Alter hit 10 3-pointers and pulled down 17 offensive boards in the victory.
“I was pleased with our preparation the last two days in practice,” said Alter co-coach Christina Hart. “Monday, not so much. Our preparation showed tonight. The kids were locked in. They knew the scouting report inside and out. It showed. I thought we played pretty well at both ends.”
Alter sophomore Maddie Moody scored 13 points, junior Adia Strauser and freshman Da’Shai Shepherd had 12 points, junior Riley Smith had 11 points and junior Hannah Mayse added 10 as the Knights improved to 22-3.
Alter jumped out to a 19-4 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers by junior Ushana Garst and Smith to take a 19-4 lead with 1:30 remaining in the first quarter. Greenon cut the lead to 14 points in the second quarter, but couldn’t get any closer.
“The speed they bring, the intensity they bring, the physicality they bring, we just hadn’t seen that in the (Ohio Heritage Conference),” said Greenon coach Nick Minnich.
Offensively, Alter worked the ball inside to their post players to create mismatches against the smaller Greenon defenders.
“The way they played the post, we thought we could get it inside and really cause some problems for them and it worked,” Hart said. “I thought our bench really helped us tonight, too. We’re developing that depth that we’ve been working on all year and it’s starting to show.”
Alter advanced to face either Cincinnati Summit Country Day or Goshen at a time to be determined on Friday, Feb. 24 at Mason Middle School. Alter beat Summit 45-44 on Dec. 21.
Senior Claire Henry had a game-high 15 points and sophomore Sarah Riley added 10 as Greenon finished its season 20-5. They’ll graduate both Henry and senior Abby West, who each scored 1,000 points in their career.
“I’m so lucky to have those two,” Minnich said.
Tippecanoe 50, Oakwood 47: The sixth-seeded Red Devils advanced to the D-II district finals for the first time since 2020, beating the Lumberjills in a Dayton 2 bracket thriller.
Tippecanoe senior Makenzie Chinn scored 14 points, junior Laney Cleckner had 11 and senior Alexa Mader added 10 for the Red Devils.
“We’re super thrilled,” said Tippecanoe coach Christina Pentaudi, who advanced to the districts for the first time in her coaching career. “We’re super proud of our girls. We knew this was going to be a hard-fought battle. The way that our girls performed tonight with the aggressiveness and the passion, we needed it for 32 minutes and they did it.”
Oakwood senior Emma Neff had a game-high 20 points, surpassing 1,000 points for her career. Freshman Evie Conner added 10 points as the Lumberjills saw their five-game winning streak snapped, finishing the season 15-10.
“I’m very proud of these kids,” said Oakwood coach Rich Bagienski. “Of all the games I’ve coached, I’ve never been more proud of a group of kids and how they finished the season. … They played their hearts out.”
The Red Devils opened the game with three straight 3-pointers to grab a 12-2 lead. The Lumberjills responded with a 17-3 lead, taking a 19-5 lead on a 3-pointer by Neff with five minutes to go in the first half. Tippecanoe responded with a 8-2 run, taking a 23-21 lead on a 3-pointer by Mader.
Oakwood led by as many as five points in the third quarter, but Tippecanoe took a 39-28 lead on an old-fashioned 3-point play by freshman Savannah Clawson with 3:48 remaining.
The Lumberjills cut the lead to one point three times in the final two minutes, but couldn’t get any closer. They had a shot to take the lead with 10 seconds remaining, but the ball rimmed out.
“We got the last shot that we wanted,” Bagienski said. “It was a good shot, but those are the breaks of the game.”
Tippecanoe hit 15-of-22 free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
“Our team has been really good at that this season,” Pentaudi said. “The way that they composed themselves every time they stepped up to the line, it was exactly what we needed to clinch the game.”
It was a special night for Neff, Bagienski said. The Oakwood crowd held up 1,000-point signs when she hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter to reach the mark.
“She’s been a great player for us,” he said. “Obviously, she’s been our go-to player. If it had not been for the COVID year and she missed two games earlier this year, she would be well over (1,000 points). We were sweating it a bit, but I was glad she got it tonight. I’m really proud of her.”
Carroll 66, Waynesville 43: The fourth-seeded Patriots are back in the D-II districts for the first time since 2021, upsetting the second-seeded Spartans in a North 3 bracket district semifinal game at Trotwood Madison High School.
Carroll (15-10) advanced to face Greater Catholic League rival Hamilton Badin for the third time this season at a time to be determined on Friday, Feb. 24 at Mason Middle School. The Rams beat the Patriots 67-47 on Dec. 7 and 55-45 on Jan. 18.
The Spartans finished the season 19-5.
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