Badin earned a second straight Division II district championship on Friday with a 47-31 win over Trotwood-Madison in the third game of a tripleheader.
“Our defense was phenomenal,” coach Tom Sunderman said. “We told the girls before the game, ‘This is our gym.’ We felt that way last year when we beat Roger Bacon by 20 when they were probably the best team in the state.
“(Senior) Ella Mangino didn’t score any points. She won’t be in the box score, but she came up with three or four outstanding digs in the first quarter.”
Senior Mahya Lindesmith scored 15 points and senior Jada Pohlen scored 11 for Badin, which forced six turnovers while jumping out to a 10-0 lead on its way to earning a berth in a regional semifinal against Eaton (13-13) on Tuesday at Springfield High School. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. The Eagles have won five straight games and six of their last seven.
The Eagles advanced with a 43-35 win over Summit Country Day. They ended the game with a 17-3 run and overcame a six-point deficit early in the fourth quarter.
Alter, a 49-19 winner of Indian Hill, will face Columbus Granville in the first regional semi on Tuesday.
Badin (20-6), which has won six straight games and seven of the last eight, reached the regional final last season.
“It definitely doesn’t get old,” Lindesmith said. “This is a feeling you don’t get a lot of in life.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Junior Raeven Ray-Richmond scored 10 points to lead Trotwood (13-11), which saw snapped a seven-game winning streak.
“We had some really good practices,” said coach Henry Benton, who coached his last game before retirement. “I thought we were ready, but we came out flat. I think our young players were a little nervous. This was their first time. Badin’s got a veteran team. We had a lot of opportunities. We just didn’t finish. Badin made some adjustments at halftime and came out in a junk defense. Badin kept doing what they do.”
Trotwood-Madison’s struggles started even before they left the school. An apparent miscommunication led to the Rams wearing their road uniforms, even though they were the home team. Benton told officials an email he received about the game said “home team/dark uniforms,” but officials handed them a technical foul before the game, and senior Dixon Morgan made one of two free throws to give Badin the lead for good before the clock even started ticking.
“It helped a little bit,” Lindesmith said. “A kind of calmness comes over your body when you’re already up by one.”
Badin led by as many as 15 points in the first half. Trotwood-Madison fought back to cut the lead to eight points, but junior Katherine Beeber scored five straight points during an 11-2 Badin run for a 39-23 lead early in the fourth quarter.
“I liked how we played with composure,” she added. “Once in a while, we got flustered, but we were more calm than we expected.”
About the Author