COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Buckeye State has things down to four games and Saturday’s championship contests will crown champions in each division for the 2013 season. Semifinal games Thursday and Friday cut the field in half and set the stage for some exciting basketball as well as some extensive celebrating and net cutting.
Blue Star Media has been on hand from the first tip and will catch all of the action Saturday as well. Here are some quick previews of the participants in each of the title games as well as a quick recap on what happened in their semifinal games that led them to the verge of a state championship.
DIVISION I
KETTERING FAIRMONT VERSUS TWINSBURG
Fairmont made their way into the final by way of a challenging battle with Toledo Notre Dame. In a game not decided until the last minute of play, junior forward Kathryn Westbeld led the way with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Chelsea Welch was just one of seven from the floor but connected on all eight of her free throw attempts and finished with 10 on the night. The Firebirds trailed by three at the half but limited Notre Dame to just 27 percent shooting over the final two periods and limited the Eagles to just 12 second half points. The folks from Kettering won the battle on the boards by two and had two less turnovers than their opponents as well. Notre Dame actually outscored Fairmont from the floor 29 to 25 but lost the battle from the line as their 2 of 3 wasn’t enough to overcome a 12 for 16 performance by the Firebirds.
Twinsburg earned the right to defend their crown and take a shot a three in a row by holding off a resilient Olentangy Orange squad. The Pioneers trailed by 14 entering the fourth and cut the lead down to eight with plenty of time to challenge but that would be as close as they got. Ohio Miss Basketball Ashley Morrissette paced the Tigers with 20 while fellow senior Brooke Thompson-Smith added 19 more by way of an 8 for 11 effort from the floor. Junior Baleigh Reid finished with 15 and senior Char-Dell Dunnigan chipped in 14 of her own in the win. The Tigers connected on an impressive 27 of 47 field goal attempts finishing at a 57.4 percent clip. Orange won the battle on the boards by two and actually shot a respectable 47 percent themselves but Twinsburg’s depth and blistering touch led them to a chance for a Saturday three-peat.
DIVISION II
HATHAWAY BROWN VERSUS WEST HOLMES
Hathaway Brown earned the chance to go for five in a row with a solid 57 – 38 win over previously undefeated Clyde. Senior Nia Marshall led four players in double figures with 14. Fellow senior Stephanie Solano had 11 while Vanessa Smith and Beth Brzozowski had 10 each. The Blazers had a 13 point lead at the half that Clyde cut to 10 after three, but a 16 – 7 final period sealed the win and a trip back to the finals. The defending champs forced the Fliers into 22 turnovers while committing just 11 of their own. Hathaway Brown finished 5 for 8 from three point range and 12 of 13 from the line but shot just 38.5 percent from the floor.
West Holmes already owns an early season win over Hathaway Brown but their dominating win against Chaminade Julienne demonstrated they wanted the chance to do it again for all the marbles. A 20 to 6 first quarter set the tone for a game that would ultimately see the Lady Knights chalk up a 69 – 44 ticket to the finals. Junior Laina Snyder had a monster double-double with 26 points and 19 rebounds along with four assists and three blocks for good measure. CJ could muster just 17 of 65 from the floor and West Holmes cleaned up all those misses by way of a 58 – 28 rebound margin for the game.
DIVISION III
AFRICENTRIC VERSUS ANNA
Trailing by three entering the fourth, Africentric used a 13 – 7 final period to edge Beverly Fort Frye and earn a trip back to the finals to defend their 2012 crown. Senior post Marley Hill had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Alexis parks went four of eight from the floor while adding nine more in the win. The Lady Nubians won the battle on the boards by three and had four less turnovers than the Lady Cadets.
Anna lit up the scoreboard with 49 first half points and 59 percent shooting and just to make a point shot 73.7 percent in the second half to cruise to a 80 to 59 win over Orrville. Senior forward Natalie Billing went off for 29 to go with 10 rebounds and sophomore Cayla Bensman contributed 26 more with her 12 for 16 shooting effort. The Rockets handled things on the boards 35 – 31 but did give up 17 offensive boards across the course of the game. Ironically the 21 point win came without a single three point attempt for Anna which in part was due to a relentless (and ultra-effective) transition game that had the Red Riders on the ropes from the start.
DIVISION IV
BERLIN HILAND VERSUS FORT LORAMIE
In one of the tighter semifinal games of the 2013 tournament Berlin Hiland used a 19 – 14 fourth quarter to edge Reedsville Eastern and earn a chance to redeem their 2012 championship game loss to Arlington. Regina Hochstetler finished with 24 in the win, 17 of which came in the second half after a 1 of 5 first half struggle. Reedsville Eastern outscored the Hawks from the floor by 4 but Hiland went 14 of 23 at the line while the Eagles finished just 5 of 6. Eastern outshot the Hawks 46.7 percent to 34 percent, controlled the boards in the loss by 9 but committed 20 turnovers while the Berlin bunch only gave it up just 7 times.
The first quarter of the Fort Loramie game with undefeated Ottoville saw an ice show with only six points posted between the two. Once things warmed up it took overtime for Fort Loramie to take control and post a 49 – 42 win. Rose Darian led the way scoring all of her 21 points in the second half and overtime after an 0 for 4 first half effort. Sophomore Hallie Benanzer added 12 more on 4 for 7 shooting, all of which came from three point range. Ottoville dominated the glass 39 – 25 but committed 32 costly turnovers, a majority of which came in the critical fourth quarter that erased their six point third period advantage. Fort Loramie has 22 turnovers of their own but capitalized on 11 steals to return the favor to the Lady Green.
