4 takeaways from Columbus girls basketball OHSAA regional semifinals

Four more central Ohio girls basketball teams extended their regional tournament runs March 4, drawing within one win of punching tickets to state next week.

New Albany and Pickerington Central won Division I, Region 3 semifinals at Taft Coliseum, while Africentric advanced to the Division V, Region 18 final with a 51-32 win over Delta at Mansfield Senior and Harvest Prep did the same in Division VI, Region 23, beating Waterford 45-33 at Pickerington North.

Columbus Academy lost the other Region 18 semifinal, 62-57 to Ottawa-Glandorf. London lost a Division IV, Region 14 semifinal 49-42 to Genoa Area at Bluffton University.

Here are four takeaways from the wins by New Albany, Central and Harvest Prep: 

New Albany advances to face Pickerington Central

Before New Albany played Marysville in the second regional semifinal at Taft Coliseum, first-year coach Eric Van Cleave scouted Central against Dublin Coffman in the first game.

With a 44-34 win over Marysville, the Eagles (17-8) earned the right to come back to the venue to face defending state champion Central at 8:15 p.m. March 6.

“They’re super athletic,” Van Cleave said of Central. “They get out, they play fast. They’re well coached. They run a lot of good stuff. They’re just skilled and they’re really big across the board. It will be a challenge, but there’s things that you can do that will help take away some options.”

Winners of eight consecutive games, the Eagles are seeking their first state berth since 2003.

Julia Evans’ 3-pointer late in the first half gave New Albany a 28-21 lead going into halftime, and it never trailed in the second half.

Hartley Rhoads led New Albany with 15 points and Mary Kidwell added 10.

“We’re super blessed to be here and we’re healthy, which helps out a lot,” Van Cleave said. “The girls are playing well. We’ve had a nice little stretch towards the tail end of the season, so we’re excited to play [March 6].”

Jenna Hackworth led Marysville (17-8) with 12 points and Kadi Strahm had 10.

Pickerington Central cruises into regional final

With her team leading Coffman 42-20 midway through the third quarter, Central senior guard London Johnson dived for a loose ball near her bench and quickly called timeout to maintain possession.

That type of mentality has been a longtime staple for the Tigers, who defeated the Shamrocks 64-35.

“That’s what it’s about,” Central coach Johnathan Hedgepeth said. “It’s easy coaching these young ladies because they give a lot of effort.”

Central (22-3) is seeking its fourth consecutive state berth.

“This senior class has a chance to go to four straight [state tournaments],” Hedgepeth said. “That’s our motivation. They want to get there and when they play that hard, it makes it easier.”

Coffman (18-7) remained within striking distance in the first half and trailed 30-20 at halftime, but the Tigers opened the second half with a 14-0 run.

Zoe Coleman led Central with 18 points. Blossom Wallace had 17 and Ameera Jenkins added 11.

“I’m always impressed with this team,” Hedgepeth said. “Sometimes they do things that I don’t expect. The third quarter, I thought we played great defense and we shared the basketball. We probably had more assists in the third quarter than we had the whole game and when we play that way, we’re pretty special.”

Senior guard Kylie Mast scored 22 for Coffman.

Defense carries Harvest Prep past Waterford

Warriors coach David Dennis’ only lament about a 12-point regional semifinal win was that his offense often scuffled, including in the first quarter and at the start of the fourth against last year’s Division VII state champions.

Even then, Harvest Prep (21-3) relied on an aggressive man-to-man defense to flip the script after a 13-12 first-quarter deficit, holding Waterford (14-11) to two points in the second and none for the first five minutes of the third to take firm control and reach a second straight regional final.

“Once we figured ourselves out, we turned the pressure up a little bit,” Dennis said. “We found some gaps [on offense], lanes to penetrate and we hoped that would draw the defense in so we could find open shooters. In the second half we didn’t shoot the ball too well, but we defended.”

Senior guard Israelle Smith’s game-high 16 points and 12 from sophomore forward Janay Carter powered Harvest Prep into the regional final against Sarahsville Shenandoah (24-2) at 7 p.m. March 6 at North.

Shaeli Hayes’ 10 points led Waterford, which returned two starters from last year’s title team and started two freshmen. The Wildcats also were held scoreless for the first 5:01 of the second quarter.

The win was the second of the day for Dennis, who also coaches Harvest Prep’s boys team. Those Warriors used a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to beat Ready 70-59 in a Division V district semifinal that was moved up two hours to 5 p.m.

Dennis and some of his assistant coaches said they arrived at North just as Shenandoah closed out a 46-43 win over Stewart Federal Hocking in the first semifinal.

“It’s exhilarating,” Dennis said. “And it’s fun. Very special.”

Smith picks up scoring load for Harvest Prep

Smith ignited the Warriors in the second quarter, making a 3-pointer and a layup on consecutive possessions to kick-start an 11-2 run to end the period and stake Harvest Prep to a 29-15 halftime lead.

She made the same sequence of baskets, but in reverse, midway through the third to make it 37-15.

“I just attacked the gaps and found open spots,” said Smith, who scored five points above her season average of 11.3. “Early on, they had a lot of open spots in their zone so I just had to find those. Midrange shots were there and open 3s were there.”

Waterford had a quick 6-0 burst to start the fourth and get within 37-28, but missed its next six shots.

Carter’s three-point play with 4:02 made it 40-28 and essentially iced the result.

Smith, the daughter of Harvest Prep football coach Milan Smith, said a regional final appearance last year can pay dividends for a Warriors team seeking its first state berth in 15 years.

“Just don’t take anything for granted,” Smith said. “It’s a big night. We have to play well. They’re aggressive and they’re probably bigger than us, but we can be aggressive, too.”

High school sports reporters Frank DiRenna and Dave Purpura can be reached at [email protected] and at @DispatchPreps on X.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Four central Ohio girls basketball teams reach OHSAA regional finals