Things played out much different in the second meeting of the season between Columbus North and Columbus East in the East Sectional semifinals.
The Bull Dogs converted plenty of second-chance opportunities early on, and their defense created turnovers. Once they built a lead, they started rolling on their way to a 45-30 win.
The Bull Dogs (18-7) face Bloomington South (20-3) in the sectional final at 7 p.m. today. The Panthers defeated East Central 40-34 in overtime in Friday’s first semifinal.
North led 14-10 after the first quarter Friday and scored the first six points of the second quarter to lead 20-10. East freshman Koryn Greiwe hit two free throws to stop the run, but the Bull Dogs extended the lead to 24-12. The Olympians (10-13) got baskets from Olivia Linnemann and Katie Dougherty to end the half trailing only 24-16.
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Tessa Lomax took over for North in the third quarter and scored three baskets inside to help the Bull Dogs go on a 13-0 run. Lomax scored six of her eight points during that stretch, and North led 37-17 heading into the final period.
“I thought it was one of my best games,” Tessa Lomax said. “Playing East, and the with the crosstown rival, you have to bring your ‘A’ game. Our intensity was key, and I have to thank my teammates for getting me the ball.”
North put the game away early in the fourth quarter after McKinley got a steal and breakaway layup to make it 41-17.
McKinley led the Bull Dogs with 13 points, while Tessa Lomax aded eight points and seven rebounds. Greiwe scored 14 and Dougherty 10 for the Olympians.
“The key is always defensively, and I think we want to hold ourselves to that every game and continue it throughout the postseason,” North senior Nadia Lomax said. “There’s a few things that we can fix, as there always is, but tonight was definitely a very good defensive game.”
Nadia Lomax, who missed Tuesday’s first-round win against Shelbyville after injuring a knee in last week’s regular-season finale at Roncalli, played with a knee brace.
“It felt pretty good at the beginning,” Lomax said. “We kind of got going. Toward the end, it started getting a little bit sore. I think it just got tired, but I was able to get through it.”
East coach Danny Brown said he was going to miss his three seniors — Claire Cunningham, Sarah Park and Beyoncey Coleman-Turner.
“It’s disappointing for them to go out like that, obviously,” Brown said. “I’m glad Beyoncey took another chance, and we gave her another chance and she helped us out a lot. She’s been an inspiration in turning things around. Sarah’s been with us four years — three on varsity — and she’s just a steady player. She’s a joy to be around. What can you say about Claire? She’s been a four-year starter for us, and we’ll miss her so much. She’s been the quiet leader for us.”
The Olympians played short-handed after losing junior guard Whitley Rankin for the season after sustaining a concussion Jan. 19 against Madison. It left East without a lot of scoring options, and it also turned the Bull Dogs’ focus to Greiwe.
Brown wasn’t happy with the way the season went.
“This season is unacceptable to me with the results of this season,” Brown said. “We’ll be making some major decisions coming up”
North now turns its attention to Bloomington South. The Bull Dogs, who lost to the Panthers 57-54 in Bloomington 11 days ago, hope the second time will be different playing in its hometown.
“We’ll have to show a lot more energy and be more prepared this time around,” North junior Annie Anderson said.
McKinley agreed.
“We’re excited. They already took one patch from us for conference,” McKinley said. “We excited to play them again for sectional.”
