Top 10 moments from the girls state basketball tournament

By Mike Conley

February 19, 2008, 11:26AM

Here is a list of the top moments from the past decade of the girls state basketball tournament in Columbus.

10. March 16, 2000: Almost perfect.

Ms. Basketball Caity Matter gets 32 points and 11 rebounds, powering top-ranked Bluffton to a 64-51 victory over Sardinia Eastern Brown in a highly-anticipated Division III semifinal between undefeated teams. Bluffton's dream season ends two days later, though, with a 56-35 championship game loss to South Euclid Regina.

OHSAA2005 Dayton Chaminade-Julienne Eagles.

Ms. Basketball Aisha Jefferson has a quiet weekend in the scoring column, but her Dayton Chaminade-Julienne Eagles end Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame's bid for back-to-back state crowns with a 49-38 win in the big-school state championship game. Jefferson and Lindsey Goldsberry get 10 points apiece in the title game.

8. March 12, 2005: On the spot.

Kathleen Gladstone scores only 5 points, but her 3-pointer provides the winning margin as Walsh Jesuit wins its first state championship, scoring a mild upset over Columbus Eastmoor Academy to secure the Division II crown. Walsh rallied from a 7-point halftime deficit and held Eastmoor scoreless over the last two minutes.

7. March 20, 1999: All's well for Hopewell.

Third-ranked Hopewell Loudon completes a 26-1 season with a Division IV state crown, and they do it in style. Two days after defeating top-ranked and previously unbeaten Berlin Hiland, the Chieftains cut down the nets after beating second-ranked Clark Southeastern, 61-51.

OHSAA2006 Plain City Jonathan Alder girls basketball team.

Youngstown Ursuline's Tyra Grant entertains the crowd of 5,005 with a 30-point effort that includes several highlight-reel plays, but Plain City Jonathan Alder shoots 50% from 3-point range and puts three players in double figures to complete a 26-2 season and win the Division III title, 55-49.

5. March 17, 2007: The double-double.

Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame (DI) and Warsaw River View (DII) each lock up their second consecutive state championships. Mount Notre Dame runs past Stow, 63-43, for its third title of the decade, while the Black Bears muscle their way to a 45-26 win over Hathaway Brown as the Daugherty sisters, Kari and Kristin, combine for 35 points. Mount Notre Dame has won three titles this decade; Kari Daugherty won back-to-back Ms. Basketball awards.

4. March 12, 2005: Double the drama.

Berlin Hiland needs overtime, but the Lady Hawks finish a 28-0 season -- their second perfect season of the decade -- with a 55-47 win over Ottoville in the Division IV state final. Hiland also went undefeated in 2000 and won another state title in 2006, going 26-2.

3. March 17, 2001: Domination.

Top-ranked Beavercreek completes an undefeated season by defeating Chaminade-Julienne, 42-35, in an all Southwest Ohio title game. The star of the show for the Beavers is 6-foot-6 sophomore center Alison Bales, who follows up her semifinal double-double by posting 6 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks in the championship game.

OHSAA2003 Regina Royals.

South Euclid Regina wraps up its fourth straight Division III state title, dominating Chillicothe Huntington, 65-35, in the title game. A run that started with the school's first title in 2000 was ended in 2004 by eventual state champion Youngstown Ursuline, but Regina won the Div. III title again in 2005.

1. March 17, 2000: Star power -- and perfection.

One future Ms. Basketball, Michelle Munoz goes around another, Barbara Turner for the game-winning layup with 22 seconds left as Mason beats Cleveland East Tech in a thrilling Division I semifinal, 44-42. The Comets finish 27-0 and win the state championship a night later with a 36-25 win over Pickerington. Munoz won Ms. Basketball in 2001; Turner won in 2002.