Girls Basketball: Africentric pulls away from Stars for 9th straight City title
Saturday, February 10, 2024
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Africentric’s Samairah Thompson (left) and Natiah Nelson accept the City League championship trophy after the Nubians’ win over Centennial Feb. 10 at East. Photo: Kevin Lam
While winning its eighth state championship last winter, the Africentric girls basketball team broke the Division III title-game record for points in a game.
Still, the Nubians’ No. 1 focus, according to senior Natiah Nelson, is centered around using their defensive effort to make things happen offensively.
As Africentric celebrated its ninth consecutive City League championship and 16th in the program’s 21 seasons Saturday at Columbus East, the way its play on both sides of the court complements one another was clear.
With an 81-48 victory over Centennial, the Nubians improved to 19-2 overall and earned their third league title under coach Janicia Anderson.
“It means a lot actually,” Nelson said. “It feels like we’re continuing the history that the past teams have set for us already. We work really hard to be where we are. Obviously we plan on going further in our season, but this was a big milestone for us and I’m glad we got to accomplish what we did.
“We’re a defensive team. We always say that we’ve got to get three stops in a row, got to get them to turn the ball over. Defense turns into offense. We work hard every single day, and I think we’ll go far in the playoffs.”
Africentric, which beat Doylestown Chippewa 75-62 in last year’s state final and is the second seed for the coming Division III district tournament, has four returning starters from a season ago and has also benefited from the return of senior Kamryn Grant after she missed all of last season with an injury.
Africentric’s Jayona Overby shoots from the outside during the Nubians’ win over Centennial in the City League championship at East Feb. 10. Photo: Kevin Lam
During the second half against Centennial, Grant grabbed eight rebounds and scored seven of her nine points.
While Grant is a Dayton commit, fellow seniors Nelson (DePaul) and Samairah Thompson (Buffalo) will also play Division I college basketball.
“Honestly, I’m just proud of the way my team played overall and the way they executed,” Grant said. “It means everything for me to be back on the court (this season). I’m just trying to keep my confidence up and continue to play like my team has played, try to get my head back in the right space for the tournament.”
Centennial, which is 17-2 overall and was making its first appearance in the City title game since 2015, led 9-8 midway through the first quarter. Thompson scored six points and senior Ashtan Winfrey hit a 3-pointer during the closing minutes of the period to give Africentric a 19-13 lead.
In the second quarter, Winfrey hit another 3 and the Nubians led by as many as 14 before taking a 37-28 lead into halftime.
The Nubians used balanced scoring in the third period to build a 59-42 lead. Centennial standout freshman guard Kennedy Houston, who along with her junior sister, Kayla Houston, each average 19 points, picked up her fourth foul with 15.9 seconds left in the third quarter.
With 5 minutes, 57 seconds remaining, Kennedy Houston and Thompson each were charged with technical fouls, knocking Kennedy Houston out of the game with 22 points.
Kayla Houston finished with 13 points for the Stars, who are the third seed for the Division II district tournament.
Centennial freshman Kennedy Houston, who led the Stars with 22 points, drives to the basket against Africentric Feb. 10 at East. Photo: Kevin Lam
“It was a war of attrition,” Stars coach Ernest Bell said. “Hats off to them. They played great. It’s a great team with a great coach. It’s a learning experience (for us). I just wanted them to try to embrace the moment. I let them know that nothing’s promised. They’re doing what a lot of people hadn’t been able to do. We got here, so it’s about getting here and making the most of the opportunity. We just want to take some momentum into the playoffs. They’ve got a bunch of DI players, and we knew eventually the war of attrition would catch up to us.
“(The growth of) Kayla (Houston) was the beginning of all of this. We were about seven seconds away from being (in the City final) last year, and her sister took us over the top. We’re just looking to grow over the summer and get back at it.”
While only five players scored for Centennial, the Nubians were led offensively by Thompson (21), sophomore Jeniya Bowers (16), Nelson (14) and Winfrey (12). Bowers hit three 3-pointers during the closing three minutes.
“It was about not getting down on ourselves and playing through our mistakes with everything that wasn’t going our way,” said Anderson, who was a senior in 2006 when the Nubians won their first City championship. “We put ourselves in some bad positions defensively and we could have boxed out a lot better, and we put ourselves in a deficit by putting them on the line. (We) got after it (in the second half) and were able to sustain it. We’re fortunate to have 11 players that can come in and give the same energy. Depth is important for us.
“This never gets old. We cherish this every single time. It’s been great. We’re putting our best foot forward every single day and have been able to play against some really tough teams that’s kind of prepared us for what we want to do each day.”
Centennial’s Kayla Houston (right) drives against Africentric’s Shaunie Little during the Stars’ City League championship game at East. Photo: Kevin Lam