No. 16 Northmor 34, No. 8 Cardington-Lincoln 25
Sixteenth-ranked Northmor (12-10, 7-6) trailed at halftime to No. 8 Cardington-Lincoln (11-11, 8-5), but a big second quarter led by Riley and Lauren Johnson propelled the Golden Knights to a comeback upset 34-25 win over the Pirates in the opening round of the Division III, Region 10 OHSAA tournament.
Northmor got on the board first in the opening quarter with Riley Johnson draining a three to go up 3-0. Northmor had a 5-2 lead with 4:18 on the clock and while Cardington-Lincoln was threatening to score near the hoop, Emilee Jordan gathered a loose ball for a steal. Johnson then hit her second three of the quarter to put Northmor up 10-6, and the quarter ended with Northmor up 10-8. Abigail Hardwick, Kaliann Hardy and Genevieve Longsdorf each had steals in the quarter for the Pirates.
In the second quarter with Northmor looking to increase the lead, Hardy grabbed a loose ball for a steal. Hardwick grabbed her second steal just 10 seconds later, and then followed with a three to put the Pirates up 11-10. She added another three to make it a 14-10 game. With three minutes on the clock, Cardington-Lincoln had a 14-12 lead. The Pirates had the ball near the Northmor basket and went to increase their lead, but a shot was rejected by Jordan. Thirty seconds later the Pirates had a 16-12 lead and were threatening to increase it, but Madison Simpson swatted away a layup for the Golden Knights. The Pirates had a 12-4 advantage in the quarter thanks to 10 points for Hardwick, going up 20-14 at the half.
The Pirates were up 20-14 with 7:50 left in the third, but Lauren Johnson decreased the deficit to three on a shot from downtown to make it a 20-17 game. They went on to take the lead with 6:30 on the clock with another three from Lauren Johnson to put Northmor up 22-20. Riley Johnson followed with a steal when she jumped in front of a pass with 6:10 on the clock. Simpson quickly added a steal of her own. Northmor had a 14-2 advantage in the quarter, led by six points each for Lauren Johnson and Jordan.
In the fourth quarter, Northmor had a 28-22 lead but the Pirates were fighting to get back into the game after sputtering. Riley Johnson showed her strong defense with a steal to retain the lead. However, the Pirates showed plenty of fight and Hardwick drained a three to make it a 28-25 game with 5:30 left. Riley Johnson added her second steal of the quarter with the Golden Knights leading 32-25. Northmor finished with a 6-3 advantage and secured the come-from-behind win.
Northmor led the way in boards 25-22, assists 12-7, steals 12-10 and blocks 2-1. The Golden Knights shot 33% from the field and 31% from three, while making 50% of their free throws. Cardington-Lincoln shot 29% from the field and 21% from three, with 67% of their free throws made.
Northmor was led by Riley and Lauren Johnson with 10 points each, with both hitting two threes. Jordan added six points, Emily Zeger scored four points, and Simpson and Maizy Brinkman both had two points.
Cardington-Lincoln was led by Hardwick with 15 points, including three from downtown. Samantha Spires, Madison Caulkins, Louisa Hallabrin and Lydia Hess all scored two points.
Northmor will travel to No. 5 Mechanicsburg (20-3) for the next round of the tournament on Feb. 17.
No. 6 Danville 69, No. 16 Shekinah 27
Sixth-ranked Danville (10-11, 6-6) had three players in double figures in a big 69-27 win over No. 16 Shekinah (5-18) in the first round of the Division IV, Region 15 OHSAA tournament on Feb. 15.
The Blue Devils jumped out to a 23-9 lead in the first quarter and never looked back in the blowout win. In the first quarter, Kylee Hess set the tone with nine points, including a 3-pointer.
The scoring romp continued in the second quarter, with Danville piling on 24 points and allowing only four to makie it a 47-13 game at the half. Jaylyn Workman put up 10 points in the quarter and she finished with 12 points in the half.
In the third quarter, Danville scored 13 points and allowed eight points to go up 60-21. Proper led the scoring charge with nine points. The Blue Devils finished out the game with a 9-6 advantage in the fourth quarter to secure the dominant victory.
“We came out in the first have and shot the ball really well,” Danville coach Matt Proper said. “Defensively, we were aggressive the whole night, which led us to about a 4-to-1 turnover advantage. We have a big game Saturday against Newark Catholic, which our girls are excited about.”
Proper had 18 points to lead all scorers, and also had three boards, two assists and four steals. Workman had 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Hess had an all-around great performance with 12 points, eight boards, five assists, five steals and a block.
Danville takes on No. 2 Newark Catholic (18-5) on the road in the next round of the playoffs on Feb. 18.
No. 1 Worthington Christian 62, No. 24 Fredericktown 33
The Worthington Christians are the top-ranked team for the Division III, Region 10 OHSAA playoffs, and they played like a No.1 in the opening round against No. 24 Fredericktown. The Freddies (12-0 in KMAC play and 15-7 overall) were dominated by the Warriors (22-1 and 14-0 in the Mid-State Ohio Conference), who controlled the game from the first quarter and never looked back in a 62-33 win over the Freddies.
