COLUMBUS, Ohio— A state title is a special thing in any sport, any state, any class or any year. However, one in Ohio carries that little extra meaning when you consider the legacy of talented players and the position in the collegiate recruiting landscape that the Buckeye State holds. Saturday four more teams added their name to the record book in the finals of the 41st annual OHSAA Girls State Basketball Tournament.
Two days of semifinals in all four classes led to Championship Day on the campus of Ohio State University. To see how all eight of the teams taking the floor Saturday made their way to the finals, follow the links below to see wrap ups from all the semifinal action in Columbus.
Day one coverage – Division II and III
http://www.bluestarmedia.org/ohio-state-tournament-day-one-2/
Day two coverage – Division I and IV
http://www.bluestarmedia.org/ohio-state-tournament-day-two-2/
Here’s a look at the newly crowned champions in the Buckeye State and how they won their crowns.
Division I Championship
The reason winning a state championship is such a big deal is that it’s such an inherently difficult thing to accomplish. The sheer number of teams in any given state makes it an uphill climb from the start. Add in the well-deserved reputation of Ohio high school girls’ basketball and you understand the magnitude of Wadsworth’s 2016 Division I state title. Mason wasn’t going to roll over and hand the title to the Grizzlies and things were certainly getting a little antsy down the stretch. The Comets found themselves down 16 at the half against a team they had beaten by 11 earlier in the season. Wadsworth knew they couldn’t relax for even a moment and Mason made sure they didn’t cutting the lead to a single possession on three different occasions in the fourth period before bowing 60 – 51.
Wadsworth came out on fire opening up the first period with a 10 – 0 run before Mason could even get on the board. The Grizzlies shot 55 percent for the quarter while the Comets made just 2 of 7 and committed 5 turnovers. Senior Jodi Johnson had seven in the opening quarter leading Wadsworth to a 16 – 6 lead after eight minutes. Mason continued to be ice cold in the second period connecting on just 3 of 11 field goal attempts while adding 5 more turnovers to their total. Johnson added five more to finish the half with 12 as she and her teammates had extended the lead to 16 at the break. Wadsworth shot 55 percent for the half while the Comets came in at 27.8 percent shooting from the floor.
Some role reversal came into play during the third with Mason jumping out quickly on a 7 – 1 run and forcing Wadsworth into calling a quick timeout after just 1:33 of play. They slowed the momentum but before the quarter was out a 16 point halftime lead had shrunk to a very manageable seven point margin at 37 – 30. The Comets were 6 of 11 for the period while Wadsworth struggled at 1 of 5 to go with 4 turnovers. Mason senior Jailyn Mason, who spent a large part of the second period on the bench with foul problems, had six for the quarter while freshman Sammie Puisis added five more for the Comets.
Mason got things to single digits just a minute into the fourth and got things down to a single possession trailing by three at the 4:33 mark. Wadsworth worked it back up to seven with 2:37 remaining but Mason wouldn’t go away getting it back to 53 – 50 at 2:14. It was as close as they would get as the Grizzlies inched the margin back out of reach stretching it to 60 – 51 when the celebration began. Johnson’s 12 point final period countered the Comets Lauren Van Kluenen’s 10. While Mason outscored Wadsworth 14 – 9 from the floor in the fourth their 7 of 10 free throw total was doubled up by the Grizzlies 14 for 16 production at the line.
Johnson led the way in the win with 28 points on 8 of 12 shooting that included 10 of 11 from the free throw line. As a team Wadsworth shot an impressive 55.2 percent for the game from the floor and 88.9 percent from the line. Mason’s final shooting percentage came in at 40.9 percent but the 14 of 23 effort at the line left them short in the end. Van Kluenen, a senior, had a double – double of 15 points and 11 rebounds while Jailyn Mason added 10 more in the loss. The Comets held a 27 – 20 edge on the boards including 17 on the offensive end. The also forced the Grizzlies into 16 turnovers while committing just 12 of their own but still had to watch as Wadsworth celebrated their second ever state title. Ironically, the first also came against a Mason squad clear back in 1997.
Division II Championship
Few teams get to cut down the nets for a state title. Fewer still get to do it multiple times. And those who can do it back to back…well…they’re special. Archbishop Alter out of Kettering, Ohio has been to the state tournament seven times and now can lay claim to three OSHAA titles. The last two coming in 2015 and now 2016. Their 74 – 48 win over Ottawa Glandorf was a much more competitive than the score indicates but in the end it was another convincing win for the Knights whose graduating seniors finish with 101 wins under their career belts.
The first period saw Alter jump out to a 14 – 8 lead helped in part by four turnovers on the part of the Lady Titans. Senior guard Libby Bazelak put up five for the Knights and added two assists and a steal to the cause. Sophomore Kadie Hempfling picked up where she left off in the semis notching six of O-G’s eight. The second quarter saw Alter stretch the lead to as much as 11 only to see the Lady Titans get it back to five two separate times including a steal and lunge shot at the buzzer for Hempfling leading to a 27 – 22 score at the half. Bazelak had eight points in the half to go with four rebounds and three assists. Junior Braxtin Miller had six of her own as well as five boards. Hempfling was 5 of 8 from the floor for 10 points for Ottawa Glandorf while junior Kylie White added 10 of her own shooting five of eight from the floor.
The third saw Alter extend the margin back to 11 only to see the Lady Titans recapture the momentum and close to four with 2:21 to go. Unfortunately that run came to an abrupt end as did Hempfling’s season. The hard working utility player came up from a scramble on the floor holding a finger and wearing a concerned look on her face. When she left the game and subsequently the bench things began to unravel for the Lady Titans. Alter went on a 8 – 0 run to end the quarter and take a 12 point edge into the final period. Miller lit it up in the third with 15 points for the Knights. Hempfling ultimately returned to the bench with enough ice wrapped on her hand to signal that her night was over. When junior Kylie White fouled out with 7:18 to go in the fourth the Lady Titans were without their top two scorers and the writing was on the wall.
