Fallsnewspress.com - Walsh girls rout Tiffin Columbian in regional semis

by Dean Raymond

Correspondent

Ontario -- Walsh Jesuit showed why they're a legitimate contender for the state championship as they routed Tiffin Columbian 75-34 March 9 in a Division II Regional semifinal game at Ontario High School.

Leading 10-5, the Lady Warriors went on a 7-0 run and led 17-5 as sophomore forward/center Liz Reeves laid the ball in after a rebound with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter.

After a three-point goal by Tiffin Columbian senior wing Megan Miller, Walsh Jesuit scored the next eight points and led 25-8 as senior guard Ariel McNair tripled at the first period buzzer.

The Lady Tornadoes trailed 25-11 as junior guard Rachel Reamer sank her second of two trifecta's on the evening with 7:47 left in the second quarter before the Lady Warriors stretched their lead to 32-14 as sophomore guard Rachel Theriot connected on an 18-foot jumper with 2:45 to go in the second period.

Walsh Jesuit held a 38-18 advantage at the half as McNair took a nifty pass from Theriot and swished home a three-point goal with one second remaining in the second quarter.

A big reason why the Lady Warriors were so impressive was the play of senior guard Kara Goliat. No. 11 scored seven points in the first period, including a three-point goal and ended the game with 17 points, 10 steals, five assists and three rebounds.

A 6-0 run in the third quarter sealed the deal for Walsh Jesuit as a layup from Goliat after a steal gave the Lady Warriors a commanding 48-19 lead with 2:32 left in the third period.

Walsh Jesuit led 52-21 after three quarters of play before Goliat would score six more points in the fourth period as the Lady Warriors led 75-30 as sophomore guard Maddie Sheppard converted 1-of-2 free throws with 0:56 to go in the contest.

Tiffin Columbian saw their perfect season come to an end as they shot just 12-of-45 from the floor for 27 percent and made 7-of-12 charity tosses for 58 percent.

On the other hand, Walsh Jesuit earned a berth in the regional championship game as they were 26-of-56 from the field for 46 percent, including 11-of-19 in the first quarter and canned 17-of-26 free throws for 65 percent, including 13-of-19 in the fourth period.

"We certainly wanted to get out to a good start," Lady Warrior head coach Pete Zaccari said. "We felt if we got the lead we could play our game. We also felt we could pressure Tiffin Columbian in the half court and it kind of worked for us. Kara (Goliat) is a terror out there on the court. I certainly wouldn't want her to guard me. Kara had a separated shoulder in the Regional Final game last year."

Meanwhile, McNair knows her team can go one step further this year. "We were motivated ever since losing to Wapakoneta last year," McNair said. "We have more experience this year and we feel comfortable no matter what court we play on. We blocked out their crowd tonight."

Reamer led the Lady Tornadoes with eight points while Theriot scored a game-high 19 points for Walsh Jesuit, including 11 points in the first half. McNair added 13 points with 11 coming in the first half.

Senior center Nneka Offodile led the Lady Warriors with seven rebounds while Tiffin Columbian senior post Lexi Rohrback had nine boards.

"It was a team effort tonight," Offodile said. "We followed our scouting report and we had good back side help on defense."

Walsh Jesuit led in three-point goals, 6-3, including three from McNair who ended the first quarter with back-to-back triples.

Walsh was set to will play Rocky River March 12 for the regional title, but results were not available at press time.

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