DAYTON – Having played a national schedule in reaching back-to-back Division I state semifinals, Pickerington Central girls basketball coach Chris Wallace found himself in a state of awe regarding the performance that ended his team’s season Friday night.

Springboro junior guard Bryn Martin, who like Wallace’s daughter Berry was one of eight finalists for Ms. Basketball, scored a Division I state tournament-record 38 points as the Panthers defeated the Tigers 63-54 at University of Dayton Arena.

Few of Martin's 23 shots were uncontested, and she also pulled down eight rebounds to send Springboro to its first state final in front of a pro-Panthers crowd of 5,128.

“We’ve played against some of the best players in the country and we’ve never had anybody score 38,” Chris Wallace said. “(Martin) had an incredible game. Nobody else had double figures. We could have tried some different things to stop her or slow her down … we tried to blitz them, switch our looks. It was incredible. She’s done it before, but you get 38 of 63 points, that’s hard to stop.”

Springboro, which is at state for the first time since 1978, took control with a 9-0 run spanning the first and second quarters and didn't trail again.

Rylee Bess led Central (25-4), which was seeking its first championship since 2018, with 16 points and five rebounds. Berry and Blossom Wallace both added 11 points and five rebounds.

Martin’s performance was third-best all-time in the state tournament regardless of division.

The record is 43 points, set by Fort Recovery’s Lynn Binh against McDonald in the 1991 Division IV final.

The previous big-school record of 34 was held since 1983 by Shelby’s Jodi Roth, who led her team to the Class AAA championship and later played at Ohio State.

“I just took whatever came to me,” Martin said. “My teammates did a great job of getting me open. They set amazing screens. Kudos to them. They worked very hard today.

“Thirty-eight points are 38 points. It doesn’t really matter to me. What matters to me is just winning.”

Springboro (24-5) moved on to face Olmsted Falls (25-3) in the final at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Springboro is situated between Dayton and Cincinnati, 15 miles from UD Arena.

Despite Martin’s heroics, Central was within 55-52 with 1:43 left after Zoe Coleman nailed a 3-pointer following a Springboro turnover. But the Panthers made their final eight foul shots and Central missed its final six attempts from the field.

Central held a 30-29 edge in rebounding and forced 18 turnovers while committing 16.

Springboro coach Mike Holweger beamed over a 2-3 extended zone defense his team installed this week, replacing its usual man-to-man look.

“We (like to) play fast, but they slowed us down with the zone,” Chris Wallace said. “We turned the ball over too many times. It was a good zone. We still scored 54 points, though. We adjusted.”

A win would have put Central in its 11th state final, tying Africentric and Berlin Hiland for the state record. Central, which lost to Olmsted Falls 58-53 in a semifinal last year, was making its 15th state appearance.

Africentric will play for its second consecutive Division III championship at 2 p.m. Saturday against Ottawa-Glandorf.

“Pick Central is super big with culture and it’s been fun to experience this with a bunch of different players,” said Berry Wallace, who has signed with Illinois and will participate in the McDonald’s All-American Game on April 2 in Houston. “I’ve learned so much from everyone. It was a great run.”

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Pickerington Central girls basketball falls in OHSAA semifinal