Waterford benefits from cold shooting by Cornerstone Christian to advance to Saturday’s championship round.
Columbus – Rule number one of playing in the state tournament…if you’ve never been there before you want to make the most of it.
Cornerstone Christian Academy, out of Willoughby, Ohio, never came to grips with the reality of making their first-ever trip to the Final Four, shooting 22% from the floor, missing numerous layup opportunities, and simply leaving too many scoring opportunities on the table. The Patriots lost Friday in the first of two Division IV semi-finals to last year’s Division IV finalist, Waterford, 52-42.
Waterford, which desperately sought to atone for last year’s championship loss to Fort Loramie, had their own issues with nerves and turnovers.
Trailing 21-15 at the half, Cornerstone overcame a 10-point third quarter deficit to close to within four points starting the fourth quarter.
Hair’s The Ball…Cornerstone’s Geneive Berry snaps a steal away from Waterford in Friday action at the Schott.
But what the first-time Patriots lacked in offensive efficiency they more than made up for in defensive commitment. They harassed the more experienced Wildcats from Waterford into numerous turnovers and hurries, and held a team averaging 60 points per game for the season to just over half that total 26 minutes of the game .
Forced to chase and foul in the fourth quarter, CCA could never get over the 4 to 6-point hump and continued to miss scoring opportunities at the rim and at the foul line.
Waterford finished the game having shot 44% from the floor. Three players finished in double figures…Dani Drayer (10), Ali Kern (12), and Megan Ball (11).
For Cornerstone, Ashley West finished with a game-high 18 points and Jordan Cloonan had 12.
The two teams combined for 40 turnovers…19 by Cornerstone and 21 by Waterford.
Waterford, who improved its record to 27-1 will move on to face the winner of the day’s second semi-final between Jackson Center and Fostoria St. Wendelin.
For their efforts, and the best season in the school’s history, the Lady Patriots finish the 2015-16 campaign with 23-5 record.
Note: Press Pros regrets the unfortunate content that may have been viewed after this website was apparently “hacked” following Friday’s Waterford-Cornerstone Christian Academy game. To anyone offended, we sincerely apologize for a matter beyond our control.
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Waterford advances to Saturday's final hoping to atone for a disappointing outcome at the hands of Ft. Loramie in last year's final. (Press Pros Photos by Sonny Fulks and Julie Wright)