MEDINA -- In the Division I Medina district girls basketball final, a rematch from last season, pitting Canton McKinley against Wadsworth could not have looked more different. In 2018, Wadsworth claimed a 51-46 triumph.
It looked different the second time around.
The top-seeded Bulldogs dominated both ends of the floor from start to finish in a 54-32 win Thursday night, sending McKinley to the Regional Semifinal.
Canton McKinley was led by reigning Ohio Ms. Basketball and Ohio State recruit Kierstan Bell, who finished the night with 25 points, seven rebounds, five steals, four blocks and two assists. Six other girls scored for McKinley, including 10 points from sophomore guard Kayla Foster.
Canton McKinley executed well on offense, but the Bulldogs were equally as successful on the defensive end forcing Wadsworth into 20 turnovers, 14 in the first half. The Bulldogs also brought in 22 rebounds as a team.
Despite her impressive performance tonight Bell talked mostly about the team’s performance.
"We stayed focused, last year we let the crowd get to us. This year we dialed in and we did our thing.”
When asked about how this team stayed so “dialed in” from start to finish, Bell said “It all started with practice. It even carried over to school today, everybody was really focused on the game, I didn’t see anybody really even talking to anyone too much.”
The third-seeded Grizzles got off to a slow start, and had a difficult time matching up defensively with the Bulldogs, and Kierstan Bell in particular.
"Her skill set is second to none in the state, but when you let her feel good and get some easy looks early then it's over," said head coach Andrew Booth. "Last year we didn’t let her see the ball go in the basket especially early. Tonight, was the exact opposite."
Wadsworth scored 13 points in the opening quarter, but were held scoreless in the second. With the Grizzles shooting (6-21) from the field and (0-3) from three point range, Booth set a simple goal for his team at halftime.
“We set small goals. Our goal coming out of halftime was to try to win the third quarter, and then try to win the fourth quarter," he said. "You can’t scoreboard watch, otherwise you can get depressed quick, especially with the situation we were in.”
Wadsworth saw some defensive success as the second half began, holding McKinley to just nine third-quarter points. The Grizzles could only muster 19 second half points.
Wadsworth was led by junior guard E’Anna Won's 11 points.
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