In Act 1, Maggie Stephenson scored 21 points and Katie Berrey scored 18 to lead second-seeded Waynesville to a 51-34 victory over No. 17 Clinton-Massie. In Act 2, Kiera Healy scored 15 points and Maura Petrovic scored six of her 10 points in the decisive second half to lead No. 4 Carroll to a 68-39 second-half rout of No. 3 Tecumseh.
Those four freshmen along with other young teammates and a couple of seniors will be in the starting lineups at 5:30 Thursday night in Trotwood when the teams meet for a chance to advance to the next Friday’s district tournament in Mason.
At first, Healy wondered what she was supposed to say in her first postgame interview. But when asked how her coaches, who have lots of tournament experience, have prepared her team, she knew the answer.
“They definitely preach it a lot, how it’s a whole different style of play and you’ll have all the noise surrounding you,” she said. “It’s a whole different lifestyle.”
So far the Patriots (14-10) are enjoying tournament life. They opened with a 62-37 win over Ben Logan. But it should not come as a surprise they are still playing. A 2-8 mark in the difficult Greater Catholic League Co-ed includes a combined four losses to Alter, No. 1 in the north sectionals, and Hamilton Badin, No. 2 in the south sectionals. The Patriots were 11-2 in nonleague games, including an 88-72 victory at Tecumseh on Jan. 28.
“I don’t know if they really know what it’s all about yet,” said Carroll coach Cecilia Grosselin, who took the Patriots to the state tournament from 2019 to 2021. “Because as you keep winning, you get more crowds and more excitement. They’re going to find out here pretty soon.”
Waynesville (20-4) is no stranger to postseason success under Tim Gabbard, who is in his 43rd season with the Spartans and surpassed 600 victories last year. What’s different is the Spartans moved up to Division II this season for the first time.
“This is more of a learning season, getting them involved in the tournament and seeing what it’s about,” Gabbard said. “I call it the tough division. If we beat Carroll, we have to play Badin and if we beat Badin we have to play Alter. It’s just a gauntlet.”
Tecumseh (18-6) knows what a gauntlet just one GCL team can be. The Patriots jumped to an 11-0 lead, but the Arrows fought back to 18-16, led by senior Gabby Russell, who scored 15 points. Then the Patriots pushed the lead back to 10 at the half and to 21 after three quarters.
Tecumseh coach Chasity Russell chose a similar game plan as the first time not expecting the Patriots to make 13 3-pointers again, which the didn’t with only seven. The 1-2-2 zone did its job for the most part, but it was the offensive end this time that hurt the Arrows.
“We were forcing some shots that we shouldn’t have forced – just just not real good selection,” Russell said. “That happens even when you have seasoned players. They just want to have a positive impact, and they’re thinking if I make this it’s going to help my team. It’s not always the right choice.”
Waynesville struggled to a 22-16 halftime before finding a groove with a 10-0 run to start the second half. Massie hung close for a bit after that, but a pair of 3-pointers by Berrey and a pair of steals turned into layups by Stephenson put the Spartans in firm control in the fourth quarter. The Spartans played for the first time in 12 days because Belmont forfeited their first-round game.
“Second half we came out and played our basketball,” Gabbard said. “Thunder and lightning is what I call the two. Katie with threes, Maggie with the steals. They’re special guards for freshmen.”
If the same five start for each team Thursday, Carroll will have one senior, one sophomore and three freshmen in the lineup. Waynesville will have on senior, two sophomores and two freshmen.
Act 3 will be fitting climax.
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