Alter seizes D-II district title; Carroll, Tipp ousted
The Division II MASON — girls basketball tripleheader at Mason on Friday was like a red carpet awards show for local teams,
Two 2022 state champions. Three teams that finished in the top 10 of the final Associated Press Division II statewide poll. Regional regulars all over the court.
Alter, the defending Division II state champion and the No. 1 team in the statewide poll, dispatched thirdseeded Summit Country Day, 54-41, to earn a berth in the regional semifinals against Badin. That game is Tuesday at Springfield High School, tipoff set for 8 p.m.
The regional final is Friday at 7.
Badin jumped out to leads of 12-0 and 20-3 on the way to a 53-39 win over Greater Catholic League Co-Ed Division-rival Carroll. The win was the Rams’ third of the season over the Patriots after sweeping the twogame regular-season series.
Carroll came in with a four-game winning streak and wins in seven of its last eight before finishing 15-11.
Alter, which improved to 23-3 with its eighth straight win, split two games with the Rams this season, each winning on the other’s home floor after Alter knocked Badin out of last season’s tournament in the regional finals.
In the third game of the night, Purcell Marian rushed out to a 14-0 lead on the way to a 55-20 win over Tippecanoe.
The top-seeded Cavaliers, who won last season’s Division III state championship and are ranked fifth in the AP Division II poll, improved to 23-2 and will take a 13-game winning streak into a 6 p.m. semifinal against a Central District team.
The sixth-seeded Red Devils saw their four-game winning streak snapped and finish 18-8.
In the tripleheader’s opener, Alter weathered a drought of field goals that lasted almost eight minutes bridging the first and second quarters to pull away for the win over Summit
Country Day. Sophomore forward Maddie Moody overcame foul trouble to lead the Knights with 14 points, starting with the conventional three-point play with 3:07 left in the second quarter that began the comeback from a gamehigh 11-point deficit.
Alter, which edged Summit Country Day, 45-44, on Dec. 21, ended the half on an 11-2 run.
“We were able to get Maddie on the floor,” Knights coach Christina Hart said. “She does a lot for us. We made some shots and that helped us relax.”
“We were going offense-defense because I got into foul trouble,” the 6-foot-1 Moody said. “They were smart about it.”
Moody admitted she and her teammates had mixed feelings about the deficit.
“We were frustrated, but we also knew we had to stay positive and be there for each other,” Moody said.
Junior Hannah Mayse scored 13 points and junior guard-forward Riley Smith added 10 for the Knights, who took the lead for good with 1:52 left in the third quarter on a layup by 6-1 forward Mekhia Shipp, Alter’s only senior. They ended the game on a 16-5 run and forced 16 turnovers.
Summit Country Day, which competes in the Miami Valley Conference, saw a seven-game winning streak snapped and finishes 19-6.
The game was delayed briefly by a lighting problem with 5:34 left in the third quarter.
The Patriots clawed back to cut Badin’s lead to 26-20 in the second quarter of the middle game before Badin pulled away.
“We start three freshmen,” Carroll coach Cecilia Grosselin said. “I don’t think they were ready for the environment.”
“I’m proud that we got this far,” she added. “At the beginning of the season, I wasn’t thinking about reaching a district final. I couldn’t be more proud. We also told them we’re proud of the way they came back.”