A few notes from the Central District girls and boys basketball tournament
Hilliard Bradley landed perhaps the biggest upset thus far of the girls tournament, with a 58-51 Division II sectional final win over Utica, who was seeded No. 4 in the field and was 19-2 coming into the game. A first-year school, Bradley (the No. 7 seed) watched Utica wipe away a 10-point lead in the third quarter but showed poise for a team with no seniors. Bradley eventually regained the lead at 48-40 and held off Utica with four three throws by Kellie Roudabush and three more by Katie Lindsey. Brooke Espenschied led Bradley, now 12-9, with 19 points on the game.
Sparta Highland's Kristen Anderson broke the school's girls career scoring record with 20 points in a Division II sectional final loss to DeSales. Anderson, who has 1,045 points in her career, broke the record previously held by Amanda Knapp (1991-94).
Tuesday was the night of close games and upsets in the Division III field, led by a special performance from Liberty Union's Krista Mathews.
Mathews ripped through the Newark Catholic defense for 33 points, 20 coming in the second half, to lead the Lions to a 59-58 upset. Mathews drained two free throws with 12.4 seconds left to give Liberty Union its final lead. While NC was the fifth seed and Liberty Union had the seventh seed, the Green Wave were considered a chief contender for a district championship
No. 3 seed North Union did more than prove it could play with Central Catholic League small school power Bishop Ready, who was the No. 10 seed but played a quality schedule and was considered a potential darkhorse. North Union won the Division III sectional title game 44-38. Shanda Ridgeway led North Union, which went on a 15-7 run in the second quarter with 16 points
In the boys field, Buckeye Valley avenged a regular-season defeat to Hamilton Township with a 68-57 win in a Division II sectional semifinal game. The Barons were led by Troy Clark hitting for 31 points.
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