Local Roundup
League title on line for Northland girls
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Paul Vernon/ThisWeek
Northland’s Brandi Curd-Watson looks to make a pass while being pressured by Allison Donatelli of Olentangy Orange during a game earlier this season. The Vikings will square off against Africentric in the City League championship game Saturday, Feb. 11, at Columbus South.
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Northland High School girls basketball coach Dean Washington believes his team’s next opponent resembles his own when it comes to depth and athleticism.
One area in which the Vikings have been at a disadvantage during recent meetings against Africentric — although they seem to be closing that gap — is the mystique the Nubians will bring to the City championship game.
The teams meet at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at Columbus South.
Although Northland has won six City titles, it hasn’t won since 1998, while the Nubians have captured five titles in the last six seasons.
Along the way, Africentric beat the Vikings 69-38 for the 2009 championship and 60-42 in last year’s title game.
While Northland’s lineup again features senior guard Symone Denham (14.7 points per game) and junior guard Alexis Peterson (19.2 ppg), senior point guard Kiyanna Black (15.4 ppg) is the Nubians’ top scorer.
Black is an Ohio University signee and Denham has signed with Michigan, while Peterson has scholarship offers from several major Division I schools.
“They don’t really have one go-to player,” Washington said of Africentric. “They’ll be solid one through eight like us, and that’ll make it a good basketball game. Hopefully we can do some good things.”
One area the Vikings might attempt to exploit is in the post, where they should hold a significant height advantage.
Peterson and Denham recently were named first-team all-City League-North Division along with 6-foot-1 senior post player Kierra Simpson, who is averaging 8.0 points and 8.2 rebounds. Junior Jasmine Weatherspoon, a 6-2 post player, averages 7.2 points and made honorable mention all-league along with senior guard Brandi Curd-Watson.
Northland, which won its first Division I district title since 1983 a year ago, is 18-1 and earned the fourth seed for the district tournament. The Vikings are in the same bracket as third-seeded Olentangy Orange, which they lost to 50-49 on Dec. 12.
Africentric has won 98 consecutive City-South games and is 16-3 overall. The Nubians have captured seven consecutive district titles and are the top seed in Division III.
Other top players for Africentric, which is on a seven-game winning streak, include junior Marley Hill, senior Quanita Fair and sophomores Ayrielle Stith and Alexis Parks.
Northland, which has won 16 games in a row, beat Brookhaven 79-41 on Feb. 3 to finish 14-0 in the City-North for the second consecutive season. The Vikings have won 32 consecutive league games, with their last league loss coming during the 2009-10 season, when they lost to the Bearcats 48-47.
“I think (our depth) has helped us over the last three years,” Washington said. “We’ve had lots of different girls that can help in lots of different ways, and it’s not just our top eight girls, but we can go nine, 10, even 11 deep. Kierra Simpson is kind of like (2011 graduate) Tatiana Chapple was last year in that she does a lot of our dirty work.”
•Another of the area’s top senior guards is Brookhaven girls basketball player Jasmine Johnson.
A Wright State signee who is averaging 18.3 points, Johnson made four 3-pointers and finished with 34 points in an 80-41 victory over Beechcroft on Jan. 31 in her final prep home game.
“It was very special to do that (in my final home game),” Johnson said. “I’m going to miss everybody.”
Johnson, who made first-team all-City-North, has been a bright spot during a difficult stretch for the Bearcats.
Senior Alana Lassiter, a 6-1 forward who has signed with Delaware State, did not play the final four games of the regular season.
Neither she nor 6-0 senior Essence Bates-Hatcher, who made second-team all-league a year ago, were in uniform during the Bearcats’ home finale. The last time Bates-Hatcher scored was in 51-39 loss to Northland on Jan. 10.
The status of both players is unknown heading into the postseason.
Brookhaven is the fourth seed in the Division II district tournament and will open against London on Feb. 18 at Delaware.
“As long as we keep working together and stay positive and stay strong, we can go far,” Johnson said. “I think we’re doing better defensively and we’ve been communicating more and have had a more positive attitude lately.”
“It takes awhile to blend a team,” said first-year coach Darris Gattis, whose team’s opening-game roster featured five transfers.
•The Beechcroft girls basketball team will open the Division II district tournament against top-seeded Jonathan Alder on Feb. 16 at Pickerington North.
The Cougars enter the postseason on a six-game losing streak and have lost nine of their last 10.
Freshman Terika Broady and junior Hailee Cannady have been the team’s leading scorers and provide hope for an improved future, according to coach Mike Fleming.
“At this point, we’re just trying to get experience,” Fleming said. “We’ve just been trying to keep practices as positive as possible. When you’re losing games like this, you just want to try to keep their morale up.”
