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Friday, March 20, 2009
Alter vs. Hathaway Brown updates
COLUMBUS — We’re underway for the Division II state semifinal between Alter and Hathaway Brown. The Blazers hold a 4-2 lead with 5:45 to play in the first quarter.
HB is controlling the tempo and winning the battle inside for a quick 9-2 lead with 4:49 left in the first quarter. HB has it 4-of-5 shots, while Alter has one field goal and three turnovers.
Five different players have scored for HB, which has hit 5-of-8 shots and forced five Alter turnovers. HB seems quicker getting to the ball.
It’s HB 18-7 after Mylan Woods’ spin and foul in the lane. There’s 2:14 left in the first quarter.
It’s tough, physical and going HB’s way in the first quarter. The Blazers lead 18-11 after one after Mary Bruner’s jumper from the corner at the buzzer. HB is 7-of-11 from the field, while Alter is 5-of-13.
Two free throws by Molly Crosby makes it 20-11 early in the second. Alter is having trouble getting inside against HB’s aggressive defense and there are too many loose balls on the Knights’ end of the court.
Timeout at 6:09. HB, 24-11. One area the Knights are winning is the student section. A little more than 100 Knights are here compared to about 15 Blazers. I’m told it’s spring break for HB.
Alter’s Mary Bruner has seven of her team’s 14 points after just hitting a 3-pointer. HB, 26-14 witwh 4:10 to go in the half. HB’s Tanisha Lawler is tenacious on defense up top.
Alter’s mini 6-0 run has them within 26-17 with 2:10 to play in the second quarter.
We’re at the half at the Schottenstein Center. Hathaway Brown leads the D-II state semifinal 26-19. The Blazers, maybe going for the jugular, were a little too up-tempo in the second quarter.
Alter’s 8-0 run capped the second quarter, highlighted by Bruner’s 3-pointer and Megan Courtney’s drive down the lane. Bruner leads Alter with eight points. HB’s balanced offense has six different players in the scoring column.
Here are halftime stats:
Shooting: Alter 8-25 (32 percent); HB 9-21 (42 percent)
Free throws: Alter 1-4 (25 percent); HB 7-9 (77 percent)
Rebounds: Alter 17; HB 14
Turnovers: Alter 10, HB 6.
Third quarter has tipped off and HB has taken off. Alanna Guy’s 3-pointer has the lead back to double digits, 29-19 with 7:02 left. Knights need some defensive stops to get back in this one.
It’s been a rough shooting afternoon for Alter. They’ve opened the second half hitting two of their first nine shots and trail 33-23 with 3:58 to play in the third. Bruner still has eight points and Megan Courtney six to pace Alter.
A play to sum up how tough it’s been for Alter: The Blazers stole an inbouds pass right off the baseline, outlet to a streaking Alexis Dobbs and spinning layup in the lane.
Alter’s Kaila Howe countered with a 3-pointer. HB 35, Alter 26 with 1:46 left in the third.
Alter — which has never led in this D-II state semifinal — is staring down what could be its final quarter of the season. HB leads 39-26 after Dobbs floater in the lane with three seconds left. The Blazers are quick, physical and hitting 15-of-31 from the field. Alter is 11-of-40, including 3-of-10 from 3-point range.
HB has pushed the lead to 41-27 with six minutes to play. Key stat: Alter is just 2-of-10 from the free throw line. Those eight points would be handy to have at this point.
Timeout with 4:26 to go: HB 43, Alter 29. Knights have given it a good run, but HB’s pressure and sense of urgency has Alter rushing a few shots to get back in the game. Says HB’s parent/fan section: FInish it! It’s time for some getback! … Alter beat HB in the D-II title game last year.
Two minutes left in the game and HB is working the clock: HB 47-33.
With 58 seconds left Alter coach Kendal Peck is clearing the bench. HB 53, Alter 36.
It’s final in Columbus: Hathaway Brown 53, Alter 40. HB advances to play Wapakoneta for the D-II state final on Saturday.
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Alter ready for Hathaway Brown
Are you ready for some roundball, Alter?
Tip-off for the Division II state semifinal between the Alter Knights (24-2) and the Hathaway Brown Blazers (19-6) is about 90 minutes away. The winner returns to Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center on Saturday to play the winner of Wapakoneta (24-1) and River View (23-2) for the state title.
