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| Worthington Kilbourne's Mia Williams attempts to shoot over Dublin Jerome defenders Emma Weatherwax and Meadow Ahijevych. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
The increasing recognition of women's sports can be attributed to events exclusively for females.
SUNBURY, Ohio -- The Ohio High School Basketball Association organized its very first event featuring only females, including players, coaches, and referees. Held at Big Walnut High School.
The Purpose
To showcase girls' basketball, female coaches, and female officials.
The Games
Game #1
Worthington Kilbourne 52 Dublin Jerome 44
Kilbourne came into this game riding a 10-game win streak and was the overall favorite, as Dublin Jerome has only six wins on the season. The game was close when Heidi Kaszubowski hit a 3-point shot that brought them within one at the 2:44 mark of the first quarter, trailing 7-8.
"We knew we had to keep them off the 3-point line," said Jones.
Dublin Jerome would sit in a zone for pretty much the whole first half of the game, which allowed Oliviah Wilkerson, Addy Allinder, and Audrey Bennett to capitalize from behind the 3-point line, making the team's total of eight 3-pointers in the half as they would take a 34-21 lead into halftime.
Wilkerson pushed the pace in the first half until she picked up her third foul, which kept her on and off the bench for the second half of the game. Stepping up were Mia Williams and Audrey Bennett, who accounted for most of the second-half points and secured the lead for the entire game crusing to a 52-44 win. "Some successes were defense, just getting the team together, working hard on defense, getting stops, hopefully moving that to get buckets on offense," said Bennett.
Bennett finished the game with 15 points and the Player of the Game award for Kilbourne. Heidi Kaszubowski would pace Dublin with 19 points and be named Player of the Game.
Game #3
Medina 46 Holy Name 30
Holy Name was playing pretty good basketball this late in the regular season, boasting 11 wins led by junior Claire Coljohn, as Medina sits at .500 for the season.
Medina started off a little slow but settled in with Molly Gilbert taking charge, as Holy Name struggled to get the ball in the basket, only managing seven points for the first quarter, and those struggles continued into the second quarter, being held to just two points for that period.
"We didn't have the best start, then maybe after the first couple of minutes, when we settled down. It was a long bus ride for both teams," said Kase.
Gilbert would knock down a couple of 3-point shots with help from teammate Abby Dress to take a 23-9 lead into halftime. "Our coaches did a great job of just slowing it down and not letting them speed us up. We practice it a million times," said Gilbert.
In the third, Medina used an 8-0 run to lead 31-12 with 3:36 to go in the period. Dress scored eight of their ten total points for the quarter.
Holy Name would get within ten during the middle of the fourth quarter with buckets by Claire Coljohn and Layla Rudolph and a layup by Jordan Cremona with 5:10 left in the period.
That would not be enough even with Coljohn's big fourth quarter, as Medina would shock them by winning 46-30 and moving above the .500 mark on the season.
Molly Gilbert would finish with 21 points and Player of the Game for Medina. Claire Coljohn finished with 18 points and was named Player of the Game.
Game #5
Cincinnati Princeton 65 Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary 37
From the start, this game was completely dominated by Princeton. They played more aggressively and utilized their intense defense along with full-court pressure to take charge of the game, creating confusion and forcing turnovers for the Irish.
"We have to hang our hat on the defensive end of the ball," said Davis when asked about their style of play.
Princeton's top-rated sophomore, Erin Thomas, got off to a really fast start, scoring 14 of the 26 total team points for the first quarter.
Najah Love Muhammad and Kamryn Lowe would provide the help they needed on the offense and defensive side of the ball, as St. Vincent-St. Mary's Melania Cornute would provide the only spark in the first half, as Princeton would take a 38-16 lead into the half.
After halftime, St. Vincent-St. Mary made some changes, and Sydney Ferguson stepped up to lead the team in scoring, contributing eight of the ten points in the third quarter.
They simply couldn't find an answer for Thomas, who kept showcasing her skills during the game and aggressive team play, causing frustration for the Irish. This led to their head coach receiving a technical foul with 3:33 remaining in the fourth quarter. "We know our defense is our best strength," said Thomas. "Its always to play together and win together because you can't do it with one person."
There would be no slowing down a highly talented Princeton team as they would take a 65-37 victory.
Princeton will take its five-game win streak and 13-2 record against Fairmont on the road, as St. Vincent-St. Mary will rebound to play Chippewa at home.
Erin Thomas would finish with 29 points and be the Player of the Game, as Sydney Ferguson would finish with 17 points and the Player of the Game award.
Game #6
Big Walnut 50 Copley 36
In the final game of the 28.5 Ohio Classic, it would be the host team, Big Walnut, who comes in with 13 wins to Copley's 14.
In a tight first quarter, this game as both teams struggled to score, they would be in a 6-6 tie with 1:23 left in the period until Zoey Van Voorhis of Copley hit a big 3-point shot at the buzzer to take the lead 9-8 and end the quarter.
Lexi Federer of Big Walnut would score all eight points of the quarter.
After that, it was Big Walnut on cruise control as they would hold their lead for the entire second quarter, as Copley would hold the junior star guard Remy Largent to just three points in the half and lead 22-12 at halftime. "I think this game was a game of figuring out how to win when were being guarded," said Carey Largent.
In the second half, Ryleigh Thrapp would continue the offensive scoring for Big Walnut with contributions from Sydney Mobley and eventually Largent, who would pace them during the last quarter.
Evelyn McKnight would start hot, then cool off during the second and third quarters for Copley, but would end the game with 14 points with help from Alejandra Morrondo-Garcia.
Copley would drop into a full-court press starting the fourth quarter that would help them get within eight points, closing the gap 43-35, but nothing more, as Big Walnut took a 47-36 lead with just 1:15 left in the game and an exit by Sydney Mobley as she picked up her fifth foul.
A final 3-point shot by Thrapp would seal a 50-36 win. "We were rebounding really good, boxing out a lot, and which we've been practicing a lot," said Thrapp.
Big Walnut will take its 14-4 record on the road against Worthington Kilbourne. Copley will host Revere in their next contest.
Ryleigh Thrapp finished with 18 points and Player of the Game, Evelyn McKnight finished with 16 and Player of the Game.
In other games not reported by Ohsfbmedia.com during the event, Fort Loramie defeated Indian Hill with a score of 48-25, while Akron Archbishop Hoban secured a late-game victory against Versailles, 65-58.
Ohsfbmedia.com coverage was brought to you by: The Ross Real Estate Group-KW Legacy Group, Kingdom Takeover, and supported by Grip Spritz.
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