COLUMBUS, Ohio - In what was billed as a match-up of Ohio's top two teams and two of the country's best post players, Friday's Division I OHSAA girls basketball state semifinal between nationally ranked
Reynoldsburg and
Twinsburg was decided by guard play.
Specifically the play of Twinsburg guards
Ashley Morrissette and
Leah Fechko.
Before a crowd of 5,213 inside Ohio State's Schottenstein Center, Morrissette and Fechko combined for 33 points as Twinsburg, ranked No. 18 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25, held off undefeated and No. 11 ranked Reynoldsburg 49-41. The game was tied 32-32 after three quarters.
Twinsburg featured the nation's No. 1 senior post player and Maryland recruit
Malina Howard, while Reynoldsburg countered with the country's top 2014 post prospect in
Alyssa Rice.
Morrissette and Fechko stole the show.
"I thought Ashley took over," Twinsburg coach Julie Solis said. "(And) Leah always brings it."
Said Reynoldsburg coach Jack Purtell: "We knew their guards were good."
They were especially good when it mattered most.
Morrissette, considered a Top 50 junior nationally, scored nine first quarter points and led all scorers with 19. Fechko, a senior, scored 14 points as the duo combined to hit 11-of-12 free throws, including 8-of-8 in the fourth quarter.
Their heroics were needed.
Howard struggled early and was limited to four points and four rebounds in the first half. In the second she asserted herself in the paint, ending with 13 points and 19 rebounds.
"We told her to be more aggressive in the second half," Solis said. "In the first half I thought she was trying to get others involved and that's not necessarily what we want from Malina. We want her to attack."
Howard added three blocks and two assists and won her individual battle with Rice, who had eight points, five rebounds and two blocks.
"I thought the match-up was really good," Howard said. "She's a good player, but I felt I had more experience. We fought hard."
Led by
Adesuwa Aideyman's team-high 12 points, Reynoldsburg rallied from a nine-point deficit (42-33) with 2:29 to go to cut the lead to 44-41 with a minute left but got no closer.
"I felt good when we were tied going into the fourth quarter, but then I think fatigue set in a little bit," said Purtell, who only played six players (all over 21 minutes each). "Malina got going and we missed some free throws we usually don't. They made some plays."
The win was Twinsburg's 45th straight against Ohio competition dating back to a March 2010 loss to Canton McKinley (Ohio) in the regional semifinals. This season the Tigers losses have come against No. 8
Bolingbrook (Ill.), No. 16
DuPont Manual (Louisville, Ky.) and
Memphis Central (Tenn.).
Saturday, Twinsburg (24-3) faces
Fairmont (Kettering) in a rematch of last year's D-I final, which the Tigers won 55-42.
Reynoldsburg finishes 26-1.
"We knew it was going to be a good game," Solis said. "Any time you get two teams together with a 1 and 2 by their names you know it's going to be good."
It was.
News, Notes & Nuggets*
Hathaway Brown (Shaker Heights) advanced to its sixth straight D-II state final with a 48-34 win over Bellbrook (Ohio) in Friday's semis. The Blazers will be going for their fourth straight state title Saturday. Hathaway Brown – which starts four underclassmen 6-0 or taller – limited Bellbrook to a shooting clip of 18-percent from the floor (12-of-66). The Blazers will face five-time finalist
West Holmes (Millersburg) in the state final. West Holmes scored just six points in the first half of its semifinal win over Bath (Lima, Ohio) but rallied for a 35-29 victory.
*
Liberty-Benton (Findlay) fell 58-41 to
Anna in Thursday's D-III semifinals. The loss capped the career of Eagles senior Caitie Craft, the younger sister of Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft. A four-year starter, Caitie Craft lead Liberty-Benton to the state tournament three times in four years. The Eagles were D-III state champions in 2010. Like her older brother, Craft, who averaged 21.7 points as a senior, will play for Ohio State.
* Earlier this season
Tri-Village (New Madison) senior
Kayla Linkous became just the third girl in Ohio history to have 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. Linkous ended her prep career with a 53-47 loss to
Hiland (Berlin) in Thursday's D-IV semifinals. Held scoreless in the first half, Linkous ended with a game-high 19 points.
* Ohio University recruit
Kiyanna Black led
Africentric Early College (Columbus) to a 57-37 win over previously unbeaten Smithville (Ohio) in the D-III semifinals. Black had 16 points, four steals, three assists and two rebounds as the Nubians scored 28 points off 21 turnovers.
