Alter girls fall to Africentric in D-III regional final
SPRINGFIELD — The Alter High School girls basketball program came up just shy of its 10th state tournament appearance.
Columbus Africentric senior Samairah Thompson hit two free throws with 42 seconds remaining to give her team the lead for good and the Nubians held on to beat the Knights 49-46 in a Division III regional final Saturday afternoon at Springfield High School.
Knights junior Maddie Moody had a game-high 23 points and senior Riley Smith added 17 as Alter finished 25-3.
The defending state champion Nubians (26-2) advanced to play LaGrange Keystone (29-0) in a D-III state semifinal at 6 p.m. Thursday at University of Dayton Arena. Africentric senior Ashtan Winfrey scored 16 points and sophomore Jeniya Bowers and senior Natiah Nelson each added 11 in the victory.
The Knights led 40-36 at the start of the fourth quarter, but were outscored 13-9 in the final eight minutes. With 1.5 seconds remaining, Moody caught the ball at the top of the key for a deep 3-pointer, but her shot rimmed out as time expired.
“(Africentric) ratcheted up the pressure a little bit and we had some good looks but they just didn’t go,” said Knights co-coach Christina Hart. “We had several good looks and several opportunities with several different kids. It’s a shame because I felt like our kids really played well today and deserved to walk away with the win.”
The Knights led 10-6 midway through the first quarter after back-to-back 3-pointers by sophomore Jeniya Bowers and Winfrey, but a 3-pointer by Smith with about five seconds remaining gave Alter a 13-12 lead after the first quarter.
Alter played several defenses throughout the game — including a 3-2 and 2-3 zone and man-toman defense — to control the boards and limit the Nubians’ uptempo play,
“We had to mix it up to try to keep them off-balance, off-kilter and try to slow things down a little bit in hopes of making them think a little bit and work the ball before they got a shot up,” Hart said.
Moody, who injured her ankle early in the game, hit back-to-back baskets to make it 28-23 late in the second quarter, the Knights’ biggest lead in the first half.
As time expired in the second quarter, Winfrey banked in a 3-pointer from halfcourt to cut the lead to 28-26 at the half.
“It was obviously a momentum builder for them, especially with the final score being three points,” Hart said. “From where I was, I thought it was way past the buzzer.”
With two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Moody drove coast-to-coast and missed a left-handed layup, but grabbed the rebound and put it back in to give the Knights a 38-30 advantage.
“She hit shots from every angle and all parts of the court for us the second half of the season, so we were used to that,” Hart said. “She did a great job of taking it right to them and was trying really hard to draw some fouls. She really competed on the boards and kept us in the game.”
The Nubians went on an 8-2 run to tie at 40 early in the fourth quarter. A basket by Smith made it 44-41 with about two minutes to play.
A bucket by Bowers cut the lead to 44-43, setting up Thompson’s free throws to give the Nubians the lead for good. Winfrey added another basket to give Africentric some breathing room at 47-44.
Smith hit two free throws with 9.2 seconds remaining to cut the lead to one point. Winfrey was fouled with 1.5 second remaining to increase their lead to 49-46.
Moody nearly tied the game with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but her shot rimmed out.
“We work on situations like that every few days in practice,” Hart said. “That’s one we’ve run for end-of-game for years now. I thought we did get a good look, but it’s one you work on in practice so you’re comfortable with it.”
Alter played without sophomore post player De’Shai Shephard — the team’s third-leading scorer (7.9 points per game) and rebounder (5.1 rebounds per game) — who suffered an injury late in Friday’s practice.
“It was obviously heartbreaking for everybody,” Hart said. “It’s tough, but I thought the kids responded very, very well.”
The Knights will graduate five seniors, including Smith, Hannah Mayse, Elena Thompson, Adia Strauser and Ushana Grant. The program went 91-18 over the last four years, including a D-II state championship in 2022.
“They led us back to where we are again,” Hart said. “When they came in as freshmen, it was a large group and very talented. They’ve lived up to their reputation when they came in with what they’ve accomplished.”
The team’s chemistry, she said, is something she’ll always remember.
“You don’t always get a group that is so cohesive and they’re very cohesive and really cared about one another,” Hart said. “They were enjoyable to work with. They were always focused on the task, which is not always easy especially at the high school level. You have so many other things, so many other distractions. That’s a real tribute to our leadership and to each kid. They stayed focused, worked hard and got better and better.”