Girls Basketball: Bloom-Carroll’s Bratton goes for 26 in regional semi loss to top-ranked Purcell Marian
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
By Michael Rich
mrich@cbussports.com
Bloom-Carroll’s Emily Bratton goes to the basket against Purcell Marian in the regional semifinal Mar. 5 at Springfield. Photo: Kevin Lam
Emily Bratton wore the emotion on her face of playing in her final high school girls basketball game on March 5.
Already leaving as Bloom-Carroll’s all-time leading scorer, the senior guard scored 26 points in her final game. But the Bulldogs couldn’t keep up with top-ranked Cincinnati Purcell Marian and fell 77-43 in a Division II regional semifinal.
“Looking back, I thought I’ve definitely grown since my freshman year,” said a teary Bratton. “I’ve gotten stronger and (I’ve) been able to take it to the basket more. My shooting percentage has improved overall. So, honestly, it makes me happy looking back.”
The Cavaliers advance to play Hamilton Badin for the regional championship on March 8 back at Springfield.
Purcell Marian, ranked 17th nationally by MaxPreps, has a chance to reach the state tournament for the fourth consecutive season. They are back-to-back defending state champions.
Central Ohio’s other Division II representative, ninth-ranked Granville, fell 40-26 to seventh-ranked Bryan in a regional semifinal at Mansfield Senior.
Bratton, who scored 127 points during the tournament, including a career-high 44 points in the Bulldogs’ 79-29 win over Whitehall in the second round of the district tournament.
Purcell Marian’s Samaya Wilkins (24) shoots from short range during the Cavaliers’ regional semifinal win over Bloom-Carroll Mar. 5 at Springfield. Photo: Kevin Lam
Samaya Wilkins jump-started Purcell Marian with 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the first quarter. The 6-foot-3 freshman post led the Cavaliers, who improved 25-1, with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Dee Alexander, last year’s Ms. Basketball, went for 18 points, six assists, six rebounds and six steals for the Cavs.
Purcell Marian wanted to stop Bratton, but that proved impossible.
Bratton scored 11 points in the first quarter, but sat much of the second quarter because of foul trouble. She came back and scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 26 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals for the Bulldogs, who finished 20-6.
“We wanted to take her away,” Purcell Marian coach Jamar Mosley said. “Clearly, we didn’t do that. She’s just a phenomenal player. We knew exactly what we were going to get when she stepped into the gym. We know she can shoot it from anywhere and she’s a very crafty player. She’s just a great basketball player. We did not take her away, but overall, we did a great job of taking everything else away.”
Purcell Marian, which 24-13 after one, blew it open in the second. The Cavaliers had 13 steals in the first half.
Bloom-Carroll’s Emma Sorrell (21) drives the lane against Purcell Marian’s Jayda Mosley during their regional semifinal game Mar. 5 at Springfield. Photo: Kevin Lam
“One of the things we talk about on a daily basis is just doing what we do,” Mosley said. “Everyone in the state … or in the country that knows who we are knows that we’re going to press. It’s one of the staples of our defense. We work on it every single day. I think today, for the most part, we did a great job of executing on the defensive end what we were trying to do.”
Ky’Aira Miller had 15 points, Trinity Small had four assists and three rebounds and McKenzie Jones and Jordan added four rebounds apiece for Purcell Marian.
“That’s a complete basketball team and they’re really, really good,” Bloom-Carroll coach A.J. Ireland said. “It’s tough to simulate in practice because we don’t have 6-foot guards running around. I’m super proud of our girls because they competed all night. They were undersized and undermanned the entire game, but they never quit and never gave in.
“We’ve been playing the right way and I thought our girls had a good mindset. We weren’t going in expecting to lose. We weren’t going in thinking that we were going to get blown out or whatever. We went in thinking that we were going to win and expecting to win. We didn’t, but not a lot of teams do. Only four teams finish their year with a win at the end of the season.”
Emma Sorrell had 11 points and eight rebounds for Bloom-Carroll, which made its third appearance in a regional semifinal – all since 2018.
“Even through AAU and stuff, that’s probably the toughest team I’ve ever played,” Bratton said.
The Bloom-Carroll Bulldogs play their final game of the season, falling to Purcell Marian in the regional semifinals at Springfield Mar. 5. Photo: Kevin Lam