Ohio Division 1 State Final Four preview

<strong>By Jim Dabbelt</strong> <em>Prep Girls Hoops Ohio</em> &nbsp; <strong>State Semi-Finals</strong> <em>Friday, March 15</em> Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame (25-2) vs Canton Glen Oak (24-2), 6:00 Pickerington Central (27-1) vs Toledo Notre Dame Academy, 8:00 &nbsp; <strong>State Championship Game</strong> <em>Saturday, March 16, 8:30 </em> &nbsp; What you will see if you attend the Division 1 state tournament games, including a breakdown of each team: &nbsp; <strong>Mount Notre Dame: </strong>after surviving a grueling regional tournament in Dayton, Mount Notre Dame comes into the state final four going for their eighth state championship in school history, with their last one coming in 2017. They are loaded with five starters who will likely all play at the Division One level. MND is led by Iowa signee Gabbie Marshall, averaging 13.7 points per game, one of three starters who have already signed or committed to their respective college. Senior Julie Hoefling is a 6-foot senior going to Loyola-Chicago (7.0 ppg) and junior [player_tooltip player_id="89321" first="Makira" last="Cook"], also averaging 7.0 ppg and she has verballed to Miami of Ohio. <em>Watch this one: </em>5-foot-9 freshman [player_tooltip player_id="32600" first="KK" last="Bransford"]- a player who is considered one of the top freshman in the country, and Cincinnati area basketball fans know her all too well. She leads the team at 17 points per game, and also leads the team in rebounding. &nbsp; <strong>Canton Glen Oak: </strong>they are riding a 21-game winning streak heading into the Final Four, and this is their fourth appearance in Columbus. Their last appearance came in 1990, the end of three consecutive seasons for this program to advance to this stage. Their lone state championship occurred in 1989. A solid defensive team who can change the pace of the game has multiple shooters who can play fast in transition. [player_tooltip player_id="89287" first="Hayley" last="Smith"], a 6-foot-1 junior who is coming off an ACL that forced her to miss her sophomore season, is their leading scorer at 12.1 points per game on a team that is very balanced offensively. They have seven players averaging nearly seven points per game or more. They do have some size with three six-footers. <em>Watch this one- </em>Addison Mucci may be tiny (5-foot-2) but she is mighty. She is averaging just over eight points per game, and is a player who uses her solid defensive skills as a leader for the team. &nbsp; <strong>Pickerington Central: </strong>they are the defending state champions, and haven’t let up this season. They have one lone loss on the season, and brings in size and experience. Their depth is their strength, as they can run in ten kids at any time and not drop off. Madison Green is headed to Penn State, and is the teams best defender and leading scorer at 15.4 points per game. Another bigtime recruit, [player_tooltip player_id="32338" first="Maliya" last="Perry"] (14.4 ppg), headed to Auburn is a mismatch problem and can do it all on the floor. Also back is [player_tooltip player_id="89332" first="Nicole" last="Stephens"] (headed to Akron), [player_tooltip player_id="32375" first="Jada" last="Tate"] and [player_tooltip player_id="32564" first="Jocelyn" last="Tate"] who rounds out a talented starting five. This team is a very good defensive team, only allowing 37 points per game. <em>Watch this one- </em>coming off the bench for the Tigers is 5-foot-8 junior Felesia Ondongo, a very athletic kid who can score and cause issues with her strong play. They finished as the top ranked team in the final D1 state poll. &nbsp; <strong>Toledo Notre Dame Academy: </strong>this is the sixth Final Four appearance in the last eight years for NDA, as they also won their ninth straight district championship. Senior Jala Johnson (headed to Loyola Chicago) leads the way as a 5-foot-8 senior averages 15.4 points per game and scored her 1,000th career point this season, including the game winner in the regional final. Also a 6-foot-2 freshman Grace VanSlooten has emerged onto the scene and has put together an impressive first year. VanSlooten averaged 12.1 points per game, and she is a great rebounder and passer. [player_tooltip player_id="91125" first="Olivia" last="Sims"] is a 5-foot-9 sophomore who averaged eight points per game, and senior Ashley Barron adds some height along with VanSlooten, as the 6-foot senior also contributes six points per game. <em>Watch this One-</em> VanSlooten is only a freshman, but it won’t take long for her to show Ohio how good she is. &nbsp; All of the games will be held at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on the campus of The Ohio State University. Prep Girls Hoops Ohio will be there and have the latest this weekend. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;