ThisWeek Olentangy Valley News
March 14, 2013
Page B1
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REGIONAL CHAMPIONS
Girls Basketball
Pioneers primed for state semifinal By JARROD ULREY THISWEEKSPORTS.COM One of the must-see events of the Division I state girls basketball tournament should occur at 6 p.m. Friday, March 15, at Ohio State. That’s when Olentangy Orange High School senior Taylor Agler will face Twinsburg senior Ashley Morrissette in a meeting of future Big Ten Conference point guards. Agler is an Indiana University signee and second-team all-state honoree who has her team in its first state tournament, while Morrissette, the state’s Player of the Year, has committed to Purdue and will be attempting to lead her squad to a third consecutive state championship. The Orange-Twinsburg semifinal winner will play Kettering Fairmont or Toledo Notre Dame Academy for the title at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at Ohio State. “Them having a point guard
Taylor Agler of Orange takes her turn cutting down the net following the Pioneers’ 61-55 victory over North Canton Hoover in a Division I regional final March 8 at Otterbein. Orange will play two-time defending champion Twinsburg in a state semifinal Friday, March 15, at Ohio State. JOHN HULKENBERG/THISWEEKSPORTS
who’s going to Purdue and us having Agler, who’s going to Indiana, that’s going to be a great matchup,” coach Mary Ann Grimes said. “I think our
post play against their post play – that might be the most critical part of the game.” While Agler averages 15.6 points and Morrissette aver-
ages 19.1, Orange junior Sarah Sagerer and Twinsburg senior Char’Dell Dunnigan are 6foot-2 post players who will match up as well. Sagerer aver-
ages 9.2 points, 7.5 rebounds time March 5 in a regional semifinal and defeating North and 3.5 blocks. The Pioneers enter the state Canton Hoover 61-55 on tournament at 26-2 after beating Gahanna 63-52 in overPIONEERS >> B5
Hockey
Patriots’ season ends with loss in state semi By SCOTT HENNEN THISWEEKSPORTS.COM Ethan Hollingsworth sat in the media room March 8 at Nationwide Arena staring ahead, his eyes puffy and red. Minutes earlier, the senior forward and his teammates on the Olentangy Liberty High School hockey team had their season come to an end with
a 4-2 loss to defending state champion Sylvania Northview in a state semifinal. The Patriots, who were looking to become the first central Ohio team to reach the state final, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 7 minutes, 18 seconds, only to see the Wildcats rally for the victory. Liberty, which was ranked eighth in the final state poll, finished 26-6-
5-1 overall. Fifth-ranked Northview, which defeated Olentangy Orange 60 in a state semifinal last season, went on to lose to fourth-ranked Shaker Heights 3-1 in the state final March 9 to finish 27-7-1. “From the get-go, we wanted to show we were a good team all the way through,” Hollingsworth said. “As a Columbus team, we have been looked down upon. We knew that if
they looked down on us, we could capitalize on that.” The state appearance was Liberty’s second in three seasons. The Patriots won their first district championship in 2011 before losing to eventual state champion Toledo St. Francis 9-4 in a state semifinal. Area teams are now 0-7 in state semifinals since 2003 when the Central/Southwest District was
granted a berth in the final four. Upper Arlington has come the closest to reaching the state final, losing 3-2 to Parma Padua in 2007. “We came ready to play,” coach Jack Hoogeveen said. “We got the first two goals, and perhaps that woke (Northview) up a little. We knew they would come back and they showed
HOCKEY >> B4