Girls Basketball: Bloom-Carroll, Granville win district titles
Saturday, March 2, 2024
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Bloom-Carroll’s Emily Bratton holds the district championship trophy after the Bulldogs’ 49-36 victory over Buckeye Valley at Central Crossing Mar. 2. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Whether it was her efficiency, the way she got her teammates involved, or that she didn’t miss a free throw, Bloom-Carroll senior Emily Bratton – as usual – was at the center of everything that took place during her team’s Division II district championship game Saturday at Central Crossing.
There were just enough key moments from Bratton’s supporting cast down the stretch that the fourth-seeded Bulldogs came away with a 49-36 victory over second-seeded Buckeye Valley, lifting the program to its third district title overall with the others coming in 2018 and ’19.
“This is about as good as it gets,” coach A.J. Ireland said. “They worked from day one to get here. They stayed together as a team. These girls deserve it. They’re a great group of girls that work hard and they’re coachable.”
The Barons came in giving up an average of just 25 points, but a layup by Bratton with 1 minute, 15 seconds left in the third quarter gave her team a 33-24 lead.
Then with 6:25 remaining, Bulldogs freshman guard Davynn Miller drilled a 3-pointer for a 38-28 lead.
After Buckeye Valley clawed back to within 41-34 with 2:50 remaining, Bratton answered with a basket and a pair of free throws to give her team an 11-point lead.
Miller, who has seen her impact gradually increase throughout the season, scored seven of her 10 points in the fourth quarter to complement a 26-point performance from Bratton that included her making all nine of her free-throw attempts.
“(Bratton) brings a lot of impact to our team, and it makes us all work together and makes the energy even bigger,” Miller said. “Everyone is just super happy that we work together as a team. We all put in the time in practice and communicated together on the bench.”
Bloom-Carroll freshman Davynn Miller (23) defends against Buckeye Valley freshman Lina Wagner during their district title game at Central Crossing Mar. 2. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Buckeye Valley, which won its first league title since 2007 earlier this season and was going for its first district championship since 1993, had won 16 in a row before the loss to Bloom-Carroll as it finished 23-3.
“We knew Emily was going to get her points because she’s a great player,” Barons coach Todd Pennington said. “Our plan was (to) keep others from scoring, and it was a credit to them that they stepped up and knocked (shots) down. I think we came out a little nervous. We hung in there for a while, but their experience of being in big games probably made a big difference for them. (Bratton is) a really phenomenal player who never gets sped up, and that’s a credit to her.
“I told the girls two years ago when (I took over as coach) that the credit goes to them because they had the choice to buy in or not buy in. They’ve gotten better, better and better, won a school-record 23 games and had a phenomenal season.”
Bratton, who is Bloom-Carroll’s all-time leading scorer with more than 1,800 points and was the district Player of the year as a sophomore and junior, is averaging 33 points during this postseason.
She and her teammates will have what likely will be their toughest test to date when they play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Springfield against Cincinnati Purcell Marian, which won the Division III state title in 2022 and the Division II state championship last season. The Cavaliers are 24-1, with their only loss to Division I district champion Pickerington Central.
Buckeye Valley’s Carlie Osborne saves the ball from going out of bounds during the Barons’ game with Bloom-Carroll at Central Crossing Mar. 2. Photo: Kevin Rouch
“Obviously we wanted that bad,” Bratton said. “I did not want to lose that game. It’s been a while since we’ve won a district championship. I didn’t want to let my team down, and they played really well, too. Davynn picked it up, and we really needed her. She played really well. She guards me every single practice and that’s really pushed her to be the best player. A district championship as a freshman is super hard. I’m really proud of her.
“We worked really hard on our defense for the last couple practices, just taking the gaps. Buckeye Valley is a really good team as a two seed, they won their league, and we just had to stay locked in and play gap defense.”
Senior guard Carlie Osborne and junior post player Ella Hazelrigg both scored 10 for Buckeye Valley.
“We’ve got players and they work hard,” Ireland said. “We’ve had great weeks of practice and just got after it. We dialed in on a scouting report defensively, and offensively we just let players make plays. I’m really proud of our kids.”
Granville 55, North Union 49
In the other Division II district final at Central Crossing, top-seeded Granville held off sixth-seeded North Union to advance to a regional semifinal at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Bryan at Mansfield Senior.
The Blue Aces, who were regional runners-up last season and have won consecutive district titles, improved to 25-1 while the Wildcats finished 17-8.
Harper Annarino finished with 26 points and Taylor Warehime added 13 for Granville while Addison Wedding added 11 for North Union.
The Wildcats tied it at 41 late in the third quarter and were within three during the final four minutes before the Aces closed it out.
Young Buckeye Valley fans cheer for the girls basketball team at Central Crossing Mar. 2. Photo: Kevin Rouch (* the “S” inconveniently turns away)