SATURDAY’S GAME
Alter (27-2) vs. Ottawa-Glandorf (26-2), 2 p.m. at OSU Schottenstein Center
AlterKnights.com, TWC Ch. 311, 1311 (HD)
The Alter girls basketball program hasn’t ascended to rarefied status, but almost.
The Knights (27-2) punched their ticket to a third straight Division II high school state championship with Thursday’s 60-34 blitz of overmatched Columbus Eastmoor Academy in a state semifinal. Alter will play Ottawa-Glandorf (26-2) in Saturday’s D-II state title game at 2 p.m. at Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center.
Alter will have played the maximum 90 games over the last three seasons following Saturday’s game. The defending state champ Knights are a surreal 86-3 in the span, falling only in the 2014 state title game and twice in this regular season.
“Obviously, we were honored and humbled to be back here for a third straight year,” Alter co-coach Chris Hart reflected after beating Eastmoor, the alma mater of two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.
“That’s a credit to the kids and their work ethic each day in practice and literally taking it one game at a time and not looking ahead. That’s really difficult to do, especially for young adults. They’ve done that successfully for the last few years.”
This is Alter’s seventh state final four, all since 2002. The Knights also won a D-II state title in 2008.
Alter was at its impressive best in overwhelming Eastmoor, especially in the second half. Braxtin Miller scored a game-high 19 points. Olivia Gillis hit all eight shots for 16 points and Libby Bazelak added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Glandorf lost the D-III state title game last season and was reclassified D-II in August. The Titans have lost only to Ottoville and Wapakoneta in the regular season and topped Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown 51-40 in its Thursday state semi.
Glandorf coach Troy Yant has successfully rebooted the Titans program since inheriting a single-digit win team four years ago.
“We went to shootouts and teams didn’t want to play us,” he recalled, “so we knew we had some work to do. I would think those teams would now want to scrimmage us at least.”
• Alter’s boys team was close to joining the girls at state, falling in Thursday’s D-II regional final 55-53 to Aiken. If Ottawa-Glandorf’s boys beat Bay Village in a D-II regional final Saturday, they’ll join the Titans’ girls in reaching the state final four.
About the Author