OHIO — We know who will play in the first two Ohio High School Athletic Association Girls Basketball Championship games on Saturday.
In Division III, Worthington Christian will take on Cincinnati Purcell Marian, with both schools in search of a first ever state title.
On Thursday, the game of the day was a triple-overtime win over Norton. Officials waved off the Panthers‘ 40-foot basket at the end of double overtime after video review for not being released in time. The Generals will play Alter, which rolled over Hartley in the other Division II semifinal.
However, there are two other finals still waiting for participants, which is where Friday’s games come in, as four new state champs will be crowned on Saturday.
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Division IV State Semifinal: Cincinnati Country Day (19-5) vs. New Knoxville (26-2); Friday at 12 p.m.
Neither team has won a girls’ basketball state title yet, but both schools have recent OHSAA state title trophies in other sports.
Cincinnati Country Day won a soccer championship in the fall of 2019, while New Knoxville took home a volleyball state title just this past November.
The Nighthawks have already knocked off the top two teams in the final Division AP poll, beating Fort Loramie and Tri-Village on the regional tournament. Now in the state semis, they get third-ranked New Knoxville.
Cincinnati Country Day features the Zimmerman family, profiled this week by Tino Bovenzi.
The Rangers play a suffocating defense, permitting just 25.8 points per game, and have held nine opponents to 20 points or fewer.
Head coach Tim Hegemier plans to retire after the season. His brother, Dan, won a state title at New Knoxville in 2008, and two others at Fort Loramie and is the current head coach at St. Marys Memorial.
Division IV State Semifinal: Buckeye Central (25-1) vs. Waterford (24-3); Friday at 2 p.m.
Buckeye Central is at its seventh state tournament, winning it all in 1985. The Buckettes’ seniors have continued the school’s strong tradition, accumulating a 92-14 record over their careers.
It’s been a dominant tournament run for Buckeye Central, winning those five games by an average of 36 points, with no results closer than 16. Only one team has scored more than 50 points all year on the Buckettes, and that was Shelby in Buckeye Central’s only loss (71-55).
Waterford also boasts a winning tradition, reaching the Final Four for the sixth time in the last eight years, all under head coach Jerry Close. That included the Division IV state title in 2016.
The Wildcats are a young squad with just seniors on the roster of 11. Two of those players, though, have both gone over the 1,000-point scored marks in their careers (Mackenzie Suprano and Cara Taylor).
Division I State Semifinal: Mason (26-2) vs. Massillon Jackson (20-6); Friday at 6 p.m.
On one hand, it’s one of the biggest upsets in OHSAA girls’ basketball history. Mason defeated Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame, 43-41, in the regional final. That snapped the Cougars 98-game winning streak, the second longest in state history.
Don’t sell the Comets short. This is a great basketball team that absolutely earned the school’s sixth state tournament appearance.
Senior center, Kyla Oldacre (6’6”) is one of three McDonald’s All-Americans from the Cincinnati area, and her team knocked off the other two in the regionals (Chance Gray of Winton Woods and Mount Notre Dame’s K.K. Bransford). The future Miami Hurricane is averaging a team best 15.1 points per game, and 8.8 rebounds a contest.
Freshman Madison Parrish is also in double figures (10.6 PPG).
Mason’s opponent in the semifinals is Massillon Jackson, making the first trip to the final four in school history. The Polar Bears were sitting at 8-5 following a loss earlier in the year to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, but have won 12 of 13 games since.
Emma Dretke (Walsh) and Halle Ignacio (Mount Union) will play basketball at the next level. The pair are averaging 15.1 and 51. PPG, respectively.
Junior Lauren Pallotta comes from a long line of state champions at Massillon Jackson (link to Jenna’s story) and hopes to add her name to that list.
Division I State Semifinal: Anthony Wayne (22-5) vs. Reynoldsburg (24-2); Thursday at 8 p.m.
Anthony Wayne from Lucas County is appearing in its first ever state basketball tournament, heading down I-75 to Dayton on the strength of 14 wins in its last 15 games.
The Generals are led by twin freshmen, Elise (16.4 PPG) and Brooke (8.0 PPG) Bender. Elise’s buzzer-beater against defending Division II state champion Napoleon earlier in the season went viral, and landed on ESPN’s top plays list.
Meanwhile, Reynoldsburg brings star power, with three players signed to play Division I basketball next year. Imarianah Russell will take her near 25-points per game average to West Virginia, while Mya Perry (18.1 PPG) is headed to Ohio State. Makiya Miller (7.7 PPG) will trade in one Raider uniform for another, matriculating from Reynoldsburg to Wright State.
There’s a large veteran presence on the bench, too. Head coach Jack Putrell is in his 20th year, and picked up his 500th career win earlier this season. Assistant coach Dave Butcher won six state titles at Pickerington Central, and won 13 regional championships combined at both Pickerington (North) schools.
The semifinals are available for Spectrum video customers on channel 314, and the championship games on Saturday will be live on Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News App. OHSAA Championship Gameday coverage begins 15 minutes before each game, and returns immediately following the contest.
10:45 a.m. – Worthington Christian vs. Cincinnati Purcell Marian (Division III Championship Game)
2 p.m. – Alter vs. Sheridan (Division II Championship Game)
5:15 p.m. – Division IV Championship Game
8:30 p.m. – Division I Championship Game
