COLUMBUS, Ohio— Each state celebrates the best in girls’ basketball each year with their state tournaments which are highlighted by the crowning of champions and celebratory cutting of the nets. Poll any knowledgeable college recruiters, media or evaluators and they’ll tell you that the state of Ohio annually is among the deepest talent pools among scholastic girls’ basketball nationally. If you doubt that for even a moment take into consideration that among the current rosters across the Buckeye State over 100 athletes in the four varsity classes have signed letters of intent or verbally committed to compete at the next level. For good measure consider that 68 of those colligate commitments are at the Division I level. And just for a little icing on the cake, the 2014 McDonald’s All-American Team features three players that call Ohio home.
Giving credence to the cream rising to the top, 22 of the above mentioned college bound athletes have led their teams to Promised Land of the state tourney. The 2014 OHSAA State Tournament kicked off Thursday with semifinal action in the Division II and Division IV classifications with Division III and I set to take the floor Friday. In all 16 teams made the trek to Columbus and the campus of Ohio State University with only defending D-IV champs Fort Loramie returning to defend their title.
Division II Semifinals
Archbishop Alter 50 Toledo Rogers 47
Charles Dickens wasn’t on hand but it certainly was a tale of two halves in the first Division II semifinal. After opening the game 0 for 7 from the floor and turning it over 4 times, Kettering Archbishop Alter finally got on the board with their first field goal at the 3:18 mark of the first period. Rogers capitalized and opened the game confidently with a 15 – 9 edge after eight minutes behind the effective play of senior guard Sasha Dailey. The second period saw Alter gain momentum forcing back to back turnovers as they tied things up at 15 only to see the Lady Rams go on a 15 – 7 run to take an 8 point lead at the break. Alter’s 29% from the floor and 10 first half turnovers contributed to the deficit.
The third period saw Roger’s Dailey spend extensive time on the bench with foul troubles while Alter ran off a 14 – 6 period to knot things up at 36 entering the final quarter. Standout freshman Braxtin Miller put an exclamation on the run with a three, her only fg in a challenging outing, at the buzzer. Rogers approach went the conservative route in the fourth while Alter continued to attack and maintaining the lead throughout. The Lady Knights had things in hand but missed free throws and turnovers to keep the Rams within reach in a one or two possession game. In the end Dailey’s limited second half minutes, seven, and Alter’s consistent attack proved to be the difference with Alter claiming the 50 – 47 win. The three point margin was the closest for them all season with their previous smallest margin of victory being 12.
Junior guard Emma Bockrath led the way in the win with 14 points on 5 for 14 shooting. She also added 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals to the cause. Fellow junior Maddie Bazelak finished with 9 of her own and paced Alter on the glass with 8 boards. Sasha Dailey led the Rams in the loss despite her limited minutes finishing with 10 on a 5 of 12 shooting effort. Sophomore Akienreh Johnson posted 8 points and pulled 7 rebounds while senior Tori Easley had 7 and 5 in her final scholastic game.
Millersburg West Holmes 49 Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary 45
West Holmes came out of the gate in the second Division II semifinal as if they wanted to make quick work of their opponents from St. Vincent-St. Mary. Transitioning on every possession off makes, misses and turnovers they jumped to a quick 12 -4 edge. Shooting 55% from the floor and getting 8 points from Ohio D-II player of the year Laina Snyder they maintained the lead by a 14 – 11 count after one. The Fighting Irish didn’t post a 25 – 2 record coming into the game without having some backbone and actually outscored West Holmes after the slow start but still trailed at the half 25 – 21. Snyder finished the half with 11 points on 4 of 9 shooting while senior forward Jordan Korinek put up 10 for St. Vincent-St. Mary.
West Holmes added two to the margin in the third but had trouble stopping Korinek who single handedly kept the Irish in the mix posting all 13 of SVSM’s points in the quarter holding the margin at five. The fourth period saw the Lady Knight’s lead trimmed to just one at the 3:50 mark but St. Vincent-St. Mary could not get over the hump. West Holmes’ Alex Brown converted two Free throws with 26 seconds remaining to make it a two possession game and seal the win plus claim a trip to Saturday’s final against Kettering Archbishop Alter.
