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Division I and II District Final Recap

By Emma Ervin and Nick McGrail, 02/27/23, 8:30AM EST

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A look at who advanced to regional semifinal contests

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- District final Saturday is one of the most anticipated, exciting and competitive days of basketball. This year, the 270 Hoops team covered five district final games between Divisions I and II. Recaps of the games can be found below.

The Wildcats Upset Liberty to Advance

#5 Westerville South 50, #3 Olentangy Liberty 40

Saturday’s first Division I contest featured two OCC champions, Westerville South and Olentangy Liberty. The Wildcats were heavily overlooked in this game due to the absence of heavily recruited, star freshman guard Ariyana Cradle who recently injured her knee. Despite missing a key piece, Westerville South put together a defensive masterclass en route to a 50-40 victory. 

The first quarter started off slowly on the offensive end, neither team able to find a rhythm. The Wildcats jumped out to a 6-2 lead but a three by junior Emma Karagheuzoff drained a three pointer to narrow the gap to one. Ortiz responded with a layup but sophomore Claire Mikola converted from three to tie the game at eight to end the quarter. 

Despite having the momentum in their favor thanks to two offensive fouls on the Patriots, Westerville South was unable to convert on the offensive end of the floor. The second quarter featured back and forth scoring but a layup by sophomore Deziah Dupree gave the Wildcats the lead heading into halftime (17-16). 

The third quarter completely changed the course of the game. Mikola started the game with a three for the Patriots. Senior Tamara Ortiz rattled off eight straight points for the Wildcats thanks to increased defensive pressure then junior Zoe Guice scored five straight, capping off a 13-0 run. Senior Ryan Chapman drained two free throws to cut the lead to nine with one frame to play. 

In the middle of the fourth, junior star Gigi Bower drained back to back three pointers to cut the Wildcat lead to four points. Mikola sank two free throws to cut the lead to two points moments later. Z. Guice finished an old-fashioned three point play to extend the lead yet again. On the ensuing possession, Z. Guice was fouled while handling the ball, sending her to the line for a one and one attempt where she would make one. As the foul was being reported, Bower was issued two technical fouls and was ejected from the game. This sent Westerville South to the line for four additional free throws and made three, pushing the lead to nine. Both teams traded baskets and free throws to end the game and eventually, the Wildcats ended up on top.

Hot shooting carries the Rocks to third straight crown

#4 Dublin Coffman 60, #7 Grove City 30

Dublin Coffman entered the 2023 tournament with their sights set on Dayton. After winning an eighth consecutive OCC-Central crown, they moved one step closer to their goal with a 60-30 win over Grove City on Saturday in the district tournament.

Grove City came in looking to play spoiler and started the game on a 7-1 run Senior guard Olivia Keeney led the charge, first hitting a runner in the lane and capped the run off with a three from the left wing. Dublin Coffman’s performance early helped fuel the Greyhound’s run. They started the game with back-to-back turnovers from senior Tessa Grady. Over the next several possessions, she would right the ship by scoring or assisting on every point in an 11-0 run.

Ava Collins caught fire hitting back-to-back threes for the Shamrocks, extending their lead to 18-9 just one minute into the second quarter. Collins and the Rocks were on fire the whole afternoon, hitting 16 threes as a team, five of which were knocked down by the junior guard.

After Collins’ outburst, Grove City went back to Keeney who powered her way into the lane, finished through contact and converted the old-fashioned three point play at the line.Things would take a turn for the worse for Keeney and the Greyhounds. After she chased down a loose ball in the backcourt, she went down in pain, holding her knee. Keeney would be helped off the court and was seen in the second half with crutches on the bench. The Greyhound senior finished her abbreviated night with eight points.

After the injury, Dublin Coffman kept rolling from behind the arc and went on a 11-2 run capped off by a steal with five seconds left, leading to a three point buzzer beater at the top of the key from Gwen Jenkins. Coffman went into the locker room leading 29-15.

Back-to-back threes from Jenkins extended the Coffman lead to 39-15 early in the second half. She would finish the afternoon with nine points, all from behind the arc. Later in the quarter, Coffman resumed their three point onslaught after the Greyhound timeout, this time led by senior Jenna Kopyar who hit three more in a row and ballooned the lead to 50-15. The Shamrock starters night would be finished with a little over a minute left in the third. The fourth quarter was all but a formality for the Shamrocks as they cruised to their third straight district championship.

Grady finished the game with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in only three quarters of action. Kopyar finished the night tied for the team high with 17 points and five three pointers.

Monarchs Win First District Title

#2 Marysville 55, #6 Reynoldsburg 35

In their third attempt in three years, the Marysville Monarchs secured their first district title on Saturday afternoon thanks to a dominating performance against Reynoldsbug, the defending Division I State Champions. A perfectly executed defensive strategy led to easy, high percentage offensive looks and their selfless mentality pushed the Monarchs to a 55-53 victory. 

The first quarter featured a balanced scoring attack for the Monarchs. Seniors Ava Wilkerson and Ava Krutowskis scored five and four points, respectively and juniors JoJo Eberhart and Addy Tweed added two each. Junior Daniya McDonald was the focal point of the Raiders’ offense, scoring all six of their first quarter points. After one quarter, Marysville led 13-6. 

