An ugly brawl spoiled what should have been a championship celebration for Kenmore’s girls basketball team.
The Cardinals won their third straight City Series playoff championship Thursday night, defeating North 64-52 at East High School.
Police used pepper spray to gain control when a riot erupted just as the game ended. The melee included players, coaches and spectators.
The Cardinals (12-8, 11-2) sank eight 3-point shots in deflating the Vikings, who were trying to win their first City Series title since 1992.
Kenmore took the lead for good early in the second quarter, using a flurry of 3-pointers to build a 37-19 lead at half.
Senior Sarah Taylor (15 points) started the streak with a deep 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter.
The Cardinals buried five triples in the second quarter.
Junior Amber Howell (14 points) did most of the damage from beyond the arc, sinking 4-of-6 long shots for the game.
But for as well as Taylor and Howell played, senior guard Q’Deare Dix (21 points, 11 rebounds, five steals) was the catalyst for coach Yontami Jones and her Kenmore team.
North (14-7, 11-2) shaved its deficit to 50-43 early in the fourth quarter. But Dix and Howell answered for the Cardinals.
Howell’s 3-pointer with 2:57 to play put Kenmore on top 62-47.
City Series Player of the Year Tia Balknight had 18 points for North.
The Vikings’ 6-foot-2 sophomore Amoni Primm added 17 points for City Series Coach of the Year Eric Mathews.
Read the high school blog at http://www.ohio.com/preps.