lost in their first game after capturing a district title.

That setback followed a regular season in which Russell and Alexia Mobley, who now is playing for Louisville, tried to quickly build chemistry with a holdover cast led by Miller and Perry. Mobley had competed for the Raiders as a freshman, but played for Whitehall as a sophomore before returning to Reynoldsburg last season.

That hasn’t been an issue this winter, even without Miller.

“We play as a team and trust each other,” Russell said. “That’s when we do our best. We still miss Makiya, but we’re still able to do what we need to do.”

In addition to earning a season sweep of Central, the Raiders were 12-2 after beating Aurora (Colorado) Regis Jesuit 63-28 on Jan. 15 in the Classic in the Country Challenge at Berlin Hiland.

The two losses were to out-of-state teams.

Russell (23.0 points per game) and Perry (19.0) have led the way offensively.

“It’s honestly great to have a big target on our backs,” Perry said. “When we go out there, we have a lot to prove and we’ve got big shoes to fill. Even when we leave, our younger people will have big shoes to fill, so it’s honestly great to be one of the top teams in the state and we just can’t wait for the competition.”

Senior guard Trinity Ramos has been among those with an increased ball-handling load during Miller’s absence, along with freshman guard Aubree Price.

In addition, junior post player Taryn Cornett has missed time with injury, leaving much of the rebounding responsibilities to Perry, Russell and 5-11 junior post player Sam Savoy.

Senior guard Jamiona Ross, who came off the bench before Miller’s injury, is one of the team’s top defenders, according to Purtell.

“Mari’s special,” Purtell said of Russell. ”She can do some things that a lot of girls can’t do.

“Jamiona takes on the challenge and really competes. We’re settled in our roles.”

julrey@thisweeknews.com

@UlreyThisWeek

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Girls Basketball: Reynoldsburg sticks together during Miller’s absence