Girls Basketball: Olentangy Liberty clinches share of OCC-Central on Stack’s game-winner against Upper Arlington
Friday, January 26, 2024
By Michael Rich
mrich@cbussports.com
Olentangy Liberty’s Maria Stack drives to the basket during the Patriots’ 37-36 home win over Upper Arlington Jan. 26. Photo: Kevin Lam
Maria Stack didn’t just watch the ball hang on the edge of the rim – she got ready to rebound. Turns out, the junior guard didn’t have to rebound because her shot went in to give the host Olentangy Liberty girls basketball team a 37-36 victory over Upper Arlington on Jan. 26.
It was the perfect ending for the Patriots, who improved to 14-4 overall and 8-0 in the OCC-Central Division clinched at least a share of the league title. A finesse play to win a game that had been anything but.
“It was not planned,” said Stack, a junior guard, who finished with six points and three rebounds. “But I work on it a lot – a backstep and spin. I saw the clock with maybe 6 or 7 seconds left and I knew Claire was hurt and she had been doing a lot.
“I knew we didn’t have a set play, so I thought I’d just take it. I had a little opening and I had been able to turn on (UA’s Elizabeth) Hunt the whole game. So, I knew if I turned on her and got a shot off, it was just watching it. … I did not think it was going to go in – I was ready for the rebound.”
The championship is Liberty’s second in a row and fifth overall. The Patriots can clinch an outright title with a win at Hilliard Bradley on Feb. 2.
Olentangy Liberty’s Claire Mikola, who led the Patriots with 18 points, goes to the hoop against Upper Arlington Jan. 26 at Liberty. Photo: Kevin Lam
“I think Maria Stack did a fantastic job on the last possession,” said Claire Mikola, a junior guard, who led the Patriots with 18 points, 11 steals, three rebounds and a couple of blocked shots. “She went up confidently, which is what you have to do in that position.”
The teams combined for 27 made field goals, but also 33 steals and 27 fouls. It was just that kind of night.
“We were drawing up a shot to win the game,” Liberty coach Tom Waterwash said of Stack’s game-winning basket. “We had some designs, but it didn’t work out. We had to improvise. That was Maria Stack just being Maria Stack. She is an absolute warrior and it’s incredible what she does for us.”
Liberty was without its leading scorer, Gigi Bower because of an illness.
Mikola stepped up in a big way with 11 points and seven steals in the first quarter alone. But she took a knee to an already injured right shin in the third quarter that made her night just a little more difficult.
“I don’t use this word lightly, but she is a freak athlete,” Waterwash said. “She’s a Dayton commit for soccer and could easily play college basketball if that were her sport. What she has done for us – she guards the other team’s best player and she has the ability to score. She’s an incredible basketball player, a great teammate and a great leader.”
Liberty upped its lead to 21-9 early in the second quarter before UA finally got going.
Upper Arlington’s Elizabeth Hunt, who had 17 points, drives to the basket against Olentangy Liberty’s Maria Stack during the game at Liberty Jan. 26. Photo: Kevin Lam
Hunt sparked UA with 12 of her 17 points in the middle two quarters, including a basket with 4 minutes, 43 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Golden Bears their first lead. Hunt added four rebounds to her ledger.
UA held as much as a four-point lead on four occasions in the second half, but couldn’t put Liberty away.
“We had every opportunity,” Bears coach John Wanke said. “We just didn’t execute down the stretch. I think we defended at a high level. Games like this are all about consecutive stops and execution in the fourth quarter. We didn’t execute the way we needed to execute to beat a good team like Liberty.”
Emma Karagheuzoff’s 3-pointer with 3:15 left gave Liberty a 35-34 lead. But it was short-lived as Ella Hanky connected on a pair of free throws on the next possession.
Karaghuezoff finished with five points and three steals and Addy Pyles added four points and a pair of assists for the Patriots, who won their eighth consecutive game.
Liberty has won the last eight meetings against the Bears, including a 46-42 win in overtime on Dec. 22. The last time UA won was in a district semifinal in 2016.
Tatum Thrush had 11 rebounds to go with four points and a pair of steals, Hannah Hunt had five points and three steals, Quinn Buttermore added four steals and three assists and Lucy Martin had three steals for the Bears, who had a nine-game winning streak snapped.
Olentangy Liberty’s Emma Karagheuzoff (3) works to get position during the Patriots’ home win against Upper Arlington Jan. 26. Photo: Kevin Lam