Keke Woods leads Portsmouth to consecutive state championships

Keke Woods celebrates with head coach Amy Hughes after winning their second state basketball championship. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com)

DAYTON, Ohio - When your program wins back-to-back state championships, it says something about the talent and the coaching.

Portsmouth won its second consecutive trophy, defeating Ottawa-Glandorf 53-48. With only eight rostered players for the championship game, it came down to grit. "How tough they are, they're winners, I would just say it's them, the main thing is they're really coachable," said Amy Hughes. 

While Portsmouth never led by more than eight points the entire game, they still managed to come up with timely buckets and free throws.

Early for the Trojans, it was Keke Woods after a Sienna Allen score just over a minute into the game. She would score the next seven points, putting them in the lead 9-8 with 2:39 remaining. Ottawa was paced by Madison McKee, who scored 10 of the total 15 points for the period for the Lady Titans. 

Ottawa-Glandorf leads at the end of the first quarter, 15-14.

The second quarter would belong to Portsmouth, as Woods would continue to get downhill against the Ottawa-Glandorf defense, drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line.

Defense was also key for Woods, who recorded three steals for the half, and as a team held Ottawa-Glandorf to nine points for the quarter behind Karsyn Erford (18 for the game) as the Trojans defense shut out the talented McKee. 

Portsmouth leads 31-24 going into halftime. Woods scored 15 points of the 31.

In the second half, Karsyn Erford and McKee would keep Ottawa-Glandorf in striking range as they were still trailing 29-33 with 5:16 remaining, but they still had no answer for Woods. Sienna Allen would get fouled and hit one of two free throws with 4:43 left. Woods would score the next five points to put them ahead 39-31 with 2:54 remaining in the period. 

Ottawa-Glandorf would score the next six points from Erford and McKee to end the quarter down 39-37. 

Free throws were a key factor for Portsmouth, which went 15 of 19 for the game. As Woods continued to stay aggressive, she would get help from Sienna Allen and Haven Carter down the stretch of the game. 

The closest they would get was 46-47 with 4:08 left, off a Gracie Lammers 3-point shot. They would not score again until the 1:01 mark of the period. 

Portsmouth would hold on to secure a second consecutive championship. "We lost to them two years ago when we got this far, well, it was the final four, I'm pretty sure, and we knew we had to give it all we had," said Woods. 

They will be losing Sienna Allen and KK Mays to graduation, and it seems that Woods would be the main player returning next season. "My goal is to work hard in the summer and don't take no off days and continue to give my team what they need," said Woods. 

Woods finished with 26 points and shot 11 for 11 from the free-throw line. Sienna Allen finished with 13 points.