COLUMBUS, Ohio-No matter what sport…no matter what state…no matter what school…few things resonate with athletes and communities as a state championship. It’s the thing that provides a form of local immortality for a group that shared something very special for one moment in time. For some programs a trip to the state tournament is almost an annual ritual, for others it’s once in a lifetime. No matter how many trips you make to “state”, once you’ve been there, that same atmosphere and energy is hard to find anywhere else in sports.
This week we were back in Columbus, Ohio for the 44th annual OHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournament. The Buckeye State is highly regarded in terms of talent and coaching nationwide making the annual state tournament a showcase for established talent and teams as well as those on the high profile horizon. The 2019 Big Stage featured all four returning state champions as well as one 2018 runner up looking for redemption.
To see our semifinal coverage of all four classifications, follow the links below.
Division III and II Semifinals
https://www.bluestarmedia.org/2019-ohio-state-tournament/
Division IV and I Semifinals
https://www.bluestarmedia.org/day-two-ohio-state-tournament/
Championship Saturday kicked off with Division III action and culminated in the evening with the victorious Division I titlists cutting down the nets. Here’s a wrap up and statistical breakdown of all the championship action from the Schottenstein Center.
By the time the Division I title game tipped off Saturday evening, three OSHAA Sate Champions had successfully defended their crowns from the 2018 season. Pickerington Central had the opportunity to make Ohio history by claiming just one more for the first ever “complete repeat”. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Mt. Notre Dame had dome different ideas in mind including some history of their own as they claimed their seventh all time state championship tying the record number of titles for a school. Things were competitive throughout with six lead changes and three ties before the beginning of the fourth period. From there till the final horn it was all Cougars in a 52 – 31 runaway.
While the first period was hardly an offensive showcase in terms of scoring, both teams were efficient shooting the ball. Pickerington Central shot 6 for 10 and took a slight 13 – 9 lead following the quarter. Mt. Notre Dame was 3 of 5 for 50 percent but turned the ball over 5 times to limit their opportunities. Senior Madison Greene paced the Tigers with five points to open the game.
The Cougars cut the turnovers down to just two in the second period while continuing to shoot it well (4 – 7) to grab the lead at the break of a low scoring contest. For you math majors out there that means Pickerinton Central was 1 for 11 from the floor (a Greene three pointer) and added just a trio of points to their total to trail 19 – 16 at the break. By the half, MND senior post Julia Hoefling had found some seams to attack in the Tiger defense scoring off the drive to the tune of six points. For the first 16 minutes of play Mt. Notre Dame was a combined 7 of 12 from the floor while Pick Central had a chilly 7 for 21 report card.
Four different times in the third period the Tigers cut the lead to a single point and even had things tied up at another point. Their shooting warmed up slightly as they connected on 5 of 14 attempts for 37.7 percent and also capitalized on 3 MND turnovers plus pulled 3 offensive boards. The Cougars maintained their blistering pace from the floor shooting 5 for 9 for the period at 55.6 percent to lead 32 – 29 with 8 minutes to decide it all.
For Pickerington Central it didn’t remotely take eight minutes to decide things. While it was hardly their “choice”, combined with two misses at the end of the third they went on a 0 for 15 shooting streak that didn’t come to an end until there was just 1:37 remaining and their first bucket in over seven minutes cut the lead to 17. Mt. Notre Dame capitalized on the Tigers scoreless drought by shooting 6 of 8 over that icy span. Sandwiched in that run were two three pointers from senior Gabbie Marshall that came from virtually across the OSU campus and pretty much took the wind out of the sails for the Pickerington Central and their hopes to repeat. When it was finally over it was the Cougars from Cincinnati taking home the gold with a surprising 52 – 31 margin for the win.
MND, while taking just 29 attempts compared to 51 for the Tigers, made 18 for an incredible 62.1 percent as a team for the game. Pickerington Central ended up with a 13 -51 effort from the floor for just 25.5 percent. Mt. Notre Dame controlled the boards as well grabbing 29 rebounds to 24 for the Tigers. Both teams took care of the ball as Pick Central finished with just 6 turnovers while the Cougars turned it over 11 times in the win.
