COLUMBUS, Ohio—With one day in the books and two of Saturday’s championship match-ups set, the OHSAA State Tournament turned its attention to the Division IV and Division I semifinals on Friday.  D-IV took the floor first in the afternoon before the big dogs from D-I went front and center for the evening session.

Saturday will feature championship games in all four classifications beginning at 10:45 with the Division III final followed at 2:00 by D-II and Archbishop Alter defending their 2015 crown.  At 5:15 the Division IV final is on tap followed at 8:30 by the D-I grand finale.  The 2016 crown is up for grabs with the defending champs from Lakota West coming up one game short in their bid to return to Columbus and defend the Division I crown.

For a look back at Thursday’s Division III and II semifinals, follow the link below to Blue Star Media’s day one coverage.

http://www.bluestarmedia.org/ohio-state-tournament-day-one-2/

Below are a look at each of Friday’s semifinal games in the Division IV and Division I classes.

Division IV Semifinal

Cornerstone Christian jumped out early on the Wildcats from Waterford but found that their success was to be short lived.  Waterford exploited the Patriots inability to put the ball in the hole to claim a 52 – 42 Division IV semifinal win.  Cornerstone was never completely out of reach and actually entered the fourth period trailing by just four points.  A 21 – 15 Waterford run over the last eight minutes led to the final margin and the chance for the Wildcats to claim a win in the championship game that eluded them just a year ago.

Despite shooting just 29.4 percent in the first period the Patriots held a 13 – 8 lead and had forced Waterford into six turnovers.  Unfortunately, making just 1 of 10 shots in the second quarter enabled the Wildcats to take a 21 – 15 lead at the half.  Cornerstone “warmed up” to a 4 for 13 shooting effort in the third but Waterford responded with a 5 of 10 slate of their own and still held a 31 – 27 edge entering the telltale fourth period.

Waterford finished the game at 43.8 percent shooting while, despite 17 more field goal attempts, Cornerstone could muster just 26.5 percent in the loss.  The Patriots had 33 rebounds, including 17 offensive, to just 25 for the Wildcats.  Neither team took care of the ball with Waterford sporting 21 turnovers in the win while Cornerstone gave it up 19 times.  Sophomore Ali Kern led the way for Waterford with 12 points and five rebounds while Ashley West put up 18 and grabbed eight boards in a losing effort.  Cornerstone Christian finishes the year 23 and 5.

Division IV Semifinal

Jackson Center came into the Division IV semifinals with a 21 and 7 record but faced the unenviable task or taking on St. Wendelin and their 6-4 senior post Kamryn Troike.  The Kent State signee physically presents a challenge for any team but even more so for one with only one player legitimately exceeding the 6-0 mark.

The Tigers led most of the first period before seeing the Mohawks take a three point lead with just 19 seconds to go in the quarter.  While they wouldn’t lead again, Jackson Center refused to go away cutting the lead to three in the third and five at one point in the fourth.  The Tigers sandwiched, pushed, shoved and pretty much hung on Troike throughout but in the end had no answer for the sizeable post who posted 8, 6, 2 and 8 points across the four quarters.

It didn’t help that Jackson Center couldn’t find the range finishing the game a combined 12 of 49 shooting for just 24.5 percent as a team.  Wendelin was 15 of 32 for 46.9 in the win.  The Mohawks outrebounded the Tigers by six but committed five more turnovers.  Troike led all scorers with 24 on 9 for 15 shooting and also grabbed 17 rebounds.  She added eight blocks to the cause but did turn it over four times.  Senior Nicole Fogt led Jackson Center with 14 points and nine boards.  Pauline Meyer, another senior, added 10 more.

 Division I Semifinal

Easily one of the most competitive semifinal match ups among all four classes was between the Grizzlies of Wadsworth and the Pirates from Reynoldsburg.  Reynoldsburg led throughout and held a 41 – 38 lead entering the fourth quarter.  Their youth and some cold shooting led to a disastrous 20 – 7 eight minutes favoring the Grizzlies and putting their state title hopes on the shelf for another year.

Reynoldsburg jumped out behind the sharp shooting of junior guard Brooklyn Pannell who had 10 of the Pirates points in the first period.  Wadsworth got the upper hand in the second but still trailed by four at the break.  Pannell finished the half with 16 while Ashland bound senior Jodi Johnson had 13 for Wadsworth.  The Grizzlies cut the lead by a single point in the third before unleashing their wrath in the fourth to wrap up the win.  It was still a one possession game with 2:39 to go but the free throw procession stretched the margin to double digits for the win.  Johnson was 9 of 10 from the line in final period alone.

Both teams shot 39.1 percent from the floor with 18 field goals but Wadsworth’s 20 for 24 free throw effort outdistanced the Pirates 8 of 13 showing.  The Grizzlies dominated the boards 38 – 23 including 15 offensive rebounds.  Johnson’s 24 paced Wadsworth (including 14 for 16 freethrows) as did her nine rebounds.  Pannell was the only player in double digits for Reynoldsburg ending the night with 19 points on 7 for 12 shooting including 2 for 4 from three point range.  Uju Ezeudu, a freshman, came off the bench to grab 11 rebounds in the loss for the Pirates.  Reynoldsburg, who has no seniors on their roster, ends the season at 23 and 6.

 Division I Semifinal

Mason and Solon wrapped up the semifinal action with the Comets moving on to Saturday by way of a convincing 48 – 31 win.  Mason led all but 1:50 of the game which was the time Solon spent tied with them.  Mason held a double figure lead the majority of the second half with Solon briefly threatening with 38 seconds left in the third when they cut the margin to seven.  The lead quickly jumped back to double digits in the fourth extending to as much as 19 before the final horn.

All five Mason starters scored in the first period helping them to an 11 – 9 lead.  They extended the margin by way of a 16 – 5 second period fueled by freshman Sammie Puisis and her 4 of 5 shooting for 8 points.  Solon converted just 2 of 10 field goal attempts to head into the locker room trailing 27 – 14.  Solon, also the known as the Comets, outscored Mason in the third 13 – 9 but still was ice cold from the floor going 2 of 12 for the period.  Puisis went back to work in the fourth adding six more as Mason stretched the lead to 17 for the right to take on Wadsworth Saturday night.

No doubt Solon’s 21.1 percent shooting was their Achilles Heel.  Connecting on just 8 of 38 attempts left them far short of Mason’s 21 for 43 effort at 48.8 percent.  Mason held a three rebound edge on the boards while Solon posted 15 turnovers to the Comets 14.  Puisis was impressive finishing 9 for 13 for 21 points while grabbing five rebounds.  Senior guard Jailyn Mason chipped in 10 more in the win.  Solon got a double – double from sophomore post Valencia Myers who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.  Normally productive junior guard Dee Bekelja was just 2 of 11 and finished with seven points in a season closing effort.  Solon wraps up the 2015 – 16 campaign at 18 and 9.