Greenon will play D-III fourth-ranked Purcell Marian in a district final game at 11 a.m. Saturday, at Springfield High School. The Knights are seeking their first trip to the regional tournament since 1981.
“I’m so happy for this group,” said Knights coach Lonnie Robinson. “... We didn’t get it done in the league so we set our sights to make as big of a tournament run as we can and we knew we had a good team that could do it. The girls absolutely played great. I’m happy for them to get here and do something that’s huge for our school and our community. I’m just proud of them.”
In the district semifinal, Miami East led 13-12 after the first quarter, but the Knights scored 18 points in the second quarter to grab a 30-17 halftime lead. Greenon held the Vikings to just one point in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
“We did a nice job of finishing the first half,” Robinson said. “Miami East came out and played really physical and hit shots. We turned the ball over a little bit and they made a big run. We didn’t waver and kept it. We responded really well. We played really well as a group.”
Greenon has won four straight since falling to Catholic Central 43-38 on Jan. 29 in a game that ultimately decided the Ohio Heritage Conference South Division championship.
“We’ve had a lot of growth spurts this year in our toughness mentality,” Robinson said. “That game hurt. You could tell it hurt every one of them. They made a conscious decision to say, ‘We’re not going to go down without a fight.’ It was really good to see them respond that way.”
The Knights will face a tough task against the Cavaliers (22-1), who have won 18 straight since losing to Cincinnati Summit Country Day on Dec. 4. They’re led by highlytouted freshman Dee Alexander, who is averaging 25.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 4.2 steals per game.
“They’re a really, really talented team,” Robinson said. “(Alexander) is really talented and the rest of the team is, too. It’s not just stopping her. They’ve got four or five other kids who can play, too. They get after it and play hard for 32 minutes. It’s going to be a fight, for sure.”
Greenon is led by its junior duo of Abby West (15.8 points, 1.5 blocks per game) and Claire Henry (15.7 points, 5.3 steals, 4.3 assists per game), who finished 1-2 in scoring in the OHC.
They hope to have a big crowd on Saturday morning with the game right in their backyard in Clark County, Robinson said.
“We’re going to focus on us and try to be a better version of us,” he said. “Our kids are looking forward to it. They’re excited. It’s going to be new for them. They’ll probably have some early jitters, but we’re looking to go out and battle.”
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