“We got the best post in Ohio,” Martin said of fellow senior Trent, who is going to Virginia Tech next season. “Just being able to get Aniya the ball down there is really good.
“She played a great game. She was not afraid of contact today. She missed some of her free throws, but she got to the line, and she was very aggressive today, which we need out of her.”
While Trent was a force on the low block, and Martin was able to score off the drive multiple times, they also got the pick-and-roll game going before the night was over.
“It’s really good,” Martin said.
Springboro jumped in front 3-0 on a 3-pointer by Martin 10 seconds into the game, and the Panthers led 12-10 at the end of the first thanks to a pair of free throws by Tessa Blain.
They opened up a 10-point lead in the second quarter, but the Comets cut into the deficit with a 3 by Taylor Stanfield and a pair of layups by Anna Habra.
The Comets (22-2) got as close as four, but Martin, the Washington signee, scored from close range to close out the first half with the Panthers leading 25-19.
Mason star Madison Parrish scored to start the second half and make it a four-point game again, but Martin answered with an old-fashioned three-point play to push the difference back to seven.
Parrish, the West Virginia signee who finished with 20 points, made back-to-back 3s later in the quarter to draw the Comets within two points, but Martin and Trent scored in the lane on back-to-back possessions to make it 33-27.
“I think this game especially, they don’t have all the height,” Trent said. “They definitely have a lot of talent, but we thought that we could use our height to our advantage, so we were getting it in the post.”
The Panthers led 37-30 going into the fourth quarter, and Brooke Clear’s free throw gave them a double-digit lead for the first time at 42-32 with a little over six minutes left.
From there, the Comets never got closer than eight.
The Panthers advanced to the final game last year before losing to Olmsted Falls, and they have been on a mission since the start of this campaign to get back.
“I’m so happy for our kids,” Springboro coach Mike Holweger said. “Mason’s a great program. Great coach, great team. And I just think defensively, we’re really locked in. And I thought that once again the kids followed this scouting report that they helped create. They have a huge say in all this.
Credit: Marcus Hartman/STAFF
Credit: Marcus Hartman/STAFF
“I just told them they have the ‘it factor.’ I’ve never been a part of a team that has so many kids with the ‘it factor’. And we just dug down deep and played with grit and energy and toughness and came out on top.”
Where they will play a state semifinal was not yet known Saturday night, but it will be next weekend at a neutral site. The Division I state championship game is scheduled to be played at 8:30 p.m. March 15 at UD Arena.
ALTER 67, MCNICHOLAS 63
Maddie Moody scored 32 points to lead the Knights to a Division IV regional title at Butler HIgh School.
Moody became the program’s all-time leading scorer in the process as the Knights beat their GCL Co-ed rival for the second time this season.
The Knights (18-8) advance to the state semifinals next weekend against an opponent and site to be determined. The D-IV state championship game is set for 4:15 p.m., Friday, March 14, at UD Arena.
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