COLUMBUS, Ohio- Friday saw the big and small of it all at the 2019 OHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournament. Semifinals in the Division IV and Division I classifications were the order of the second day of play. Thursday’s action featured D-II and III filling in their half of the bracket for Championship Saturday in the Schottenstein Center on the campus of Ohio State.
Two more defending champions (D-IV Minster and D-I Pickerington Central) were looking to punch their ticket back to the finals just as Toledo Rogers (D-II) and Africentric (D-III) had already done Thursday. Minster took the floor first in game one putting up their 26 – 1 record against Cornerstone Christian’s 23 – 4 mark. Game two saw Ottoville, 24 – 3, looking to get back to the final that broke their heart just a year ago as they took on a 24 – 4 Shadyside team. The Division I evening session opened with a pair of two loss teams as Cincinnati Mt. Notre Dame took on Canton GlenOak. In the nightcap Pickerington Central, 27 – 1, faced Notre Dame Academy out of Toledo. Keep reading below to see who still has hopes of taking bragging rights hope from Columbus when all is said and done.
To see a quick Thursday semifinal synopsis, follow the link below.
https://www.bluestarmedia.org/2019-ohio-state-tournament/
Saturday’s championship schedule tips off at 10:45 a.m. and finishes following the 8:30 D-I grand finale.
10:45 – Division III -Africentric (27 – 0) vs Waynesville (27 – 0)
2:00 – Division II – Toledo Rogers (26 – 2) vs Dayton Carroll (27 – 2)
5:15 – Division IV – Minster (27 – 1) vs Ottoville (25 – 3)
8:30 – Division I – Pickerington Central (28 – 1) vs Mt. Notre Dame (26 – 2)
Cornerstone Christian had the unenviable task trying to dethrone defending state champion Minster who came into the game with a 25.53 point per game margin of victory. Unfortunately for the Patriots the Wildcats continued their express to Saturday’s final rolling to a commanding 65 – 31 win. Cornerstone had no answer for Xavier signee Courtney Prenger who finished with 18 points on 9 for 14 shooting while pulling 9 rebounds. Sophomore Ivy Wolf added 12 more to go with her 6 assists and 3 steals. Junior wing / forward Kailey Tyna led the Patriots in the loss with 13 points and 5 rebounds.
Ottoville lost to Minster in last year’s final as well last month on February 4th by 15 and 18 respectively. Yet the Lady Green are looking forward to another shot at the Wildcats and the OHSAA Division IV title. Shadyside stood in the way Friday and forced Ottoville to play 32 minutes before conceding a spot in Saturday’s championship game 50 – 43. The Lady Tigers have made a living on the long ball all year (over half of their total FG attempts are from deep) and Friday was no different except that 33.3 percent wasn’t enough to carry the day at against the Lady Green. Senior Kasey Knippen led the way in the win for Ottoville with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 4 steals. For the Lady Tigers sophomore Baylee Watch had 17 points on a 5 for 10 effort from behind the arch.
Mt. Notre Dame has six state titles to their credit over the years with the most recent coming in 2017. The 25 – 2 Cougars were on a mission to get back to the finals after entirely missing the state tournament last season. Canton GlenOak has one championship on their resume (1989) but it appeared Mt. Notre Dame was hungrier from the tip than the 22 – 2 Golden Eagles. MND outscored them in each of the first three quarters holding a comfortable 46 – 22 edge entering the final period on their way to a convincing 55 – 37 win. The Cougars had three in double digits led by freshman KK Bransford with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Seniors Gabbie Marshall and Julia Hoefling added 11 each. Junior post Hayley Smith led the Golden Eagles in the loss with 10 points and 7 boards.
With 5:12 to go in the game Pickerington Central looked like they had locked up a trip to the finals Saturday compliments of Notre Dame Academy’s slow start to the final period. The Eagles, however, weren’t quite finished as they went on one last 16 -4 run. By the time there was 1:24 left we had a two possession, four point game at 46 – 42 still in favor of the Tigers. Notre Dame would get no closer and the parade to the foul line made the final margin 10 at 52 – 42 allowing Pickerington Central the chance to defend their 2018 championship. Senior Madison Greene led the Tigers with 14 while classmates Jada Tate and Maliya Perry both contributed 11 more in the win. Notre Dame Academy got 15 from ultra-impressive freshman Grace VanSlooten while senior Ashley Barron added 12 to wrap up her scholastic career.
