Greater Columbus high school basketball: 4 things we learned from Feb. 5-11
It is officially tournament time for high school basketball ... almost.
The first girls tournament contest for a central Ohio team takes place Monday night, when Fairfield Union faces Wellston in a Division II first-round game in the Southeast District. Central District action starts next week.
Then there are the boys, who had their tournament draws statewide Sunday.
As we brace for the postseason to get into full swing, here are four things we learned this past week:
1. Gahanna win helps New Albany clinch title in talent-rich OCC-Ohio
The tight nature of the OCC-Ohio boys race was on display Friday at Gahanna Lincoln, where the host Lions needed a handful of runs and four scorers in double figures to fend off Grove City 76-71.
Gahanna (13-8, 5-4) didn’t know it at the time, but its win helped clinch rival New Albany’s first league championship since 2016 in the OCC-Capital. The Eagles (16-4, 7-2) did their part by defeating Pickerington North 56-41, and even though the league title will not be on the line this week, the OCC-Ohio has proven to be one of the more competitive leagues in the area.
Gahanna is one of four teams at 5-4, along with Grove City, North and Westerville Central.
“There is a lot of balance in our division,” Gahanna coach Tony Staib said. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs with injuries and tough losses, just a lot of things. We went through a stretch where we lost four league games by a total of seven points. We were snakebit a little bit down the stretch, so it was nice to see it go our way (Friday).”
K.J. Reynald’s 23 points and 18 from Joseph Boddie powered the Lions past Grove City. Greyhounds standout Kraig Gilbert, a 6-foot-8 forward, had nine of his 19 points on 3-pointers.
2. Westerville Central girls win first league title
With several talented underclassmen and established programs at the middle school level, Justin Patrick was optimistic about Central’s potential when he was named coach in May 2022.
In his second season, the Warhawks (17-4, 8-2) have won the program’s first league title, finishing a game ahead of Grove City in the OCC-Ohio. Central, the ninth seed in the Division I district tournament, went 11-12 last season.
“These girls always had it,” Patrick said. “I always believed in them. From the beginning, this group had promise and they made the adjustments to my coaching very well and they did a great job. They’ve put in the work, and they deserve this.”
Sophomore forward Ella Martin, the daughter of Central boys coach Kevin Martin, averages a team-high 15.8 points along with 8.7 rebounds.
“I thought if we really worked hard, trained really hard and stayed dedicated, I really thought we could benefit,” Martin said. “It obviously wasn’t going to be easy, but I always knew that we had the opportunity and skill to get it.”
Other key contributors have been senior guard Kate Yaussy (13.6 points), junior guard/forward Priscilla Adjei (9.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.1 steals), senior guard Sophia Roush (7.8 assists, 6.8 points, 5.2 rebounds) and senior center Avery Vukmanic (8.9 rebounds).
“This is so special to me,” Vukmanic said. “We started off 3-19 my freshman season. It was a crap show. Four freshmen were starting and we really didn’t know what we were doing. We were better the second season (and went 7-16). ... Coach Patrick stepped in and really took the lead of this team that we haven’t had in a long time.”
3. Africentric girls thriving with depth
The defending Division III state champion Nubians (19-2) appear primed for another lengthy postseason run, and one of the reasons was on display throughout an 81-48 win over Centennial in Saturday’s City League championship game at East.
Four scorers were in double figures, led by 21 points from Buffalo signee Samairah Thompson. That is 13 above her season average, but the scoring also echoed the team’s season-long production.
Dayton signee Kamryn Grant averages a team-leading 17.2 points, ahead of DePaul-bound Natiah Nelson (13.0) and Jeniya Bowers (10.9). The team averages 73.1 points and allows 22.5.
“We’re fortunate to have 11 players who at any time can come in and give the same energy,” coach Janicia Anderson said. “Depth is huge. Next person up. That’s how we always do it.
“This never gets old. We cherish this every single time. It’s been a great journey. We’ve played some really tough teams and prepare for what we want to do every day.”
Linden-McKinley boys: Panthers unlikely to play in City League final due to schedule rule
4. Olentangy Liberty girls go unbeaten in OCC-Central
Liberty (16-5) enters the Division I district tournament as the proud owner of an unbeaten championship (10-0) in the OCC-Central.
It’s the Patriots’ second consecutive league title and fifth overall, but the first time in program history they went undefeated in league play. It’s also Liberty’s first outright league title since 2015.
The Patriots are seeded fourth in the district tournament.
“I am really proud of the kids and coaches in our program,” coach Tom Waterwash said. “We play in a very competitive league. ... Our kids handled different challenges and adversities throughout the season but just kept grinding, kept working. This is a big accomplishment and something we are very proud of.”
Senior Gigi Bower, an Ohio University signee, averages a team-high 16.1 points, followed by juniors Claire Mikola (9.8) and Maria Stack (7.7). Stack averages a team-high 5.8 rebounds, just ahead of Mikola's 5.1 per game.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio high school basketball: 4 things we learned Feb. 5-11
