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'Played our game': Pickerington Central girls basketball wins OHSAA Division I state title
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- 'Played our game': Pickerington Central girls basketball wins OHSAA Division I state title
DAYTON – There were a few gasps throughout University of Dayton Arena when Cincinnati Princeton star Mari Gerton went down with an apparent ankle injury with 5:34 left in Saturday night's Division I girls basketball state final .
For having been held largely in check by Pickerington Central, making only 2 of 7 field-goal attempts and being harassed into seven turnovers, mostly by Central's Blossom Wallace, the Florida State signee's impact was felt in other ways.
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Gerton had just assisted on a Kali Fortson layup that put Princeton ahead 40-34, but Central felt the shift in momentum as much as any of the 2,485 in attendance.
The Tigers closed with a 13-4 run, highlighted by a banked 3-pointer from junior forward London Johnson and two 3-pointers from sophomore guard Zoe Coleman. The first Coleman 3 tied the game at 40 and the second put the Tigers ahead to stay in a 47-44 win that brought them their first championship since 2018 and eighth all-time.
"(Gerton) is a great player and our focus was on her," Central coach Johnathan Hedgepeth said. "Blossom did a tremendous job (defensively) … but it allowed us to take Blossom off her and not get her in foul trouble. Missing someone that we had to key on was pretty big."
Meanwhile, after missing her first five attempts from outside, Coleman hit the two biggest 3s of the game for Central, accounting for all of her six points.
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It was a dream come true of sorts for Coleman, who was a ball girl for some of the seven Africentric championship teams led by her uncle, Will McKinney, from 2007-19. Her mother, Mimi, was a state champion in 2000 at Hartley.
"I just kept my confidence up and didn't get down on myself," she said. "We attacked the basket, looked for fouls and just played our game."
Pickerington Central celebrates after defeating Cincinnati Princeton in the Division I state championship game at University of Dayton Arena on Saturday.
What was a defensive slugfest through the first two-plus quarters – Central (25-3) led 23-17 at halftime – turned into a relative shootout late.
Fortson, the daughter of former University of Cincinnati star Danny Fortson, sank a 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer and give Princeton (21-7) its first lead at 32-29. The Vikings' lead peaked at six before Gerton went down, although she returned for a few brief stints in the final four minutes.
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Central guards Gabby Plair, a junior, and Deyon Smith, a sophomore who starts at the point , went 4 of 4 at the line in the final 32 seconds to seal the outcome.
Plair led Central off the bench with 13 points. Wallace added 10 points and six rebounds and Johnson finished with nine points and five assists.
"We talked about poise and patience," Hedgepeth said. "We had 11 turnovers in the first half (and 16 for the game) and it was about us taking care of the ball. We tried to pick our moments to press them and maybe get them uncomfortable, and that helped us a lot to pick up our energy and get our motor going."
Pickerington Central girls basketball coach Johnathan Hedgepeth celebrates with Blossom Wallace after the Tigers defeated Cincinnati Princeton in the Division I state final March 15 at University of Dayton Arena.
Fortson's 19 points and nine rebounds led Princeton, which lost for the first time in four finals appearances. The Vikings won state in 1987, 2014 and 2023.
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Gerton finished with eight points and five rebounds.
"When Mari went down, it hurt us a little bit offensively, but our kids are made to step up," Princeton coach Dee Davis said. "We just had some moments where we had some careless turnovers (and) some missed opportunities. They hit a couple nice shots at the end."
Pickerington Central's Mikaila Asamoah celebrates after defeating Cincinnati Princeton in the Division I state championship game at University of Dayton Arena on Saturday.
Central reached its third consecutive state tournament – and first final since 2019 – despite Wallace being the only returning starter from a year ago by season's end because of injuries.
"Our team is young, but they are battle-tested," Hedgepeth said. "That's why we play the schedule we play. It's a testament to them, losing girls but trusting our bench players. We're blessed."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Pickerington Central girls basketball wins OHSAA state championship
