Ohio 2012 Girls Basketball Finals: Africentric snaps Anna's 50-game win streak, Twinsburg repeats

Kiyanna Black isn't a grandma, but according to Will McKinney, she performed like one Saturday.

"KB played like a senior, a big sister and a grandma out there," said McKinney, the head coach at Africentric Early College (Columbus). "Anything that had anything to do with taking care of someone or something she did."

As a result, Black and her teammates took care of Anna's 50-game win streak.

Behind Black's 27 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, Africentric won its third state title and first in Division III with a 70-66 overtime victory over undefeated Anna in the state final at Ohio State's Schottenstein Center. A crowd of 4,191 watched as the teams traded punches and missed opportunities.

Black was the one constant.

"It didn't look like we guarded her at all," Anna head coach Jack Billing said. "She put them on her shoulders and carried them. She's a tremendous player."

Said Black, who is headed to Ohio University: "It was just a regular day on the court."

Not exactly.

Both teams entered averaging more than 70 points per game and were seasoned tournament veterans. Anna, the defending D-III OHSAA champion, was riding Ohio's longest winning streak and had won 50 straight games by an average margin of 35 points. Africentric was in its fourth state final in six years.

Both got to play extra minutes.

Rallying from a 31-25 halftime deficit, Africentric took a seemingly insurmountable 57-51 lead with 44 seconds left in regulation. Anna stormed back behind old-fashioned 3-point plays from juniors Natalie Billing and Erica Huber to tie the game and force overtime.

In the extra stanza, Africentric again built a commanding lead (68-60) with 1:34 to go before Anna mounted another rally. The Rockets cut the lead to 68-66 with 35 seconds left but faltered on two final possessions that resulted in missed layups. Two free throws by Africentric's Ayrielle Stith with 2 seconds left completed the scoring.

Anna's undoing was turnovers and foul shots. The Rockets shot a miserable 19 of 37 from the free throw line and turned the ball over 25 times.

"If we take care of the ball, those free throws don't even matter," Billing said. "We're not going to beat ourselves up over that."

Natalie Billing led Anna with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Senior Ashley Frohne chipped in 21 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, while Huber had 13 points. Anna took 66 shots and made 23 (35 percent).

Junior Marley Hill was the only other Africentric player in double figures (11 points). She added 11 rebounds and six blocks. The Nubians, who had 26 turnovers of their own, hit 26 of 65 shots.

Combined, the teams made one 3-pointer and each grabbed 50 rebounds. The game featured 13 lead changes and seven ties.

"I think this was one of the best games at the state tournament – not just this year but all-time," Jack Billing said. "I know there's other things we could have done. Right now I don't know what those are."

In other action

Division I: Twinsburg 57, Fairmont (Kettering) 51
In a rematch of last year's D-I state final, the outcome was the same although the score wasn't. Twinsburg (25-3), ranked No. 18 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25, beat Fairmont 57-51 to wrap up its second-straight state title. Last year the Tigers beat the Firebirds 55-42.

Twinsburg led 15-3 after the first quarter but Fairmont fought back to close to within 34-32 in the fourth. An ensuing basket by Malina Howard provided a four-point cushion Fairmont (24-4) never overcame.

Howard, one of the nation's top senior post prospects and a Maryland recruit, had 14 points and nine rebounds, while junior guard Ashley Morrissette had 22 and eight, respectively. LaShawna Gatewood added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Fairmont was led by junior guard Chelsea Welch (19 points) and its outstanding sophomore post duo of Kathryn Westbeld (15 points) and Makayla Waterman (11 points).

Division II: Hathaway Brown (Shaker Heights) 53, West Holmes (Millersburg) 41
Hathaway Brown became just the third school in Ohio history to win four straight state titles in girls basketball with its 53-41 win over West Holmes. Mount Notre Dame (Cincinnati) and defunct Regina (South Euclid, Ohio) are the others.

Playing in its sixth-straight championship game, Hathaway Brown continued its stifling defense and held West Holmes to its second-lowest scoring output of the season. Combined, the Blazers forced their state final (West Holmes) and state semifinal (Bellbrook) opponents to shoot 22 percent from the field (27 of 122).

Junior Vanessa Smith led Hathaway Brown with 19 points and nine rebounds, while classmate Nia Marshall added nine and 10, respectively.

The Blazers didn't start a senior and have only one on their roster.

Division IV: Arlington 52, Hiland (Berlin) 37
Hiland had the history, but Arlington made a little of its own. In the state finals opener, the Red Devils won their first state title by beating Hiland 52-37 in the D-IV final.

Hiland (19-9) was in the final for the sixth time in eight years. Arlington (27-1) was making its first appearance.

Arlington built a 26-10 halftime lead and never led by less than 12 in the second half.

The Red Devils put four players in double figures, led by Dani Heaster's 13 points. Alivia Recker and Joy Reamsnyder each dropped in 11 points, while Amelia Recker chipped in 10.

Hiland outrebounded Arlington 34-24 but committed 16 turnovers that led to 18 Arlington points.