Hoefling led the way for Mt. Notre Dame with 14 on 5 of 8 shooting. Marshall finished with 11 while Sophomore Laila Phelia had 10 more. Freshman KK Bransford was 4 of 4 shooting finishing with 9 points and 7 rebounds. Greene was the only Tiger to hit double figures finishing with 10 points and four steals. Fellow senior Maliya Perry chipped in 8 in the loss.
Going “back to back” in any sport at any level is an accomplishment. The bullseye on your back grows over the course of the year and every opponent is out to dethrone you. With that in mind, Toledo Rogers came out of the gate looking to defend their title with a vengeance. Their 8 – 2 run to open convinced Carroll to call an early timeout before things got out of hand. The Patriots slowed the momentum but only briefly as the Lady Rams stretched the lead to 15 – 7 at the end of one. Rogers was 7 for 15 from the floor for 40 percent while Carroll struggled to find the range at 25 percent. McDonald’s All-American Zia Cooke had 7 while standout sophomore Madison Royal Davis contributed 6 in the period.
The onslaught continued early in the second as Rogers extended the lead to 17 on two separate occasions before the Patriots found their way going on a run of their own to close the gap to just seven at the half, 26 – 19. It wasn’t so much that Carroll warmed up, they were still just 4 for 15 in the quarter, but the Rams cooled off themselves going just 3 of 12 and turning it over 4 times before the break. Senior post Julia Keller had 7 for the Patriots in the period.
Out of the gate in the third Carroll had a 7 – 2 run only to see Toledo Rogers respond and get the gap back to seven prior to the media timeout at the 3:58 mark. Before the end of the quarter the Lady Rams had withstood the charge and held a 41 – 31 ten point lead.
The Patriots weren’t going quietly into the night. Each time Rogers threatened to pull away in the fourth they responded. Though they were only able to get the lead into single digits once in the final period, they held their ground forcing Rogers Coach Lamar Smith to stay with his starters until under a minute to play. Keller had 7 more in the final period but it wasn’t enough as the Lady Rams claimed their second OHSAA State Championship.
For the game Rogers shot 20 for 45 from the floor for 44.4 percent. Carroll struggled throughout finishing at 16 of 51 for just 31.4 percent. The Lady Rams had a four rebound edge on the boards 36 – 32 getting 10 points on their second chances. Both teams had moments with turnovers though in the end handled the ball well. Carroll finished with 11 turnovers while Rogers gave it up 14 times.
Royal Davis led the way in the win with 17 points while Cooke put an exclamation point on her high school career with a final double / double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Keller paced the Patriots with 17 in her high school finale while fellow senior Elisabeth Bush added a double / double of 14 points and 12 boards.
It’s not many teams who can survive a 5 for 26 start from the floor in a state championship game and still have the chance to celebrate and cut down the nets. Africentric did just that Saturday in the OHSAA Division III championship game knocking the ice off the rim and ultimately knocking off a determined Waynesville team 51 – 47. The undefeated Lady Nubians claimed their record tying seventh state championship the hard way struggling in virtually every way before utilizing a 21 – 9 third quarter to take control of the game.
Early on it looked as though neither team was going to be on their game with both teams producing a combined 15 turnovers in a low scoring 7 – 6 first period. Africentric held the one point edge but had shot just 3 for 13 for a whopping 23.1 percent. Waynesville was just 2 of 7 but gave up 7 offensive boards to the Lady Nubians while being outrebounded 11 – 5.
The second period didn’t see offensive basketball reinvented as the defending champs still held the lead at 18 – 15 by virtue of a last second three pointer by junior Alexia Smith. Africentric was still ice cold overall connecting on just 5 of 26 for the half while the Spartans were only 4 of 10. McDonald’s All-American Jordan Horston was severely under the weather and found the going tough finishing the half just 1 of 10 shooting from the floor.
The third period opened with Africentric capitalizing on offensive boards and turnovers establishing a double figure lead before the quarter was half over. Sophomore forward Arianna Smith had 9 of her 11 points in the period with the lead standing at 39 -24 with eight minutes remaining. However it was a couple of transition plays and no look passes by future Lady Vol Horston that set the tone for the Africentric run. While the Lady Nubians warmed up to a degree, Waynesville was just 3 for 12 with 6 turnovers across the third.
