Girls Basketball

Comets’ Davis contributes on, off court

At a glance

Below are the recent results and coming schedules for the Central Crossing and Grove City girls basketball teams:

CENTRAL CROSSING

*Jan. 24 — Defeated Hilliard Darby 45-32. Olivia Davis scored 18 points and Jalynn Graham scored 15.

*Jan. 27 — Def. Hilliard Davidson 49-47 (OT). Davis scored 24 points and Graham scored 18.

Jan. 31 — Def. Groveport 47-29. Graham scored 20 points.

*Feb. 3 — Lost to Upper Arlington 34-26. Graham scored 10 points.

*Feb. 7 — Played Worthington Kilbourne

*Feb. 10 — At Thomas Worthington in regular-season finale. Central Crossing defeated Thomas 47-41 on Jan. 6.

Feb. 15 — Pickerington Central in first round of Division I district tournament, 7:45 p.m. at Olentangy Liberty. Winner plays Marion-Franklin or Newark in second round, 7:45 p.m. Feb. 21 at a site to be determined. The Comets are the eighth seed.

Of note: The Comets were 15-3 overall and 9-3 in the OCC-Central before Feb. 7.

GROVE CITY

*Jan. 24 — Def. Groveport 67-64. Jen Draper scored 25 points and Miranda Frase and Kayla Mitchell each scored 10.

*Jan. 27 — Lost to Lancaster 58-42. Draper scored 22 points.

*Feb. 3 — Lost to Newark 69-29. Frase scored 10 points.

*Feb. 7 — Played Gahanna

*Feb. 10 — Home vs. Pickerington Central in regular-season finale. Grove City lost to Central 49-32 on Jan. 6.

Feb. 15 — Watterson in first round of Division I district tournament, 7:45 p.m. at Olentangy Orange. Winner plays Dublin Scioto or Hilliard Darby in second round, 7:45 p.m. Feb. 22 at Orange.

Of note: The Greyhounds were 5-13 overall and 2-10 in the OCC-Ohio before Feb. 7.

*League game

Enlarge Image
Paul Vernon/ThisWeek

Olivia Davis of Central Crossing tries to maintain control of the ball while being pressured by Westland’s Taylor Horn (left) and Rachelle Marcum during a game earlier this season. Davis was second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points, and was averaging a team-high 12.8 rebounds through 18 games. Buy This Photo

By FRANK DiRENNA

ThisWeek Community News Wednesday February 8, 2012 1:25 PM

Senior Olivia Davis has played a key role in the Central Crossing High School girls basketball team’s success this season.

Davis was among the team leaders in scoring and rebounding before the Comets played Worthington Kilbourne on Feb. 7.

But it’s a contribution away from the court that coach Neil Hohman jokes is another reason why Davis will be missed next season.

“She’s in the top 10 percent in her class academic-wise, and attitude-wise she’s always great off the court,” said Hohman, whose team was 15-3 overall before playing Kilbourne. “She’s a good leader for us and she’s a great baker. She makes good brownies for everyone all the time.”

Through 18 games, Davis was second on the team in scoring at 15.7 points per contest, behind junior Jalynn Graham (17.0). Davis led the team in rebounding at 12.8 per game.

The Comets fell to 9-3 in the OCC-Central Division with a 34-26 home loss Feb. 3 to Upper Arlington.

UA completed a regular-season sweep of the Comets. The Golden Bears also won 55-30 on Dec. 20.

Central Crossing’s other loss came against Dublin Coffman, 40-34 on Jan. 20.

“When we play one of the top teams in our league, we just have to find a way to get some points, especially in the fourth quarter,” said Hohman, whose team was outscored 15-5 in the fourth quarter on Feb. 3.

Before Feb. 7, the Comets were third in the league behind Coffman (11-1) and UA (10-2).

“I’m not surprised,” Davis said of the team’s success. “I know my team and I knew from the beginning that we were going to be good.”

Central Crossing is seeded eighth for the Division I district tournament and will play 26th-seeded Pickerington Central in the first round Wednesday, Feb. 15, at Olentangy Liberty.

The winner will play Marion-Franklin or Newark on Feb. 21 at a site to be determined.

“It’s a tough road, but it’s all teams that we can be pretty competitive with,” Hohman said. “It should be good games all the way through.”

Central Crossing opened the season by beating Pickerington Central 49-36 on Nov. 29.

The Tigers were 6-12 overall and 5-7 in the OCC-Ohio before playing Newark on Feb. 7.

Davis is hoping for a memorable end to her basketball career at Central Crossing.

“I’d like to go far in the tournament,” Davis said. “My freshman year we lost in the second round, my sophomore year we lost in the first round and last year we made it to the second round. This year I’d like to go further than the second round.”

The Comets’ 60-35 win over Independence in the first round last season was the program’s third district tournament victory.

Last season, Davis was special mention all-league and honorable mention all-district. She figures to improve on those awards this season.

“Her numbers have increased and she’s gotten better every year,” Hohman said. “She’s been one of our steady influences the last three years.”

•Grove City will play ninth-seeded Watterson in a first-round Division I district tournament game Tuesday, Feb. 14, at Olentangy Orange.

The Greyhounds are seeded 29th.

Watterson was 15-4 overall before playing Chillicothe on Feb. 7 and is 5-2 in the CCL.

“I was trying to get somebody out of the league, somebody different,” coach Dale Corbett said. “You get tired of playing the same people. It’s kind of nice to get somebody you didn’t have non-league.”

The winner will play Dublin Scioto or Hilliard Darby on Feb. 22 at Orange.

Grove City was 5-13 overall and 2-10 in the OCC-Ohio before playing Gahanna on Feb. 7.

“I want to finish strong where we kind of feel good about ourselves,” Corbett said. “Wins and losses hasn’t been good, but we’ve been getting better. There’s a couple games we’ve competed pretty well where you could sit back and say things are going to be OK here in another year.”