Elizabeth Poling puts up a floater from the lane, adding to the eventual 48-33 margin over the Greyhounds. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Gapen.)
Buoyed by a stingy defense allowing just 34 points per game, Upper Arlington ran its record to 10-1 and sent out a message that it is a legitimate contender for a deep tournament run in March.
Upper Arlington, OH – Senior tri-captain Lucy Martin was dead serious when she estimated that the Upper Arlington girls basketball team spends as much or perhaps even more time in practice working on defensive sets.
“That’s who we are and we need that mindset of sorts,” Martin said. “Defense is a choice. We don’t want to trade baskets with teams. We go in with a goal every game of holding opponents under 35 points and we’re a little disappointed when we don’t achieve that.”
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Practicing defense over and over and over again may not sound like a barrel of fun to some, but UA has bought into this philosophy hook, line and sinker and that’s a major reason it is one of the elite teams in central Ohio, if not the state, this season.
Fourth-year Golden Bears coach John Wanke grinned when told of Martin’s remark.
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“There’s probably some truth in that,” Wanke said. “Sitting down and playing tough disciplined defense is a requirement in our program. That’s our calling card. We want to dig in and force teams into long possessions.”
For the record, Upper Arlington forced Grove City into four possessions that lasted a minute or longer Friday night in a 48-33 victory in a battle of teams atop their respective Ohio Capital Conference division standings.
Part of that was because Grove City also hangs its hat on defense and works fastidiously for high percentage shots. Even so, UA’s stinginess and discipline in the half court was clearly the difference in the game.
To Martin’s point, UA (10-1) is allowing just 34 points per game – and that has come against a who’s-who of opponents including 2024 district champions Olentangy and Olentangy Liberty and district runner-up Marysville. The Golden Bears’ only defeat (44-37) came to 12-0 Academy-Notre Dame De Namur out of Philadelphia – the second-ranked team in Pennsylvania – during the power-packed Carolina Invitational in Charleston, SC.
Addy Hansen gets past Lucy Martin, but Martin and her Bear teammates prevailed on the night.
“In retrospect, maybe the schedule has been a little too brutal,” Wanke said, “but the hope is it will make us get better down the road.”
Added Martin, “We want to be challenged in every game.”
Upper Arlington graduated only one starter and three seniors overall from a 22-4 squad that fell to Olentangy in a district final last March. It marked only the third team in program history to record 20 wins. The last district title came in 2016, but while that obviously tops the list of goals, it isn’t something Wanke or his players obsess about.
“We really don’t talk about goals,” Wanke said. “We’re more process-oriented. How good can this team be? The answer is to be determined. We’re only 11 games in. What I really like is how we compete at a high level.”
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Strong with the ball and almost surgical in its offensive approach, Upper Arlington led the whole way against a fine 7-2 Grove City team that is leaps and bounds better than its 10-14 squad of a year ago. The Greyhounds, who came in scoring 51.5 points and allowing 38, simply couldn’t generate enough on the offensive end of the floor to keep it close.
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Hannah Hunt looks for an outlet as she is pressured by Grove City’s Salia McLeod.
After Grove City whittled the deficit to 35-28 with 6:20 remaining, Upper Arlington dug down deeper and made the big shots to pull away.
Six-foot junior standout Elizabeth Hunt, a first-team All-Central District and third-team All-Ohio choice in 2024, scored nine of her 14 points in the fourth quarter. Martin, who knocked down four three-point shots, scored 11 of her 14 in the first half. Hannah Hunt, Elizabeth’s shorter twin sister, added nine.
Elizabeth Hunt, who owns Division I offers from Valparaiso and the College of Charleston, isn’t your typical back-to-the-basket center. In fact, the left-hander knocked down a huge three-point shot to quell the GC charge. Hunt, who also handed out four assists, frequently brings the ball downcourt and plays anywhere on both ends of the floor.
Ava Summers tries to hold off Elizabeth Hunt as Hunt tries to find an open teammate in the lane.
“I’ve tried to work on developing my all-around game more, not just for college but to make our team better,” she said. “We only lost one key player from last year and I think we’re all a year improved. I think we can be up there with the best teams around but our main focus is just practicing hard and playing hard.”
No one scored more than seven points for deep and balanced Grove City.
“We battled all game and I wonder if we could have ever got it under seven, maybe we had a chance,” Greyhounds coach Joel Taylor said. “But let’s face it. Upper Arlington is extremely strong and physical and they shot lights out tonight. Their defense is really strong and we just couldn’t scratch out enough points to stay with them tonight.”
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