Olentangy’s Chayla Rankin takes a shot after an alley-oop inbounds pass at the end of the second quarter. Rankin failed to connect, as did the Braves, as they fell to the Tigers at the Taft Coliseum. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Johnson didn‘t let illness slow her down while Wallace stepped up as Tigers pulled away from Olentangy.
Columbus, OH – Growing up as part of a large athletic family has long given junior Blossom Wallace a keen eye on the intangibles necessary to succeed in her sport of choice.
Two of Wallace’s older sisters, like her, found great success for the Pickerington Central girls basketball program.
She learned long ago while watching Bexley Wallace, a 2018 Central graduate who went on to play for Penn State and Kent State, and playing alongside Berry Wallace, a 2024 graduate who is competing for Illinois, the value of defensive prowess.
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Veteran central Ohio columnist Jarrod Ulrey writes the OCC and sports at large for Press Pros
Her performance on that side of the ball against Olentangy junior standout Whitney Stafford was among the instrumental factors in the Tigers’ 51-36 victory in a Division I regional championship game Saturday at the Taft Coliseum in the Ohio Expo Center. Wallace is 6 feet 1 – some five inches taller than Stafford.
Central is 23-3.
“I have eight siblings in all, (including) four sisters,” Wallace said. “Honestly having to play against older players, I was always small compared to my siblings so I was always having to get stops if I wanted to play.”
Central is headed to the state tournament for the 16th time in program history, including its third in a row, because of defensive performances like the one Wallace produced and because of its ability to overcome adversity off the court.
Junior London Johnson, who has been among the team’s key players all winter after starting the last two seasons at Canal Winchester, battled sickness throughout the week but produced a 15-point, five-rebound performance.
The 6-footer had 11 points during the first half as the Tigers built a 33-22 lead.
Kareena Agrawal tries to move Blossom Wallace out of the way, but Wallace was having none of it, as she and her Tigers gnawed away at the Braves to advance.
“I’m a little biased, but I believe Blossom Wallace is the best defender in the state,” Hedgepeth said. “Tonight, her mission was to keep Stafford at bay, and I think she did an amazing job. Whitney is super talented and was able to get into the paint, but Blossom made it tough for her.
“London was in the hospital right after the regional semis. We’ve had some other kids, like Kennady Gordon hurt her shoulder, but our bench stepped up. It never gets old. It’s a different cast but it’s a special group. It’s by committee, we don’t know who it’s going to be but somebody is going to step up.”
Neither team scored for the first two minutes, 46 seconds of the third quarter when Olentangy senior Kate Mosher made it 33-24. Sophomore guard Kareena Agrawal hit a 3-pointer with 52 seconds to go to get the Braves to within 37-31 by the end of the period.
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Central scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and never led by fewer than nine during the game’s remainder.
Stafford, who was the Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division Player of the Year, finished with 14 points but was held to just three over the final two quarters as the Braves finished 22-4.
Whitney Stafford tries to dislodge the ball from Pickerington Central’s Kennady Gordon.
“We battled,” Olentangy coach Klarke Ransome said. “I was proud of how we competed and was very, very pleased with our effort. There’s a reason (Central is) here. They’re long, they’re athletic, they’re well-coached, and we knew it would take a good effort from us. I thought defensively we were good. We wanted to give ourselves a chance heading into the fourth, and I thought we did that.
“I want to make sure we give our seniors the credit they deserve. This was their third staff in four years, and they’re such great kids. We do have pieces coming back, and we have to continue building the culture as strong as we can going forward.”
Central is hoping for better health leading up to its latest state tournament appearance. The Tigers were Division I state champions in 2018 when Bexley Wallace was a senior, state runners-up in 2019 and then lost in state semifinals the last two seasons – to Olmsted Falls 58-53 in 2023 and to Springboro 63-54 last season.
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Central, which went 11-for-12 from the free-throw line and got eight points apiece from Gordon and Blossom Wallace, has won seven state titles overall.
Rocky River Magnificat, Springboro, and the winner of Sunday’s Cincinnati Walnut Hills-Cincinnati Princeton game are the other state semifinalists.
“I’ve been to the (emergency room) a couple times this week, so it’s been pretty rough, but I’ve just been resting,” Johnson said. “It’s about us just slowing down and trusting our teammates. I’m really excited (for state), just ready to go.”
Kate Mosher tries to impede the progress of Pickerington Central’s Mikaila Asamoah.