Girls Basketball: Gibson catches fire in 4th to lead Newark Catholic to district title
Friday, March 1, 2024
By Michael Rich
mrich@cbussports.com
Newark Catholic’s Kylie Gibson (center) shoots a three during the Green Wave’s district title win over Fisher Catholic at Ohio Dominican Mar. 1. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Kylie Gibson freely admits there were times she was frustrated on March 1. But she didn’t let the feeling consume her. The senior guard bided her time and caught fire in the fourth quarter.
She knocked down four 3-pointers to help the Newark Catholic girls basketball come back from a nine-point deficit and beat Fisher Catholic 54-48 to win a Division IV district championship at Ohio Dominican’s Alumni Hall.
“Obviously, I was frustrated,” said Gibson, who scored 12 of her game-best 17 points in the frame for the top-seeded Green Wave. “But you can’t do that in that type of game. You’ve gotta be relaxed and trust your team. That’s what I did and they trusted me.”
Gibson finished with five 3s and added four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Newark Catholic, which improves to 24-0, advances to play Waterford in a regional semifinal on March 7 at Pickerington North.
Second-seeded Fisher Catholic, which finished 22-4, tied its largest lead of the game at 42-33 at the end of three quarters.
Newark Catholic’s Fini Kaiser (24) goes strong to the hoop against Fisher Catholic during the Green Wave’s district title win at Ohio Dominican Mar. 1. Photo: Kevin Rouch
The Irish also held a 20-11 lead after one quarter, but were held to just six points in each of the second and fourth quarters.
“We’ve been down 14 to them, we’ve been down 16 (before) and we’ve been down 10 to someone else and I can tell you – this team doesn’t fold,” said Newark Catholic coach Rob Smith, whose team also had to come back to beat the Irish 56-52 on Dec. 17 at Ohio Dominican. “Kylie Gibson is a senior and she could have pouted the whole game (because) she wasn’t getting the ball. She stayed with the process. Reagan Jones stepped up and hit a couple (of 3s) and Kai Holmberg came in (and made some big plays).
“This team gets along and there wasn’t any crying. I was the one getting frustrated. And I was getting frustrated because I know what we can do.”
Gibson knocked down three 3s in an 11-0 run to start the fourth for the Green Wave. She hit a 3-pointer on the first possession. Then, Kai Holmberg followed with a steal before Fini Kaiser scored underneath.
Gibson followed with a steal and knocked down a 3 in transition and followed with a third 3 to give her team the lead with 6 minutes remaining. It was the Green Wave’s first lead since the 4:55 mark of the first quarter.
Jayda Dixon gave the Irish the lead again with a 3 of her own at 5:38 remaining. But Sophie Peloquin found Kaiser underneath to give the Green Wave the lead for good with 5:09 left.
Fisher Catholic’s Sydney Ellis hooks a pass from the corner during the Irish’s district championship game Mar. 1 at Ohio Dominican. Photo: Kevin Rouch
“We came out and ran three sets in a row … and (Gibson) hit all three of them,” Smith said. “I thought the press for just the two minutes (we ran it) changed the game again. Once (Fisher Catholic) got out of their rhythm – they were in trouble.”
Kaiser had 15 points and six rebounds for Newark Catholic.
Peloquin was held scoreless until the fourth quarter, but did her damage via the pass with seven helpers. She finished with four points and Natalie Harrington had 11 rebounds to go with six points.
The Irish presented a more balanced attack with five players scoring more than seven points. Ellie Bruce led the way with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Dixon added nine points, seven rebounds and three assists.
“We just have to handle the ball better,” Fisher Catholic coach Ben Bethel said. “We struggled with them in the second half. I felt like we had a good game plan for them. I think this was a heck of a game to play against a team that’s way bigger and more athletic.”
Voni Bethel and Charli Gillum each had eight points and Sydney Ellis chipped in seven. Bethel also had five rebounds and three assists.
“We just take one game at a time and play with each other and it just comes out in our favor,” Gibson said.
Newark Catholic celebrates its hard-fought district title win over Fisher Catholic Mar. 1 at Ohio Dominican. Photo: Kevin Rouch