COLUMBUS, Ohio– While the Republicans and Democrats are inundating the Buckeye State in advance of next Tuesday’s Ohio Primary, the most competitive campaign is going on in the Schottenstein Center of Ohio State University. The Ohio High School Athletic Association is playing host to the 41st annual Girls’ Basketball State Tournament looking to crown champions on four separate divisions when all is said and done Saturday evening.
Considered one of the top five recruited states nationally, there are 86 committed seniors in the 2016 class and 15 underclassmen who have already offered up a verbal pledge for their collegiate futures. Of those underclassmen, 13 made the trip to Columbus. Six teams return from last year’s field but just one returning champion, Archbishop Alter, earned the right to defend their crown. Two teams, Gilmour Academy and Cornerstone, are making their first state tournament appearances in school history. Only one team, Ironton, made it through the season to the state tournament without a single loss on their record.
Day one saw Division II and Division II semifinals on tap. Their counterparts in Divisions IV and I will take the floor Friday to set up the four championship contests beginning Saturday at 10:45 A.M.
Division III Semifinal
Marion Pleasant gave up an early lead in the first period and didn’t get it back until just 3:17 remained in their Division III match up with Gilmour Academy. They gave it back just one time more before reclaiming it for good at the 2:52 mark and holding off the Lacers for a 50 – 47 win. They advance to Saturday’s final to take on Columbus Africentric for the D-III title.
Gilmour held a one point edge after one and extended it three at the break. Sophomore forward Naz Hillmon had eight points and five rebounds in the half for the Lancers while junior guard Summer Blevins had 11 for Pleasant including two three pointers from downtown. Gilmour added one point to the lead after three to head into the final period up 36 – 32.
Kamryn Kimmel and Blevins delivered in the critical fourth with the Spartans claiming their 27th win of the season and the chance to play one more. Gilmour actually outscored Pleasant 42 – 39 from the floor but a 5 for 14 effort at the line came up short compared to their opponents 11 of 16 productivity. The Spartans won the battle on the glass by three but committed four more turnovers while still coming out on top. Pleasant was 48.6 percent from the floor while Gilmour came in at 40.9. Blevins paced the scoring with 18 on 6 for 11 shooting including a perfect 3 of 3 from deep. She added 8 rebounds to the cause and her five assists were highlight film material. Kimmel was 5 for 9 and 2 of 4 from three point range to finish with 17 points of her own. Hillmon finished with a double – double in the loss scoring 16 while pulling 12 boards. She shot an impressive 70 percent from the floor and dished out five assists for good measure. Gilmour finished their season at 23 and 6.
Division III Semifinal
Ironton entered Thursday’s Division III semifinal with an impressive 27 – 0 record. Problem was Africentric was not interested in their unblemished effort. The Lady Nubians trailed 12 – 5 after the first period but erupted in the second to lead 27 – 20 at the half and never looked back. Before the smoke had cleared they owned a solid 63 – 34 win and a ticket to Saturday’s final with Marion Pleasant.
Leah Morrow was a one man wrecking crew across the first period putting up 14 points on 7 of 14 shooting. Ironton turned it over 12 times in the first 16 minutes and could manage just 31.8 percent shooting as a team. James Madison signee Lexie Barrier struggled to get her eight first half points but did grab 11 boards in the process. Africentric added six more to the lead in the third extending the margin to 37 – 24.
Morrow was 11 of 20 for the game finishing with 22 points and six rebounds. Antoinette Williams added 14 while standout freshman Jordan Horston had 12 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Barrier had a double – double in the loss putting up 10 points and 17 rebounds. Sophomore guard Alexis Wise added 11 points of her own. Africentric shot 48.1 percent as a team while the wheels came off for Ironton going 11 of 42 for just 26.2 percent in the loss. Everything was even on the boards but the Lady Nubians forced the fighting Tigers into 20 costly turnovers in their only loss of the season.
Division II Semifinal
The defending Division II champs from Archbishop Alter were cold out of the gate in their match up with Columbus Eastmoor. Lucky for the Knights things warmed up before the end of the first half and they found their normal stride in the second to post a convincing 60 – 34 win earning a return trip to the Saturday final.
The Warriors actually held the lead a large part of that first period before Alter ended the quarter with a 6 – 0 run. The Knight’s two big guns junior Braxtin Miller and Libby Bazelak were a combined 2 of 10 in the first eight minutes but would find their stride before the end of the first half. Taking a 27 – 14 lead into the break, Miller had 10 points while Bazelak had 5. Eastmoor got four points and seven rebounds from senior guard Jala Belcher. The roof caved in on Eastmoor in the third as Alter posted a 22 – 4 period and extended the lead to 25 points. The fourth quarter saw the Warriors compete but fall short looking at a season ending score of 60 – 34.
Alter managed a 41.5 percent effort from the floor highlighted by a 6 for 18 three point production. Eastmoor struggled at 27.5 percent making just 14 of 51 shots. The Knights dominated the boards as well at 42 – 31 and forced the Warriors into 16 turnovers while committing just 12 of their own. Miller led the way in the win with 19 points but struggled from the floor going just 6 of 20. Bazelak had a productive night with 12 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals. Belcher finished the night for Eastmoor with 10 points and 9 rebounds. The Warriors end the year with a 22 – 5 record.
Division II Semifinal
The evening’s final game and second D-II semi was a tale of four quarters. Unfortunately the tale of the fourth period was a tragedy for Hathaway Brown and led to Ottawa Glandorf advancing by way of a 51 – 40 win. The Lady Titans entered the fourth trailing by three and then reeled off 14 unanswered points while pitching a shutout for the quarter. Saturday’s D-II final will see Ottawa Glandorf try to deny Archbishop Alter’s effort to repeat their 2015 state title success.
Glandorf jumped out by four after the first eight minutes of play. Hathaway Brown saw fit to match them in the second period leading to a 26 all stalemate at the break. Sophomore swing player Kadie Hempfling had 12 in the half for the Lady Titans while sophomore power guard Jackie Carman led the Blazers with 10. A 14 – 11 third period gave Hathaway Brown the last lead they would hold for the season before the disastrous final quarter put an end to their hopes of a Saturday match up with Archbishop Alter.
Ottawa Glandorf didn’t light it up but managed to shoot 40 percent in the win. Hathaway Brown wasn’t so fortunate finishing 13 for 39 for 33.3 percent. The Blazers led the rebounding by one but committed 19 turnovers to just 9 for the winning Lady Titans. Hempfling finished with 20 points while junior Kylie White chipped in a double – double of 11 points and 11 boards. In the loss Carman led with 14 while forward Dani Lawson added a double – double of her own of 13 points and 10 rebounds but also committed 7 turnovers along the way. The Blazers wrap up the 2015 – 16 campaign at 17 and 11.
