COLUMBUS: Wadsworth senior Jodi Johnson said Friday night that she and her Grizzlies teammates came to Columbus “on a business trip.”
Saturday night, the girls dressed in white with red trim finished their work inside Value City Arena as Wadsworth defeated Mason 60-51 to win the Division I girls basketball state title on the campus of Ohio State University.
Johnson, an Ashland University recruit and the co-Division I player of the year with Nia Staples of West Chester Lakota West, led No. 1-ranked Wadsworth with 28 points.
“We finished the job here tonight,” Johnson said after Wadsworth cut down the nets.
Wadsworth’s 2016 state title is the second in its girls basketball history with the first coming in 1997 with a 54-52 win over Mason 54-52 in the Division I final. The Grizzlies’ victory Saturday also avenged a 41-30 regular-season loss to the Comets earlier this season.
Wadsworth (28-1) won Saturday’s opening tipoff and Johnson dribbled down the court for a layup on the first possession. Mason (26-3) was forced to play from behind the rest of the evening.
Wadsworth scored the next eight points with a layup by sophomore Lexi Lance, a 3-pointer by senior Laurel Palitto and a layup and free throw by Johnson to lead 10-0 with 4:26 to go in the first quarter.
“You can’t script it any better than that,” Wadsworth coach Andrew Booth said. “That was huge psychologically. ... And on top of that, when it’s winning time, No. 15 in the white jersey [Johnson] is a pretty good kid to have on your side.”
Johnson scored seven points in the first quarter as the Grizzlies took a 16-6 edge into the second quarter.
“We were just being aggressive from the start,” Johnson said. “We knew we had to be aggressive on both ends of the floor in order to win this game.”
The Grizzlies kept attacking on offense and playing tenacious defense in the second quarter as the lead reached 30-14 at halftime on a Johnson layup before the buzzer.
Mason rallied to cut its deficit to 37-30 entering the fourth quarter. Freshman Sammie Puisis and senior Jailyn Mason emerged as scoring threats for the Comets, who have five players 6-foot or taller.
The Comets kept charging in the fourth, and cut their deficit to 45-42 on a layup by senior Lauren Van Kleunen, 47-44 after Van Kleunen made two free throws, and to 53-50 when sophomore Anna Brinkmann made a layup.
The Grizzlies closed out the game at the free-throw line in the fourth. Johnson made 5-of-6 free throws in the quarter, sophomore Sophia Fortner swished 4-of-4, Lance and sophomore Peyton Banks each made 2-of-2 and senior Jenna Johnson made 1-of-2.
Jodi Johnson finished 6-of-9 from 2-point range, 2-of-3 from beyond the 3-point arc and 10-of-11 from the free throw line.
Banks scored eight points, Palitto and Fortner each scored six points, Lance and Jenna Johnson both chipped in five points and junior McKenna Banks scored two points.
Jenna Johnson grabbed five rebounds and Fortner also had four steals and three assists. Junior Olivia Chaney and sophomore Maddie Movsesian also played key minutes.
“We set a goal and we have accomplished it,” Fortner said. “This feels amazing.
“This is the biggest game I have ever played in, and I couldn’t imagine playing for another team. I am so blessed to have grown up in Wadsworth around this great community. We have great fans, great coaches, great people and great teammates.”
Van Kluenen, a Marquette recruit, paced Mason with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Mason, a Arkansas recruit, scored 10 points. Brinkmann scored nine points and junior Samari Mowbray finished with seven points.
Notebook
• According to the OHSAA game program, Mason has 1,296 female students and Wadsworth has 520 female students. ... Wadsworth’s crowd was raucous Friday and Saturday, and was larger than the other state semifinalists. Jodi Johnson and Booth received the loudest ovations.