Fredericktown got on the board first going up 3-0, but weren’t able to get much going in the first quarter thanks to some solid defensive work by Worthington Christian. The Freddies found themselves down 11-8 after one quarter. Ella Bouton had five points and Jill Bouton drained a three for the Freddies.
In the second quarter, Worthington Christian outscored Fredericktown 18-8 to make it a 29-15 game at halftime. Cally Carpenter led the scoring for the Freddies with five points.
The Warriors continued to control the game with a 13-8 third quarter. Grace Sipes scored four points for the Freddies.
The Warriors outscored Fredericktown 20-10 in the fourth to take a convincing 29-point win and knock the Freddies out of the tournament. Ella Bouton scored four points for Fredericktown.
The Freddies were held to 29% from the field with 22% from three, and they hit 64% from the foul line. Worthington Christian shot 32% and 30% from three, and 60% from the line. The Warriors controlled the rebounding 42-35, assists 15-7, steals 17-6 and blocks 6-5.
Ella Bouton was the top scorer for Fredericktown with 11 points. Carpenter scored nine points, Sipes had six points, Jill Bouton had five points and Mya Bryant chipped in with two points.
No. 3 Milford Fairbanks 60, No. 21 Centerburg 31
Kennedi Glenn got into double figures but the No. 21 Centerburg Trojans (9-14, 4-9) were shorthanded and suffered an early deficit they could never recover from, falling to No. 3 Milford Fairbanks (21-3, 14-2) 60-31 in the first round of the Division III Region 12 OHSAA tournament.
The Panthers of Milford Fairbanks jumped out to a 17-2 advantage in the first quarter, but the Trojans woke up and gave them a run for their money with a 14-5 second quarter to make it a six-point game at the half. Kennedi Glenn had three from downtown in the second quarter, and Avery Glenn also hit a three.
In the third quarter, it was all Panthers with a 25-8 advantage, and they finished by outscoring the Trojans 13-7.
“I am proud of the girls,” Centerburg coach Bo Glenn said. “We had two starters out, fell behind early 17-2 after one, and they fought back to within six at halftime (22-16) to a bigger, stronger team. Fairbanks came out aggressive and red-hot and scored 25 in the third, but we never gave up. Fairbanks has a great program and we were out rebounded and out shot, but the girls played their hearts out.”
Kennedi Glenn was the top scorer for Centerburg with 12 points in the game, to go along with four rebounds and a steal. Olivia Joiner scored four points to go with five boards, and Kayla Larimore and Clara Johnson both scored four points. Larimore had four boards and Johnson added two boards and an assist. Avery Glenn had three points, two steals and a rebound. Evie Stowe and Tiara Sheppard scored two points each to round out the Centerburg scoring. Stowe had six boards, three assists and two steals, while Sheppard had three boards and two assists.
No. 2 Richwood North Union 48, No. 18 Highland 15
The No. 18 Highland Lady Scots (4-16) had trouble getting their scoring going against No. 2 Richwood North Union Wildcats (19-2). They were able to keep it close for a half, but fell 48-15 in the first round of the Division II Region 8 OHSAA tournament to end their season on Feb. 15.
After a low-scoring 2-2 first quarter, the game was tied at 4-4 with 5:50 left in the second when Kameron Stover denied a North Union shot on an athletic block to stop a layup. With the game tied 6-6 with five minutes left, Guinevere Jackson showed her defensive skills with a steal. The score was 13-6, in favor of North Union, at the half.
In the third, Shelby Conley made it a four-point game on a wide open corner three. However, this is where the wheels fell off for the Lady Scots, as North Union went on a 29-0 run that went into the fourth quarter. At 48-12, Makayla Woods nailed a three, but that would be all for Highland, which suffered a 33-point loss.
No. 6 Canal Winchester Harvest Prep 56, No. 18 East Knox 32
Favored No. 6 Canal Winchester Harvest Prep jumped out to a 15-2 lead and handled No. 18 East Knox in the opening round of the Division III Region 10 OHSAA tournament, with an easy 56-32 win.
The Warriors were rolling when EK's Sydney Opfer's steal started a 5-0 run by the Bulldofs, highlighted by a three at the top of the arc by Natalie Smith to make it a 15-7 game with 5:50 left in the half. Opfer also recorded a block with 2:37 left and a 25-9 game.
However, Harvest Prep widened the gap in the fourth to 49-20 before Shanda Melick sank a three to put the score at 49-23. Harvest Prep then rolled on and knocked East Knox out of the playoffs.
No. 4 Mount Gilead 44, No. 15 Ridgedale 22
The fourth-ranked Mount Gilead Indians (10-11) controlled the game from the start, and a strong defense kept No. 15 Morral Ridgedale (3-14) from mounting an attack in a 44-22 win in Division IV, Region 15 first-round action. Mount Gilead next takes on No. 5 Grovepost Madison Christian on Feb. 18. The Eagles (6-15) advanced by beating Columbus Wellington 38-36 in overtime.
No. 4 Lancaster 60, No. 32 Mount Vernon 33
The fourth-ranked Lancaster Golden Gales (11-13) never let No. 32 Mount Vernon get into an offensive flow, leading 13-5 at the end of the first quarter and 33-18 at the half. They then coasted to a 60-33 victory in the first round of the Division I, Region 3 playoffs.
