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DAYTON, Ohio—Last year the Olmsted Falls girls basketball team made it to the mountain but failed to reach the top. This year the Bulldogs completed the journey.
After losing three consecutive games—first to Cincinnati Princeton in last year’s Division I state final, and then the first two games of this season—the Bulldogs won 26 of their next 27 games, culminating with a thrilling 52-45 victory over Springboro Saturday night in the championship game at the University of Dayton in front of 5,071 fans.
It’s not known how many times a team has lost the first two games of the season and then went on to win a state title, but that’s just what Olmsted Falls did in winning the first state crown in program history.
“I knew we would bounce back eventually from those two losses,” said senior Danielle Cameron, who led the Bulldogs with 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. “But I can’t even put into words what this feels like. It’s amazing. We worked really hard to achieve all this and it just feels so good.”
Actually, as strange as it might sound, it was those season-opening losses to Apple Creek Waynedale and Copley that set Olmsted Falls on the path to its state title.
“The results of those games were not an accurate depiction of our team,” said coach Jordan Eaton. “In our practices and scrimmages I saw so many kids contributing at a high level. But we had some young kids who hadn’t done it before. We scheduled those two games for that very reason. We knew they would be good and had veteran players, and we could look at them and say, ‘This is what it takes to be able to even compete for a conference, a district, a regional and a state championship. That was a great moment for us to learn how hard we have to play and how smart we have to play.”
After reaching the state final for the second consecutive season, nobody could accuse the Bulldogs of not playing hard or smart. In fact, those are the hallmarks of the program. In facing Springboro, Olmsted Falls came up against a team that was taller at just about every position and featured junior Bryn Martin, who set a Division I tournament record by scoring 38 points in the Panthers’ semifinal upset of Pickerington Central Friday night.
Just as Olmsted Falls struggled to combat Princeton’s superior size in last year’s final, early in the contest it appeared Springboro was going to be able to flex its muscles and beat up the Bulldogs in the paint. The Panthers jumped to a 9-2 lead with 2 minutes, 43 seconds left in the opening period. Olmsted Falls missed its first 11 shots of the game, with four of them being blocked by the Panthers.
“We just knew that we had to stay patient,” said sophomore Jesse Simon, who scored all seven of her points in the second half. “We’ve been working on that all season long. With the athleticism that they have, it was just something that we had to work around and make the right adjustments so we could push it inside the rest of the game.”
Clearly, the adjustments worked, as Springboro had only one more blocked shot for the rest of the game, and Olmsted Falls ended up winning the battle of the boards, 30-29, and had five more offensive rebounds than the Panthers. Despite the difficult start, the Bulldogs kept firing away and eventually the tide turned their way.
“Just keep shooting,” Cameron said. “And shoot with confidence. If you don’t have an open shot, don’t shoot it. If you do and you put a good stroke on it, nobody’s going to be upset with you for taking a good shot. Overall, we all take good shots. Everyone trusts each other to make shots.”
Olmsted Falls went on a 7-2 run in the final 1:18 of the period to cut the margin to 11-9 after one quarter. After a Springboro basket that made it 13-9, Cameron went on a personal run, scoring eight points in just 36 seconds on two 3-pointers and a breakaway layup after a steal, and suddenly the Bulldogs had the lead, 17-13. At halftime the Bulldogs were up, 20-17.
“Our kids are really good at the next-play mentality,” Eaton said. “We talk all the time about how the most important play is the next one, the most important shot is the next shot. Going 0 for 11 was strange but I didn’t think it would keep up. We’ve been shooting really well the past six weeks. So, I told them to remember who we are.”
Springboro battled back to take a 26-24 lead with 5:27 to play in the third quarter, as 6-foot-3 center Aniya Trent scored six of her 12 points in a 9-4 run. But Cameron answered the bell once again, hitting a 3-pointer, followed by a putback by Simon off a missed 3-pointer by Jessica Wolanin, and then freshman Grace Largent hit a 3-pointer of her own to put Olmsted Falls up for good, 32-26.
The teams traded baskets for a while until the middle of the fourth period, when Maddie Cerovac hit the shot that got her team some separation. With just under 5 minutes to play, the junior drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Bulldogs a 41-36 lead. It wasn’t a great shooting night for Cerovac, who made just 2 of 7 field goals, but she hit the big shot when it mattered most.
“I know I always have to keep my head up,” Cerovac said. “All of us, even when we’re missing shots, we always keep our heads up and know that the next one’s in. I was able to get open, my teammates were able to find me, and I shot it and knocked it down with confidence.”
Cameron added another 3-pointer with 2:35 left to open a 44-38 lead. The Bulldogs then salted the game away at the free throw line, making 8 of 12 free throws in the final 2:08, sending the Olmsted Falls supporters into a frenzied celebration.
“I know what this means to this community,” said Eaton. “We have such a supportive community. Springboro had like 5,000 fans here, but you could hear us just as much as them. I just feel very fortunate to be a part of our community. That’s how I feel, very fortunate.”