Ironically the stat sheet favored the Lady Irish. The outshot the Lady Knights from the floor, the free throw line and from long range in addition to winning the battle on the boards by 10. They also committed 23 turnovers to just 9 for West Holmes which ultimately converted the miscues into 16 points and the win. Snyder set the standard once again finishing with 21 points on 50 percent shooting and pulled 11 boards for the double-double. For good measure she added 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Brittleigh Macaulay chipped in an additional nine points and senior Emily Molnar added six of her own. Korinek paced the senior laden SVSM squad with a double-double of her own. Her 24 points came on 8 for 13 shooting and she grabbed 11rebounds in 27 minutes of play. Amelia Motz struggled in limited play but the sophomore guard bears keeping an eye on in the future.
Division IV Semifinals
Zanesville Bishop Rosecrans 55 Holgate 40
Each year one of the state qualifiers in one of the classes has “one of those nights”. Unfortunately this time around Holgate had the misfortune of capping a 23 – 4 season with a disappointing performance against Zanesville Rosecrans to add a fifth and final loss to their total. In a game that was essentially over after the first period, Rosecrans jumped out to a 16 – 4 lead and never looked back. The Tigers managed to keep the Bishops from adding anything substantial in the second period and entered the locker room with a deficit of 27 – 14. Rosecrans shot 50% as a team for the half which included 3 of 6 from long range. Senior Kloie Johnson posted 10 points to lead the way over the first two periods.
The third period did little to help the cause of the Tigers as they were outscored over the course or the quarter 16 – 4 increasing the mountain they were facing to a 21 point margin. One bright spot for Holgate was the play of senior forward Marissa Miles who continued to finish effectively inside and collected 11 of her final total of 19 in the second half. With liberal substitutions the gap was reduced to 15 in the end with Rosecrans moving on to Saturday’s Division IV final.
Johnson led the Bishops with 19 that came by way of 6 for 11 shooting with a 4 of 8 three point effort. Fellow seniors Alexis Kirkbride and Molly Nash both added 11 in the win. As a team Rosecrans shot 21 of 40 for the game finishing with an impressive 52.5% clip. Myles finished with her 19 and added 11 rebounds the losing cause. Mattie Grim and Sarah Niese both had moments for Holgate.
Reedsville Eastern 68 Fort Loramie 59
It was a safe bet that Reedsville Eastern was going to be motivated for their return trip to Columbus after a three point semifinal loss last year. Add to the mix a match up with the defending champs from Fort Loramie and the flame only burned brighter. And for good measure throw in a split Ohio player of the year vote with a player on each side and you have the makings of a great game. When all was said and done Jenna Burdette had broken the OHSAA semifinal single game scoring record with 30 and she and her Eagle teammates had dethroned the champs.
The first quarter proved futile with six ties and two lead changes as Fort Loramie took a one point edge after one. Burdette got six in the period while co-player of the year Darian Rose racked up seven for Fort Loramie. The Redskins maintained the lead throughout the second surviving two ties but relinquished the lead to the Eagles just before the half on a Burdette layup with: 13 remaining on the clock. At the break Eastern was up 32 – 30.
The low scoring third period saw Burdette and company create some breathing room opening up a slight edge of 43 – 35 entering the final quarter. The fourth belonged to Burdette as she racked up 20 of Eastern’s 25 points and sealed the win with a critical tip pass assist on a broken play that took the final wind out of Fort Loramie’s sails.
For the night, Burdette was 12 of 19 from the floor and 13 for 15 from the line finishing with 38 points. She added six boards, three assists and five steals while playing all 32 minutes. Fellow senior Jordan Parker finished with 12 and Katie Keller grabbed a dozen rebounds. Darian Rose laid claim to her share of player of the year honors by posting 26 points and pulling 12 boards in her last high school game. Sophomore Jessica Boerger had 13 more for the Redskins who struggled shooting just 33.3 percent as a team in the loss.
Things get underway Friday with the Division III semifinals. Smithville will take on Columbus Africentric at 1:00 followed by Proctorville Fairland and Versailles at 3:00. The Division I folks hit the floor at 6:00 with Cincinnati Princeton facing Toledo Notre Dame followed by North Canton Hoover and Dublin Coffman at 8:00.
Saturday’s championship schedule has the D-II final tipping at 10:45 a.m. followed by the D-IV match up at 2 p.m. Division III gold is up for grabs at 6:00 and the Big Dogs of D-I put it all on the line at 8:30.
