Mohawks set for state title game

Madison faces  hot-shooting Findlay team for the Division III state championship.

The Madison High School girls basketball team celebrates its Division III state semifinal victory Thursday, March 18, at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. The Mohawks defeated Ironton 50-43 to advance to today's final. Staff photo by Nick Graham

Nick Graham/MBR The Madison High School girls basketball team celebrates its Division III state semifinal victory Thursday, March 18, at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. The Mohawks defeated Ironton 50-43 to advance to today's final. Staff photo by Nick Graham

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By Skip Weaver, Staff Writer Updated 4:22 AM Saturday, March 20, 2010

MIDDLETOWN — Somebody has to win and somebody has to lose.

The Findlay Liberty-Benton and Madison high school girls’ basketball teams are both undefeated entering the Division III state championship game, which tips off at 10:45 a.m. today, March 20, at Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center in Columbus.

“No one we saw this year shoots the ball like they do,” Madison coach John Rossi Jr. said of the 26-0 Eagles, who have made 229 3-pointers this season.

That number ranks second all-time in the state, according to the Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site.

“We have to recognize that, contain and try to take some of that away,” Rossi said. “If we do that and rebound the basketball, it should give us a good opportunity to finish this deal.”

Caite Craft, a 5-foot-8 sophomore guard, is the Eagles’ main long-range shooter. She’s connected on 90 treys this season, including 6-of-9 in their semifinal win over Smithville on Thursday. She was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points.

“We shoot pretty well from the perimeter,” Liberty-Benton coach Nate Irwin said. “But with their size and length, we’re going to have to get those shots off a little quicker.

“We know they are going to block some shots, too,” he continued, adding that’s something his players haven’t seen much of this year. “We told the girls it’s not the end of the world. Just get back and play defense and we’ll be fine.”

Madison had six blocked shots in their semifinal win over Ironton, four of them by 6-foot-3 junior Ally Malott.

“It’s critical for us to control the tempo,” Rossi said. “As much as we like to get up and down the floor, they do too.

“We’re going to switch up our defense some and try to take them out of their rhythm,” he continued. “I think we match up with them man-to-man, too. If we can stay at home on the perimeter against their shooters, we should be in decent shape.”

Only 39 times since the girls state tournament began in 1976 has a team in any division finished the season undefeated.

“We’d like to be that 40th team,” Irwin said.