Enlarge Image

Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek

Mathea Tenwalde of Watkins Memorial grabs a rebound during a game against Big Walnut earlier this season. The Warriors will play Dublin Coffman in the second round of the Division I district tournament Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Hilliard Davidson after having a first-round bye. Buy This Photo

Coach Kyle Oyster believes plenty of good can come from the Watkins Memorial High School girls basketball team’s layoff before its Division I district tournament opener.

The Warriors, who had a first-round bye, will meet fifth-seeded Dublin Coffman at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Hilliard Davidson. They haven’t played since defeating Franklin Heights 56-17 in the regular-season finale at home Feb. 10 as the lone senior, Mathea Tenwalde, was honored.

“I think it’s a good thing this year because we have so many younger kids,” said Oyster, whose team is 4-15 overall and went 4-10 to finish sixth in the OCC-Capital Division behind Olentangy Orange (14-0), New Albany (12-2), Hilliard Bradley (9-5), Delaware (7-7) and Big Walnut (7-7) and ahead of Mount Vernon (3-11) and Franklin Heights (0-14). “It allows us to get in a lot of extra practices, and I think that’s going to help us both now and next year with all these girls coming back.

“You can see the teams that continually win championships, they keep getting a lot of extra work in once the tournament starts.”

The Shamrocks, who won the OCC-Central for their fifth league title in seven seasons, are one of those teams.

A district champion in 2008 and 2009, Coffman defeated Marysville 63-26 in a first-round game Feb. 16, improving to 19-2 overall with its 15th consecutive victory. The Shamrocks are giving up 42.7 points per game, and offensively they spread the ball around. Their key players include junior guard Quynh Vo and 6-foot-1 freshman post player Sade Olatoye, who averages 9.4 rebounds.

“They have five girls who can score in double digits, so we’re going to have to defend,” Oyster said.

Tenwalde, a 6-1 post player who will play next season at Division III Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, enjoyed her final home game. She scored a season-high 21 points against the Falcons to push her season average to a team-high 11.5 points.

“Being our only senior, the other girls looked to her even more that night,” Oyster said. “She’s really matured and become a tremendous team leader. She does a great job in the classroom, too. We’re really proud of her and very happy she’s going to be able to play at the next level.”

•The boys basketball team also has a tough draw for the postseason. The Warriors will meet fifth-seeded Westerville North at 7:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at Jonathan Alder.

North was 15-4 overall before playing Olentangy in its regular-season finale Feb. 17. North has added motivation in the postseason with a levy looming that could mean the elimination of extra-curricular activities next school year if it doesn’t pass.

“We swept the (other) Westerville schools (South and Central) this year, which is big because who knows if we will play next year,” said 6-5 senior forward Matt Rhodes, who has signed to play at Walsh University.

An upset would give Watkins Memorial a third meeting this season against Franklin Heights in the second round. The Warriors lost both OCC-Capital games by a total of eight points. The Falcons won 59-56 in overtime Jan. 6 and 52-47 on Feb. 10.

•The swimming and diving teams participated in five relay and three individual events in the Division I district meet Feb. 18 at Ohio State.

“It’s the biggest group I’ve sent to district since I’ve been coaching here,” Heather Faulkner said.

Hannah Rush qualified in the maximum four events. During the sectional meet Feb. 11 at Thomas Worthington, the senior finished sixth in the girls 200-yard freestyle (2 minutes, 7.39 seconds) and 10th in the 500 free (5:52.68). Rush also qualified with the 200 medley relay, which reset its school record (2:00.8) to place fifth, and the 200 free relay (eighth, 1:52.46).

“She’s made a big impact on our program since her freshman year,” Faulkner said. “It’s not just her (team) points, either. She’s an example for the other girls to follow.”

Miranda Gessner qualified to district in the 50 free (seventh, 26.23) and freshman Kayla Fenimore made it in the 200 individual medley (fourth, 2:23.91). Both swam on the relays, as did Shelby Seas.

The boys advanced all three relays from sectional. The 200 free relay placed eighth (1:42.25) while the medley relay (1:59.12) and 400 free relay (4:06.43) both finished ninth. The relays included Alan Chapman, Charlie Grady, Charlie Mollenkopf, Nickolas Hix, Rob Sexton, Levi Newsome and Taylor Schultz.

All of the district qualifiers received at-large berths based on times.

“It’s nice knowing where we compare to the other programs,” Faulkner said. “This isn’t an easy district by any means.”