‘The measuring stick’: Pickerington Central girls basketball aims at repeat
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
By Michael Rich
mrichnotwealthy@gmail.com
Blossom Wallace, an Ohio University commit, hopes to lead the Pickerington Central Tigers to a second straight state title this season. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Blossom Wallace plays 94 feet of basketball. A senior post player on the Pickerington Central girls basketball team, Wallace has the energy and the strength to go baseline to baseline.
In a whirlwind year that included helping the girls basketball team to a state championship, setting records and helping soccer to a league title and signing to play basketball at Ohio University, Wallace can finally catch her breath.
“I’ve always played soccer,” said Wallace, who set program-records in single-season goals (38) and single-game goals (6) as a forward on the Tigers’ girls soccer team in the fall. “I’ve played soccer longer than I’ve played basketball. I’ve always loved playing it.
“It just really helps. It’s different types of running. I’m a forward (in soccer), so I don’t run all the time. But when I do, it’s hard sprints. In basketball, it’s hard sprints all the time. So, I feel like (soccer) really does help.”
Wallace helped the basketball team to its eighth state championship last season. Is there pressure to do it all over again?
“Last year, I was kind of stressed figuring out where I was going to play in college,” she admitted. “I guess there’s the pressure of having to win it again. But at the same time, I know who I am as a player and I know how good I can be.”
The young season has been full of both change and something very similar to last season for the Tigers.
Pickerington Central junior Zoe Coleman, a key playmaker for the Tigers, is a returning starter from last year’s state championship team. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Charged with replacing five graduates off that team, which defeated Cincinnati Princeton 47-44 in the state final last year, Central finds itself dealing with the injury bug in the early part of this season.
The Tigers are adjusting though. After losing their first two games to state powers SPIRE Academy (63-49) and Kettering Fairmont (60-54) at the Journey to the Tourney Nov. 22-23 in Cincinnati, the Tigers have rebounded to win three consecutive games, including a 74-45 decision over Hartley in the Thrill in Ville at Westerville South Dec. 7.
“We handle it the same as we do every year whether we win state or not,” said Central coach Johnathan Hedgepath, who returned to the program last season after a three-year absence. “Pick Central has made it to the final four three years in a row. In central Ohio, (we’re) the hunted a lot of times because everybody feels like you’re the measuring stick for how far (they) can go.
“So, it’s always a challenge to keep your players motivated and to understand that our goals are always the same. No matter how many times you’ve done it, you know everybody is out to beat you.”
Central wants to win a league title. The Tigers own wins over Reynoldsburg (62-37 Dec. 2) and Logan (67-27 Dec. 5) to open OCC-Buckeye Division play. Along with the league title, they want district, regional and state championships as well.
Wallace and classmates London Johnson (guard) and Deyon Smith and junior Zoe Coleman (guard) are all returning starters and senior guards Gabby Plair and Ameera Jenkins played key roles off the bench.
It’s been a copy of last season with some key injuries to Johnson (knee), a Dayton commit, junior forward Annabel Frimpong (knee) and senior wing player Peyton Gambacorta (undisclosed) during the course of the season.
Senior Deyon Smith brings experience to a Pickerington Central lineup that beat Cincinnati Princeton in the state title game last season. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Last year, Central lost key players Faith King and Rylee Bess to knee injuries in the early going. Those injuries opened the door for Smith and Plair to gain valuable experience.
“We always have to put on a good performance because we’re everybody’s targets,” Coleman said.
Coleman has been developing as a go-to scorer this season, leading the team with 16.3 points and 6.5 rebounds in four games.
“I’ve just been working on when we need a bucket, I’m able to get it at any level,” she said. “Just being a leader on the floor – like a floor general – just trying to show (that I can) step up to the plate.
“I am getting in the post a little bit more this year with teams that we’ve been playing being smaller. I just think that’s an advantage in (some matchups) just getting the post and getting an easy bucket out of it.”
Like Wallace, Coleman grew up in a basketball family. Her uncle, Will McKinney, was a longtime coach at Africentric.
Her aunt, Rene Haynes, played at Wellington and then Michigan State before becoming a coach, leading Long Island University from 2019-25.
Her mother, Jamila Haynes, played basketball at Hartley and Hofstra.
“I just grew up always wanting to play basketball and be a part of a winning culture like the one (McKinney) produced,” Coleman said. “I try to model my game after my aunt – just trying to be strong like her and get to the basket just like she always could. It seems to be working out a little, but there’s always room for improvement.”
Senior guard Gabby Plair played valuable minutes off the bench for Pickerington Central during their state championship run last year. Photo: Kevin Rouch