Olmsted Falls settles in, defeats Magnificat to return to OHSAA Division I state championship game
DAYTON, Ohio - Olmsted Falls senior Danielle Cameron knows what it takes to win a state semifinal game. After all, she scored a game-high 23 points last season in the semifinals.
So it should come as no surprise that when the Bulldogs were trailing midway through the second quarter of a 62-38 win over Magnificat in the Division I state semifinals on Friday night, it was Cameron who started - and finished - a 15-5 run that saw Olmsted Falls take a 32-24 lead into halftime.
"I think just overall, the atmosphere being her last year helps a lot," Cameron said. "When we got here last year, we just had to take a deep breath and know there are a ton of people here for both teams."
The 5-foot-9 guard started the run with a basket in the paint after her initial shot was rejected. She stuck with it, got the rebound and finished to tie the game at 19-19. And then on the next possession, it was Cameron's bread and butter that gave the Bulldogs a lead when she launched a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Jesse Simon and Emma Schaefer kept the run going with layups on back-to-back possessions to make it 26-19.
Then Cameron made a layup and hit a 3-pointer in the waning seconds of the half to send the Bulldogs to the locker room with an eight-point lead.
"We were just playing by our philosophies, just playing hard and letting the game come to us," Cameron said. "Don't force when we're not open and pass when we're not open and I think that the whole team just did really well finding everyone."
It was more of the same for Cameron and the Bulldogs in the third quarter, as they started on a 17-2 run that consisted of 3-pointers by Jessica Wolanin and Maddie Cerovac.
Cameron followed with a layup where she drew a foul, a steal and a layup and then a steal and an assist to Avery DeLisio and another assist to Schaefer. A Delisio basket then made it 49-26 with 2:22 left in the third.
"I think that just going back to like what we practice every day, just rotating hard on our press and overall just trying to get into the right spot and coach says a lot try not to fake hustle," Cameron said. "So if you think you can get it, then you got to really hustle to get it but if you don't think you're gonna get it, don't try to go get it when you know you're not you're not actually gonna steal it or deflect it. I think that's really important because then leads to numbers on the other end."
Danielle Cameron of Olmsted Falls dishes the ball to a teammate in the fourth quarter of the Bulldogs' win over Magnificat in the Division I state semifinals on March 15, 2024.
Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports
When all was said and done, the Bulldogs finished the game on a 45-19 run over the final 21:38.
"We just kind of got away from our defensive strategy," Magnificat head coach Danny Gallagher said. "They move very efficiently off the ball and they run a lot of off-ball screens. We tried to prepare for that all week long but you don't see that a lot."
Cameron led the Bulldogs with 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Simon had 15 points and Cerovac added 10.
The win means the Bulldogs will once again play in the Division I state championship game, this time against either Pickerington Central or Springboro on Saturday at 8:30. It will be the second straight trip to the title game for Olmsted Falls, and the second in program history. A season ago, the Bulldogs fell to Princeton 69-51.
"Its going to be the most physical toughest basketball game the kids are going to play," Olmsted Falls head coach Jordan Eaton said. "I need to relay that message a little better."
-- Ryan Isley | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveoh
