Friday, March 10, 2023
By Scott Hennen
shennen@cbussports.com

The Pickerington Central basketball team looked good statistically in a Division I state semifinal against Olmsted Falls.

The seventh-ranked Tigers scored 40 points in the paint and were 25 of 44 shooting for 56.8 percent, but it wasn’t enough. The fourth-ranked Bulldogs were 9-for-17 on 3-point shots for 52.9 percent and used a 12-0 fourth-quarter run to rally for a 58-53 victory.

“They changed up a little bit (defensively),” Central coach Chris Wallace said. “They went from man to some trapping zones and got a couple big turnovers out of it.

“We pride ourselves on defense, and 58 points is way too much for us. We scored 53, and that’s enough for us to win. It came down to us not guarding them enough.”

The Bulldogs (25-3) will play third-ranked Cincinnati Princeton in the final at 8:30 p.m. March 11 at UD. The Vikings rallied from a five-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to outlast Grafton Midview 61-57 in the other semifinal.

The teams were tied at the half but Central (24-5) kept pace in the paint. The Tigers held a 16-9 rebounding advantage and scored 20 points in the paint as opposed to 10 for Olmsted Falls. Junior Berry Wallace, the daughter of the Central coach, was 11 of 16 shooting for 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Tigers. The 6-foot-1 center scored nine points in the third quarter as Central led 42-36 heading into the fourth. Olivia Cooper, a 6-1 senior forward, added eight points and four rebounds.

Senior guard Erin Birch was the tallest Olmsted Falls athlete at 6-0. The senior guard was 2-for-2 on 3-pointers, scoring eight points.

“Based on statistics (we had a size advantage) but you have to guard them,” coach Wallace said. “We had 40 points in the paint, that’s a good number. We still have to guard those guards on the perimeter.

“We played some pretty high-powered teams this season but sometimes we had some trouble against teams with a smaller lineup. It makes for a tough matchup.”

Junior guard Danielle Cameron was 6-for-9 on 3-point shots, scoring 23 points for the Bulldogs. Senior guard Mia Kalich added 16 points with 12 rebounds, five assists and five steals, and point guard Paige Kohler added six points and six assists.

“It wasn’t surprising (about the Bulldogs 3-point effort),” coach Wallace said. “You can practice it all you want but it’s different when they turn the lights on out there. The Cameron girl was 6-for-9. She did a really good job of getting open.”

Bulldogs coach Jordan Eaton said his team patiently stayed in the game and really started playing aggressive defense midway through the third.

“We were running in the mud defensively in the first half, trying to guard them a lot 1-on-1,” Eaton said. “We started playing help defense (in the second half). They have a lot of size and they are going to be hard to guard 1-on-1, and we had trouble with (Berry Wallace) and (Cooper).”

Berry Wallace said once a team starts to roll, it can be difficult to halt momentum in a loud venue.

“When you are losing the lead and they go on a run, it’s tough to stop, especially with a big crowd,” she said. “It’s hard when they have 3-point shooters. It’s easier to run back and guard in the paint, but when you get tired getting there (to the perimeter) is tougher.”

Coach Wallace said his team was built around defense, but came up short against an accomplished team.

“We pride ourselves in not giving up big runs,” he said. “You have to get stops and stop the bleeding. You play great teams, they are going to be tough to stop.”