Alter claimed their crown shooting an astounding 57.9 percent as a team including a 9 for 15 effort from three point range. Ottawa Glandorf was 21 of 46 for 45.7 percent but just 3 for 18 from deep. The Knights held a huge margin at the line going 21 for 28 while the Lady Titans was just 3 of 9. Alter won the boards 26 – 22 and forced 18 turnovers while committing just 12 of their own. Miller had a night to remember finishing with 33 points on 13 of 18 shooting. She was 3 for 4 from three point range and 4of 6 at the line. For good measure she added 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Senior Libby Bazelak went out in style with10 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals for Alter. Freshman Erin Kaufman led the way for Ottawa Glandorf with 12, seven of which came in a single run in the third period. White was 5 for 9 and had 11 before fouling out while Hempfling finished with 10 before her injury.
Division III Championship
Marion Pleasant had just 15 turnovers in their three point semifinal win over Gilmour Academy. They had 15 again in the final Saturday…unfortunately that was just the total for the first half. Columbus Africentric’s defense proved to be stifling for the Spartans as they saw a halftime lead fall into the abyss of 36 turnovers as the Lady Nubians claimed a 59 – 37 win in the OHSAA Division III Championship Game. Throw in the 14 offensive boards Africentric grabbed and you’ve got 50 extra opportunities that were just too much for Pleasant to overcome.
The Spartans led virtually the entire first period and all of the second despite coughing the ball up time and again. They held an 11 – 10 edge after one quarter and at the half were still on top despite the repetitive turnovers by a 23 – 19 count. Senior guard Kamryn Kimmel had nine in the half to lead the way but, ironically, had 12 of the 15 turnovers. Junior Leah Morrow had six for Africentric while senior Zharia Lenoir and fellow junior Kynnedy Azubike each had five. The Lady Nubians were fortunate to stay close with an ice cold 21.9 percent field goal percentage keeping them from capitalizing on the Spartan’s miscues.
Pleasant got a handle on the turnovers in the third committing just five but the ice stayed on the rim at that end of the floor as they made just one field goal in the period shooting a combined 16.7 percent as a team. Africentric warmed up making 7 of 11 shots from the floor and dominating the boards 9 to 1 for the period. The Spartans entered the half up three and moved to the fourth trailing 35 – 26. Africentric wasn’t about to let the 2016 crown slip away never letting the lead dip into single digits and by the end held a 22 gap to nail down their fifth state championship.
Azubike led the way in the win with 15 points on 6 for 11 shooting. Morrow followed with 12 to go with her team leading nine rebounds. The ever improving Horston had 11 points, seven boards, three assists and five steals to cap her freshman campaign. In the loss the Spartans had no one reach double figures. Kimmel finished with the nine she had in the first half and 16 turnovers she would rather forget. Junior standout Summer Blevins struggled going 1 of 5 but more so racked up just one assist early in the game to go with her five turnovers.
For the game Pleasant outshot Africentric from the floor 42.9 percent to 37.7. The Lady Nubians had the edge on the boards 29 – 23 including the 14 offensive rebounds mentioned earlier. Obviously the turnover department belonged to the new champs who had just 19 to counter the 36 from the Spartans. Of those 36, 18 were the result of Africentric steals.
Division IV Championship
Nobody will mistake the 2016 OHSAA Division IV Championship Game for an offensive showcase. What will be remembered in Waterford years from now isn’t the 18.9 percent shooting or the 29 total points. What they’ll remember is cutting down the nets and hardware in the trophy case that says State Champions. Despite a lackluster performance by either Waterford or St. Wendelin across 30 minutes, the last two provided the drama that makes tournament time so special. When all was said and done the Wildcats utilized a driving layup by sophomore Megan Ball to top the Mohawks who couldn’t convert at the buzzer for a 29 – 27 victory.
While we normally write highlights, quite frankly, there weren’t that many. St. Wendelin opened the action with an eight turnover first period that saw them come out on the short end of a 6 – 5 score. Both teams combined for a 5 for 17 shooting effort across the first eight minutes. Round two of this slugfest went to the Mohawks 7 to 6 despite adding nine more turnovers to their total. For this period the two squads shot 3 for 17 to make the combined percentage for the first half 23.5 percent. Just when you think it’s safe to go back to the court, here comes a 5 – 4 third quarter in favor of Waterford giving them a one point edge down the home stretch. The shooting this time was 4 of 22 together however St. Wendelin cut their turnovers down to just five in the third (22 in 24 minutes).
The fourth period saw both teams go for double digits with Waterford adding one to the lead for the final two point margin. Ball tied things at 22 at the 3:47 mark on a free throw for Waterford. There was some back and forth before it was tied once more at 1:42 mark and then again with 51 seconds on the clock. Waterford turned it over only to have the Mohawks give it right back leading to Ball’s winning layup with just 13 seconds remaining. St. Wendelin was able to get it in the hands of their go to senior post Kamryn Troike who got the shot off despite lots of contact but was unable to convert.
For the game Waterford shot 10 for 53 in claiming their first state title. (They were runner-up a year ago). St. Wendelin had 30 less attempts finishing 10 of 23 from the floor. The rebound war went to the Wildcats 32 – 30 which included a whopping 21 offensive rebounds. The Mohawks back was broke on their 27 turnovers that Waterford turned into 18 points. Waterford had just 12 miscues of their own in their championship win.
