Northview girls edge Perrysburg to reach regional
Feb. 28—One year after Northview and its All-Ohio guard, Kacee Baumhower, missed out on a great opportunity to win a Division I girls basketball district final at Central Catholic's Sullivan Center, the Wildcats made good on a return trip.
The make-or-break play happened on the same end of the court, in the same location, but this time the outcome was favorable in Northview's dramatic 45-44 victory over Northern Lakes League rival Perrysburg.
"It was tense," Northview coach Pat Sayre said. "That's what a district final game should be like. They had a great game plan and made it really difficult for us. It was a great basketball game.
"I'm proud of our group for the way they responded. They joke that they like to stress me out, and they did a great job of stressing me out. But, they made enough plays at the end, and had a great defensive stop."
After the Wildcats (19-3) had led the whole game, Perrysburg chipped away at what had been a nine-point halftime deficit, and owned the momentum late in the game.
Capping their rally, the Yellow Jackets (15-5) took their first lead at 44-43 on a 3-pointer from the left corner by Jada Wilhelms with 1:07 remaining.
Northview's Taylor Stacy then missed on a 3-point try, Perrysburg rebounded, and the Wildcats were forced to commit three quick fouls to send the Jackets to the foul line in a bonus situation.
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Perrysburg senior guard Kylie Griggs missed on the front end of the bonus chance with 28.6 seconds left, Northview rebounded, and Baumhower made a drive from the left wing toward the basket.
She was fouled by Perrysburg's Macie Stringfellow, then calmly sank the two biggest free throws of her four-year varsity career with 22.1 seconds to go for the game-winning points.
"She can do everything and, at the end of the game, you want the ball in her hands," Sayre said of Baumhower, a two-time NLL player of the year, and a first team All-Ohioan last season. "She's learned a lot through four years, and winning this district final is pretty special."
The Yellow Jackets had another chance in the closing seconds, but Wilhelm's six-foot runner from the right side of the lane rimmed out. Northview's Mia Creech rebounded, and was fouled with just 2.6 seconds to go.
Creech missed the free throw and Perrysburg's standout senior center Bella Vaillant rebounded, but Baumhower stole the ball and the clock ran out.
"It's heart-breaking," Perrysburg coach Todd Sims said. "We're on the foul line up one, and it didn't work out for us. Then, we had a great drive with a little runner, and she's actually real good at making that. Obviously, that didn't work out. For whatever reason, I guess it wasn't meant to be for us today."
Last Feb. 28, on the exact same spot on the Sullivan Center court, Baumhower was not so fortunate.
After she had led Northview back from a 10-point third-quarter deficit against perennial state power Notre Dame, Baumhower had a chance to tie or win the game in the final seconds.
She opted to drive left, and rimmed out a 10-footer. The Eagles rebounded with 2.2 seconds left, and held on to advance.
Baumhower's 18 points and 10 rebounds in that game were not enough, but her 23 points were just enough this time, and Northview will get another shot against Notre Dame.
"It was surreal," Baumhower said. "I had the exact same span of transition, crossing over to my right hand on the left side. Last year, I didn't make it. This year, on the same day, it was in the exact same place."
Northview and Notre Dame will meet in a regional semifinal on Tuesday at Sandusky High School at 5:30 p.m. The Eagles advanced to their ninth regional in 10 years by beating Fremont Ross, 53-45, in Saturday's district final at Lake.
Perrysburg, which had lost twice to Northview during the regular season, looked to have the Wildcats' number in the late going.
With Vaillant scoring 13 of her 20 points after halftime, the Yellow Jackets gradually shaved the deficit down to striking range.
Back-to-back inside buckets by Vaillant (nine rebounds) got Perrysburg within 38-36 with 5:48 remaining and, after Baumhower made two free throws, Griggs' 3-pointer pulled the Jackets within 40-39 with 4:03 left.
Baumhower scored on a driving layup 30 seconds later, Stringfellow (seven points) scored from the right block with 3:14 left, and Baumhower hit the second of two free throws nine seconds later to make it 43-41, setting the stage for Wilhelms' 3-pointer.
"This is a great group of seniors," Sims said. "I've known them since they were little girls as they came up through the program. I knew they were going to fight, and we've got a nice little rivalry with Northview.
"I knew this was going to be a very competitive game, and they're a very good team. Seniors step up, and that's what you've got to do if you want to keep rolling. [Baumhower] did a great job for them."
Taylor Stacy had 10 points for the Wildcats, and Griggs scored nine for Perrysburg.
Northview was 16-of-44 (36 percent) from the field, including 6-of-26 on 3-pointers, and was 7-of-12 at the line. The Wildcats forced 13 turnovers and committed just four.
Perrysburg was 14-of-34 (41 percent) from the field, including 5-of-16 on 3-pointers, and was 11-of-18 at the line.
Last season, on the same day as Northview's district-final loss here to Notre Dame, Perrysburg had won in thrilling fashion in another district final at Lake. The Jackets took a 40-38 thriller over Start in overtime, when Stringfellow hit a buzzer-beater from the right baseline.
First Published February 27, 2021, 5:39pm
