PERRY — Through three quarters, the OHSAA girls basketball district final Friday at Perry was one-sided.
Archbishop Hoban's Makenzie Grant made two free throws at the end of the third, giving the Knights a 15-point lead.
Then began what Green coach Alicia Manning called "one of the most amazing comebacks I've been a part of as a coach."
It just wasn't enough.
Green trimmed the lead to two points with 11 seconds left, but Hoban survived, holding on for a 51-48 win. It was Hoban's fourth straight district title under coach Pam Davis.
The Knights (16-9) advanced to face Grafton Midview at 8 p.m. Tuesday in a regional semifinal at Medina.
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"This was probably one of my sweetest district titles ever," Davis said. "These kids are resilient. Not only tonight, but all season because we had peaks and valleys. My seniors have four Division I district titles."
On of the those seniors was Rylee Bennett, who finished with a game-high 17 points. Bennett iced the game when she split two free throws with four seconds left.
Bennett said she wasn't giving up the ball in the last 10 seconds.
"I just had to stay confident in myself," she said. "I knew if I missed the first one, I always make the second. It feels amazing because we've gone through a lot of adversity this year and it feels good to be rewarded for it."
Hoban opened the game with an 8-0 run and was in command through the first three quarters.
"We had 15 offensive rebounds in the first half and we just could not put it in the hole," Manning said. "It literally came down to that. The fact we could get 15 offensive rebounds in impressive. There wasn't' a single foul shot in the first half, and we're used to getting to the line."
Down 43-28 through three quarters, Green started the rally with an 8-0 run to open the fourth.
In the last two minutes, Green forced three turnovers and stormed back behind Mallory Oddo, who led the charge with eight of her 15 points in the final quarter.
"In the huddle, we literally said we need every loose ball and [Oddo] just laid out totally horizontal to get one" Manning said.
A 3-pointer by Green's Riley Chmielewski cut the lead to 52-50 with 11.2 seconds left before Bennett iced it. Green's Jenna Slates had 20 rebounds.
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hoban hangs on to edge Green for Perry girls basketball district title
