MEDINA — The Wadsworth girls basketball team broke its huddle moments before the opening tip Thursday with a low-toned “Woo-woo” — a surprisingly new twist for a team that thrives on superstition. The newest wrinkle sounded a lot like a soft bark from a bull mastiff.
Fittingly, the Grizzlies then let their big dogs eat.
Wadsworth’s Jodi Johnson, center, Jenna Johnson, left, and Laurel Palitto hold up the Medina District 1 Championship trophy after beating Berea Midpark 80-50. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)
Sophomore centers Lexi Lance and Peyton Banks were beasts Berea-Midpark couldn’t contain. The duo never played at the same time, but provided a devastating inside presence against an opponent with a 6-foot-3 shot-blocker in the paint.
Combine Lance and Banks with a season-best showing from power forward Jenna Johnson and top-seeded Wadsworth again looked extremely impressive, crushing the third-seeded Titans 80-50 to win the Medina Division I District championship for the fifth straight season and reach the Sweet 16 for the eighth time in 11 years under coach Andrew Booth.
Next up for the Grizzlies (24-1) is a date with Magnificat (21-4) at North Royalton on Tuesday.
“This is exciting,” Lance said. “(Winning the district title), it’s two years in a row (for me) and obviously it’s more exciting for the seniors seeing how they’ve done it four years in a row.”
The 6-1 jump-out-of-the-gym starter, Lance finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds, two highlight-reel blocks, a steal and an assist. Banks, Lance’s 5-10 backup, powered home a game-high 16 points to go with four boards, a career-high four assists — highlighted by two to older sister McKenna Banks (8 points) in the third quarter — and a steal.
Lance and Peyton Banks combined for 29 points, 19 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals while simultaneously getting 6-3 Berea-Midpark counterpart Miranda Otero into foul trouble, and their rebound total was two more than the Titans (18-7), who got 14 points from speedy point guard Jada Marone but only five on 2-for-10 shooting from 1,000-point scorer Zoranne Host.
Oh, and don’t forget Grizzlies junior varsity center Meggie Flanigan (4 points, 3 rebounds) and Johnson (season-high 13 points, 6-of-6 free throws), illustrating the inside dominance.
“When you have one good post player in this day and age, it’s a great luxury,” Booth said. “When you have two kids that can play and you can interchange them and keep them fresh, that’s something many teams don’t have.”
Lance, Banks and Johnson combined for 14 points in the first quarter that ended with Wadsworth up 22-4. The Grizzlies led 45-17 late in the second, but Berea-Midpark went on a 13-1 run that made the score semi-interesting at 46-30 early in the third.
No big deal, as Wadsworth scored 30 of the next 40 points before the third string checked in with four minutes left.
First-team All-Ohioan Jodi Johnson played a complementary role and scored eight of her 12 points in the second half, including a three-point play that moved her into fifth place on the Medina County career scoring list. Maddie Movsesian again was stellar defensively and added six points, three rebounds and three steals, while Sophia Fortner had seven points and four assists.
Wadsworth finished 27-for-55 from the field and 24-for-30 from the foul line, where they are shooting .788 this postseason. The 80 points were a season high, but most importantly the Grizzlies continued a postseason-long theme of burying opponents early.
Wadsworth outscored Brecksville, Brunswick and Berea-Midpark 72-15 in first quarters on its way to the title.
“It goes back to our leadership,” Booth said. “Those kids have been around three and, in Jodi’s case, four years seeing what it takes. They understand one bad quarter, especially early in the game, can cost you. The rest of the kids — we had five play in this game last year — they understand it, too.”
The postgame celebration was familiar yet sweet. The Grizzlies posed for gaggles of pictures as teammates took turns cutting down the net nearest to their bench — starting with Maria Busson and ending with Jenna Johnson — and flashed plenty of smiles.
The Wadsworth players savored the moment until they got on the bus. There’s more work to be done.
“I’m so happy and glad to be going on to regional semis again,” Banks said.
Wadsworth 80, Berea-Midpark 50
Medina Division I District Final
BEREA-MIDPARK 4 22 14 10 — 50
WADSWORTH 22 23 24 11 — 80
Berea-Midpark — Zoranne Host 2-10 0-0 5, Lexy Siggers 2-4 2-2 6, Miranda Otero 2-2 0-1 4, Lexie Scranton 5-7 1-4 12, Jada Marone 6-15 0-0 14, Makayla Holivay 0-5 1-2 1, Kristen Slovick 2-3 0-0 6, Amaya Johnson 1-4 0-0 2, Riley Cummings 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsi Miske 0-0 0-0 0, Kayla Gudel 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20-50 4-9 50.
Wadsworth — Laurel Palitto 0-3 0-0 0, Jenna Johnson 3-5 6-6 13, Lexi Lance 4-10 4-6 12, Jodi Johnson 4-8 4-5 12, Sophia Fortner 3-4 0-0 7, Peyton Banks 5-9 6-8 16, Olivia Chaney 1-4 0-0 2, McKenna Banks 3-4 2-2 8, Maddie Movsesian 3-5 0-0 6, Alexa Conley 0-2 0-0 0, Meggie Flanigan 1-1 2-2 4, Maggie Sonntag 0-0 0-0 0, Maria Busson 0-0 0-1 0, Molly Palecek 0-0 0-0 0, Colleen Fry 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 27-55 24-30 80.
3-point goals — Berea-Midpark 6-20 (Slovick 2-3, Marone 2-4, Scarton 1-3, Host 1-5, Johnson 0-1, Holivay 0-4), Wadsworth 2-6 (Je. Johnson 1-1, Fortner 1-1, Jo. Johnson 0-1, Conley 0-1, Palitto 0-2). Fouled out — Ortero. Rebounds — Berea-Midpark 17 (Siggers 6), Wadsworth 38 (Lance 15). Assists — Berea-Midpark 9 (Marone 4), Wadsworth 16 (Fortner, P. Banks 4). Turnovers — Berea-Midpark 25 (Host 7), Wadsworth 19 (Palecek, Lance, Jo. Johnson, Je. Johnson 3). Fouls — Berea-Midpark 21, Wadsworth 12. Records — Berea-Midpark (18-7), Wadsworth (24-1).