Here are the projected starting lineups:
ALTER
F Mary Bruner, 5-10, senior
F Whitney Dabbelt, 6-0, sophomore
G Ali Mygrants, 5-8, junior
G Ashley Christie, 5-7, junior
G Courtney Christie, 5-7, sophomore
HATHAWAY BROWN
W Mylan Woods, 5-11, junior
W Tanisha Lawler, 5-7, sophomore
W Alanna Guy, 5-7, sophomore
P Erica Almady, 6-0, junior
G Alexis dobbs, 5-5, junior
Notes: This is Alter’s second straight trip and third overall (2008, 2002). The Knights won the D-II title last season. … Alter outscores its opponents an average of 52-31. … Alter was ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll. … Co-head coach Christina Hart is 241-111 in 15 seasons. … This is Hathaway Brown’s third straight trip to state and third overall. The Blazers have twice been state runners-up. … Hathaway outscores its opponents 60-42. … Hathaway was ranked No. 14 in the final AP poll … Coach Paul Barlow is 146-67 in nine seasons.
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Oak Hill honors teammate’s memory
Maybe it’s coincidence the Versailles Tigers, desperately needing a clutch shot late in the fourth quarter of its Division IIII state semifinal, were stuck on 41 points.
The Oak Hill Oaks know better.
During the fall, freshman basketball player Janie Hatfield died of cancer. Her number? 41.
“We promised her parents we’d never forget her,” Oak Hill coach Doug Hale said. “When we leave Oak Hill for every away game, we leave 41 on the clock. When we get back Saturday afternoon I can’t wait to look up at the clock and see Janie’s number up there.”
So maybe with her teammates needing a little help in the D-III semifinal on Thursday, March 19, Hatfield didn’t forget about them. Versailles, the defending state champs, tied the game at 41-41 with 1:58 left in the fourth. They didn’t score again until 2.6 seconds left.
Oak Hill — a small town of about 1,600 in Jackson County in Southern Ohio — plays South Euclid Regina for the D-III title on Saturday. Nothing against Regina, a five-time state champion, but you have to pull for the Oaks.
The Oaks also made it to the state finals in 2004 so it’s not quite Ohio’s version of Hoosiers, but it brings the same feel. And watching them, you get the idea that this bright-eyed team that starts two juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen and brings a junior, sophomore and freshman off the bench are genuinely appreciative of just being in the big city.
“We’re a blue-collar community and our people see us work hard,” Hale said. “We go out and do food drives in the fall. If the community needs something done they know they can count on our student-athletes at Oak Hill. We’ll jump in and help them all.”
The basketball teams get a banner on the wall for every district title and beyond they win. They’d like to add another Saturday.
“We’ve got a lot of tradition there,” Hale said. “Our girls, every day they walk into the gym they see that tradition on the wall.”
And No. 41 on the clock.
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In the end, Trotwood has more worthy issues to address
Centerville’s 52-51 defeat of Trotwood-Madison in last Saturday’s Division I district final boys basketball game offered a bit of everything.
• Drama: Last-second free throw to win.
• Cries of foul: The lowest level of employment — officiating — was once again assaulted.
• Protest: The Ohio High School Athletic Association was asked to declare that referee Angelo Zolotas made the wrong call at the end of the game.
• Great video: If only DDN videographer Ken-Yon Hardy had been around for Matt Sylvester’s tip — after the buzzer — in Moeller’s defeat of Beavercreek in the regional final 10 years ago.
Check out the Trotwood-Centerville replay for yourself on the DDN Web site. Several things to consider:
• Trotwood shot four free throws in the final 57 seconds, and made 21-of-26 overall. Centerville shot six in the final minute and 23 of 32. Close enough.
• T-M’s Aaron Robinson could easily have been called for a charge — twice — with 6.6 left. Instead, he hit two free throws.
• Matt Kavanaugh was clearly fouled with 0.8 left, thumping a misfire off mid backboard.
• At 6-foot-1, Trotwood’s Marcus Graham had no chance to block the 6-10 Kavanaugh’s shot. He might have gotten away with a face guard, but no swipe.
Then there’s that costly Trotwood recruiting scandal, another failed school levy last fall and a halftime fight among players.
Trotwood has many things to be concerned about; petitioning the OHSAA about a game-deciding foul isn’t one of them.
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