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Africentric girls basketball captures OHSAA Division III state title
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- Africentric girls basketball captures OHSAA Division III state title
DAYTON — That records were broken in Saturday's Division III girls basketball state championship game did not surprise Africentric coach Janicia Anderson .
She also wasn't shocked that her team made 14 consecutive field goals to quickly establish control against Doylestown Chippewa.
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"We are who we are; we played like that when I was in high school here," Anderson said. "Chippewa was going to be one of the faster teams we've played and ... they were going to be aggressive on the wings, trying to trap our ball handlers, so we had to get the ball to the middle of the paint, be aggressive and be confident about taking shots.
"We saw what they gave us and we took it."
The Ohio High School Athletic Association's board of directors on Thursday unanimously approved the expansion of tournament divisions in seven sports, including girls basketball, in which Africentric is the defending Division III state champion.
Africentric missed its first shot but made its next 14, spanning the first and second quarters, and used a 15-0 run to go ahead for good at University of Dayton Arena. The Nubians went on to defeat the Chipps 75-62 to capture their first championship since 2019 and eighth overall.
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The Nubians' 75 points set a Division III state tournament record, and their 27 first-quarter points tied the previous mark. The teams' combined 137 points set a record by one.
Jeniya Bowers and Natiah Nelson each scored 17 points to pace Africentric (24-4). Nelson added seven rebounds and went 11 of 13 from the foul line in the second half to help secure the win after Chippewa (25-5) whittled an 18-point deficit to four.
Ashtan Winfrey added 14 points and Samairah Thompson finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
"I honestly thought they would slow us down, play us in a zone and try to slow our offense," Nelson said. "My offense wasn't flowing as well early as I wanted, but we got it all back on defense. That's what allows us to get our momentum going."
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Chippewa pulled into a 9-all tie in the first quarter before the Nubians ripped off a 7-0 run in less than a minute. Winfrey made a 3 and Bowers scored on consecutive layups, the second off a steal.
Ariel Grace added two baskets off the glass and Bowers hit a floater and a 3-pointer to make it 27-13 after a quarter. By the time the Nubians' 15-0 run was snapped, they led 31-13.
Samairah Thompson is one of the top returnees for defending Division III state champion Africentric.
"I don't think it had anything to do with tempo," Chippewa coach Dennis Schrock said. "We wanted to play fast. We're fast. I said (Friday) this was a game people wouldn't want to miss because it was going to be up-and-down and fast.
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"Their tempo didn't force us into doing anything we didn't want to do, but they made shots. We hadn't seen it on film quite like that. They deserved to win."
Chippewa got within four points twice late in the third. Annabel Rodriguez scored 11 of her team-leading 19 points in the quarter and the Chipps trailed 58-52 going to the fourth, but never got closer.
Africentric's Ashtan Winfrey, who scored 14 points Saturday, huddles with her teammates in the fourth quarter.
"I think they got tired," Nelson said. "We were tired, too, but we run a lot in practice, so I think that prepared us for the moment, and it wore them down."
This championship ties Africentric with Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame for the most in state history.
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Pickerington Central, which lost in a Division I state semifinal Friday , has seven.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Africentric girls basketball wins Division III state title
