Kamryn Grant helps Africentric girls basketball cruise into OHSAA Division III state final
DAYTON – Live statistics provided by the Ohio High School Athletic Association at the girls basketball state tournament include lead changes, the number of ties and the amount of time each team leads in a given game.
If time of possession were kept, LaGrange Keystone might have had a sizable advantage in Thursday evening’s Division III semifinal against Africentric.
Of course, that was largely because the Wildcats found themselves searching long and hard for good looks against a faster, keyed-in Nubians defense, and when Africentric had the ball, it usually got to the other end in a hurry and found open shots.
If they didn’t, a plethora of offensive rebounds led to more quick chances in the Nubians’ 62-35 rout of Keystone at University of Dayton Arena.
“We wanted to push up more, force them to be a lot more uncomfortable,” Africentic coach Janicia Anderson said. “You could tell they were waiting on us to make mistakes, and we made a few, but we definitely wanted to make that adjustment and stretch them out by running when we could.”
An 18-2 edge in fast-break points, 38-18 advantage in rebounding and 51% shooting (25 of 49) to Keystone’s 35% (14 of 40) helped add up to Africentric’s state record-tying 11th final appearance.
Kamryn Grant’s 22 points and 11 rebounds, both game highs, and 10 points and seven rebounds each from Natiah Nelson and Samairah Thompson powered Africentric (27-2) into Saturday’s 2 p.m. final against Ottawa-Glandorf.
Ottawa-Glandorf beat Portsmouth 47-40 in Thursday’s second semifinal.
Africentric’s 18 offensive rebounds tied Keystone’s total.
“I definitely knew from the start that I would be able to take advantage with my size,” said Grant, a Dayton signee. “From the jump, it wasn’t easy, but I thought I could have a big night.”
Africentric had 11 possessions on which it got multiple shots and finished with 16 second-chance points to two for Keystone (28-1), which was making its state debut.
“We have a motto – everybody crash (the boards),” Anderson said. “Kam is always putting herself in the best position, and so are Sam and Natiah, but when the shot goes up, get in position and try to get that basketball and go up strong. We knew that was a weakness (for Keystone).”
Africentric, which will seek its ninth championship, led 28-15 at halftime and was ahead as many as 33 points in the fourth quarter.
The Nubians’ 11th final appearance ties the record held by Berlin Hiland. Pickerington Central would share that mark with a win over Springboro in a Division I semifinal Friday night.
Jessica Forthofer’s 18 points and three rebounds led Keystone. No other Wildcats scored more than five points.
“We knew we were going to be outsized,” Keystone coach Rocky Houston said. “Our goal was to do everything we could to box out, but they have some really good athletes and they were too talented.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Africentric routs Keystone in OHSAA girls basketball state semi