Marysville cranked up the defensive pressure in the second quarter which led to easy transition baskets. Tweed continued to make her impact on the game, scoring four points early. Senior Gab Lee drained a three pointer to push the lead to 11. In the middle of the quarter, Tweed and Eberhart pushed the lead to thirteen but McDonald responded with three straight points. To end the second quarter, Tweed dribbled the ball down the middle of the court in transition and hit Eberhart in the corner for three just as the buzzer sounded, erupting the gym. Heading into halftime, Marysville led Reynoldsburg 31-19. 

Coming out of halftime, Wilkerson drained another three pointer but was quickly answered by McDonald and sophomore Sa’Mahn Johnson. After trading baskets for most of the quarter, Eberhart kicked off a massive, momentum shifting run for the Monarchs. During the run, senior Cam Lee scored four points and Tweed added a bucket to give Marysville a 17 point lead with one quarter to play and they could taste victory. 

Eberhart drained a three to start the third and the game was all but over. Tweed added another layup before sophomore Jayla Ross made a single free throw for the Raiders, their first points since the middle of the third quarter. Marysville senior Leah Brown made a layup and C. Brown added two more points before the starters retired to the bench.

While it was a complete team effort, Eberhart put up a career defining stat line to push the Monarchs to victory. She ended with 13 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. 

Pickerington Central Wins Eighth Consecutive Title

#1 Pickerington Central 63, #12 Tri-Valley 30

After a shaky start to the first quarter due to shooting woes, Pickerington Central cruised to a 33 point victory over Tri-Valley on Saturday evening. Junior Berry Wallace carried the Tigers, scoring 21 of her 23 points in the first three quarters. 

The game started slow for both teams and offensive fluidity was hard to come by. Be. Wallace scored five points in the first and freshman Blossom Wallace scored two to give Pickerington Central an early 12-7 lead. Junior Karlee Rose drained a three pointer for the Scotties, pulling them within two to end the first period. 

Pickerington Central started to click offensively in the second quarter but it started on the defensive end of the floor. The Tigers held Tri-Valley to just six points in the quarter while scoring 14. Tri-Valley scored their first basket with just over three minutes to play in the frame. Scoring was evenly distributed throughout the Tigers’ team with five different team members scoring. After two quarters, Pickerington Central was well on their way to a district title. 

The Tigers started the second half on a 13-2 run thanks to nine points from Be. Wallace. Sophomore MacKenzie Harvey made two free throws for Tri-Valley to stop the run but Be. Wallace scored yet again. In a repeat of the last series, senior Lexie Howe managed to convert for two but Be. Wallace answered. Seniors Olivia Cooper and Madison Greene drained six free throws to end the quarter where the Tigers outscored the Scotties 23-6. With one period to play, Pickerington Central held a comfortable 49-22 lead. Due to a running clock, the fourth quarter passed quickly. PC used a 10-0 run mid quarter to extend the lead to 35 points. 

Annarino Sends The Blue Aces Back to the Regional Tournament

#1 Granville 42, #6 Bishop Hartley 40

Granville earned their third start district title on Saturday afternoon thanks to late game heroics from junior Harper Annarino who hit the game winner at the buzzer. The Blue Aces outlasted a pesky Bishop Hartley squad and an unbelievable effort by senior Kiki McElrath. 

Senior Ava Gossman had an effective first quarter for the Blue Aces with eight points including bookend three pointers to start and end the quarter. The latter of which regained the lead for Granville at the end of the quarter. Senior Morgan Donnelly kept the Hawks in the game with four points. After one period, Granville held a slim 10-9 lead. 

The second quarter featured a tough defensive effort from the Blue Aces. They held Bishop Hartley scoreless until just over three and a half minutes to play when McElrath drained a single free throw. Granville was prepared to head into halftime with a seven point lead but McElrath had other plans. On a baseline inbounds play, McElrath sank a floater from the middle of the key with seven seconds to play. On the ensuing inbounds pass by Granville, McElrath secured the ball and sank a baseline jumper to pull the Hawks within three points (17-14) as the buzzer sounded.

McElrath opened the third quarter with a deep three to tie the game at 17. After three points by Granville, McElrath drained yet another three to tie the game at 20. Gossman responded with a three of her own and this time, McElrath responded with a two point basket. Junior Aliyah Moore drained a three pointer which kicked off a 7-0 run. McElrath halted the run with her third three of the quarter, cutting the lead to five. Sophomore Xaria Bumpus sank a three near the end of the quarter to pull the Hawks within four with just one quarter to play (32-28).

McElrath tied the game at 34 with just under five minutes to play in the game and Bishop Hartley took the lead on a three by Bumpus moments later. Senior Ella Schneider was fouled on three consecutive possessions and sent to the line for free throws. She made four of five attempts, giving the Blue Aces a three point lead. With under a minute to play, Hartley retained possession and set up a sideline inbounds play. McElrath received the pass and drained an NBA range three pointer to tie the game at 40. Granville maintained possession and managed to run 20 seconds off the clock. After a timeout and with ten seconds to play, the Blue Aces inbounded the ball. After a couple of passes, Gossman drew a double team at the three point line and dumped a pass inside to Annarino. Annarino made a move toward the middle of the key and released the ball before the buzzer sounded. It rattled around the rim for a second before falling through, giving Granville the win and securing their third straight district title.

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