DaytonDailyNews.com

FAIRBORN — Fairmont did its best to derail Cincinnati Mt. Notre Dame's effort to make Division I girls high school basketball history Saturday, March 14.

But Mt. Notre Dame proved to have too many offensive options in a 52-35 regional final victory at Wright State's Ervin J. Nutter Center.

Next stop for the Cincinnati school with a 25-1 record is the semifinals of the state big school tournament. This is the sixth straight year the Cougars have advanced to the Final Four.

They have captured the last three state crowns and four in the last five years.

Fairmont ends the season at 22-4. Three of those losses were to Mt. Notre Dame.

Saturday's game was not unlike the other two. Mt. Notre Dame went on an 8-0 run during a three-minute span at end of the second quarter to take a 23-14 lead. Baskets by Cassie Sant and Holly Carey in the last 30 seconds of the half got Fairmont within 23-18.

But Mt. Notre Dame extended its defense the second half taking away Fairmont's cuts to the basket and not letting the 6-foot-2 Sant see the ball.

"We had a fantastic season, tied the for (Greater Western Ohio) conference championship, won the district, got to the regional final," said Fairmont coach tin Cogan. "We stayed with them the first half, but they extended their defense the second they made it tough for us to score.

"They're so good because they have five girls who can score, take away a lot your options offensively and don't allow you second shots."

Sant was Fairmont's only double figure scorer with 18 points, 12 in the first half. Welch added nine, seven coming in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

Kendall Hackney, a 6-2 senior headed to USC, had 17 for the winners followed by 13 from Kathryn Reynolds and nine from Ohio University-bound Ashley Fowler. Gabby Smith, a 5-11 guard going to Vanderbilt, had five points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals. 

"I was very concerned about Fairmont, especially playing them for the third time," said Mt. Notre Dame coach Dante Harland.