DAYTON, Ohio — Displaying a relentless defense, Columbus Africentric returned to the Ohio High School Athletic Association Girls Basketball Division III championship game, with a 55-37 win over Wheelersburg on Friday.
In the first half, the Nubians (23-4) sped the Pirates up, forcing rushed shots and creating mistakes. During the first two quarters, Wheelersburg shot 18% from the floor (5-28), and 10 turnovers. For the game, those numbers were 27 of 51 (27%) with 16 giveaways.
On offense, Africentric did its damage in the paint, scoring 40 of its 55 points in the lane. Junior Natiah Nelson had a game-high 13 points, while freshman Janiya Bowers had 10, and senior Ariel Grace chipped in nine.
The Pirates (25-3) reached the state tournament for the first time in school history, after falling in the regional final twice in the past five years. Leading the way for Wheelersburg were seniors Kiera Kennard and Makenna Walker, with 10 points each.
The Nubians will try to match Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame for most OHSAA girls’ basketball titles with eight (most recently back-to-back in 2018-19), when they play Chippewa on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. in the Division III championship game.