The Spartans demonstrated why they came into Saturday’s game undefeated as they clawed their way back within reach in the final period. Outscoring Africentric 23 – 12 they were 5 of 10 from the floor while holding their turnovers to just one for the period. The Lady Nubians had cooled back off (22%) but were also playing much more conservative with the lead and a title within reach. For the Spartans, seniors Marcella Sizer and Rachel Murray combined for 20 in the period to get things within reach but it was too little, too late leaving the final margin at just four points, 51 – 47.
As a team Africentric was 15 for 55 at 27.3 percent while Waynesville came home 12 of 32 at 37.5 percent. The Lady Nubians completely dominated the boards 46 – 24 and pulled a game defining 26 offensive rebounds in the process. The Spartans turned the ball over 20 times in the loss while Africentric settled down to finish with only 13 for the game.
Horston, despite playing both Waynesville and Mother Nature, finished with a double / double of 15 points and 10 rebounds while adding 6 assists and 2 steals. Smith had 11 on 4 of 6 shooting while grabbing 6 boards. Waynesville got another double / double from Sizer who finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Murray paced the scoring producing 15 that included a 7 of 7 effort from the line.
A year ago Ottoville came up 15 points short against Minster and just a month ago they came up 18 points short once again. A rematch at the state tournament was the dream redemption any athlete would hope for and, after both posted semifinal win, the stage was set once again. Unfortunately for the Lady Green the result didn’t differ from the last two contests. Early momentum slipped away and Minster capitalized and claimed their second consecutive OHSAA Division IV State Championship with a 53 – 37 win.
Both teams came out with some nerves as the score at the 4:00 mark of the first period was just 5 – 4 in favor of Ottoville. Things did warm up slightly and the Lady Green happily led 13 – 9 after the quarter. Ottoville was 5 for 17 from the floor for just 29.4 percent while Minster knocked down 4 out of 10 attempts from the floor. Ottoville’s 6 offensive boards provided them the extra looks to take the slight edge despite their frosty shooting.
After some back and forth Minster tied things up at 13 and ultimately grabbed the lead by way of a 10 – 1 run across a 4 minute period down the stretch of the first half. At the break the Wildcats held a 25 – 19 edge going into the locker room. Minsters shooting returned to life connecting on 6 of 9 shooting (66.7%) while Ottoville struggled going 2 of 9 (22%). Sophomore Jenna Hoying posted eight points in the period for Minister while Courtney Prenger added four more.
Hoying and Prenger continued the attack in the third helping open up the Minster lead to as much as 17. Prenger was effective around the rim while Hoying created her offense by way of defense (4 steals). Separate 6 – 0 and 8 – 0 runs poised Minster to be within sight of their second crown with eight minutes to go, 42 – 26. Prenger posted eight more for the period while Hoying added seven to the lead. Ottoville’s 2 for 7 shooting and 6 turnovers made the fourth period a looming uphill battle.
The Lady Green weren’t ready to hand over the hardware quite yet. Over the course of the final quarter they were able to cut an 18 point lead to nine and recapture some momentum. Minster shot just 2 of 8 helping the cause for the Lady Green…to a degree. They forced Ottoville into 7 turnovers in the period and connected on 7 of 10 free throws once the intentional fouls inevitably began. In the end the Wildcats were cutting down the nets for the second year in a row courtesy of a 53 – 37 win.
For the game Minster ended up shooting 20 of 42 from the floor and 4 for 13 from three point range. Ottoville could manage just 12 for 40 but did connect on 5 of 10 long balls. Ottoville did hold an edge on the glass grabbing 31 boards to 25 for the Wildcats. Ottoville turned it over 16 times in the loss while Minster gave it up on just 6 possessions.
Hoying paced the scoring for the Wildcats with 19 points on 6 of 10 shooting including 3 for 4 three point shooting. Prenger wrapped up her last high school game with 16 points on 7 for 13 shooting while grabbing 8 rebounds and chalking up 3 blocks. Senior Haley Hoersten led the Lady Green in the loss with 10 while classmate Kasey Knippen finished with 9 points and 6 rebounds.
