The Delaware Hayes girls basketball team used big runs at the start of each of the first two quarters to set the tone on the way to a convincing 67-39 OCC-Cardinal Division win over visiting Hilliard Darby Friday night.
The Pacers (9-6, 4-5) outscored the Panthers (5-11, 1-8) 7-0 to start the first quarter and 12-0 to open the second. They doubled them up 32-16 by halftime and never looked back.
Alexis Amabile, who finished with a team-best 15 points, scored the game’s first five while Chloe Jeffers and Telijah McCollum added hoops to stake Hayes to the early 7-0 edge.
Jordan Lantz scored from inside to balloon the Pacers’ lead to 11-2 with two minutes left in the first before Darby’s Ashley Powers stopped the bleeding.
The Panthers’ Bella Heaton finished off a three-point play to make it an 11-7 game shortly after, but Jeffers hit a three in the final minute — a bucket set up by an offensive rebound by McCollum — and the Pacers blew it open with the 12-0 start to the second.
Jeffers and Porter Barickman backed Amabile with nine points apiece while Alyssa Griner added eight.
Ashley Derenzo led Darby with 15 points.
Big Walnut 43, Canal Winchester 36
The Golden Eagles used a 9-4 second and 13-3 third to erase an early deficit and notch a key league win over the host Indians Friday in Canal Winchester.
Big Walnut (11-2, 6-1) trailed 17-9 after one before turning things around.
Abby Brown led the charge with 13 points on the strength of four threes while Avery Schone finished with 12.
Shalea Byrd led Canal (9-5, 3-4) with 12 points.
Delaware Christian 56, Madison Christian 25
Abbi Maurer hit three three-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds to help DCS cruise to a MOCAL win over host Madison Christian Friday night.
Delaware Christian led 23-2 by the end of the first quarter.
Lyssi Snouffer was also solid for the Eagles (7-3, 4-0), closing with a team-best 23 points to go with 13 boards and two blocks, while Katie Neuhart had a double-double of her own with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Westerville South 52, Olentangy 34
The Braves led 12-10 after the first quarter, and trailed by just one at halftime, but the host Wildcats dominated the second half en route to an OCC-Buckeye Division win Friday night in Westerville.
South (12-3, 6-0) outscored Olentangy (6-7, 3-4) 15-8 in the third quarter and 17-7 in the fourth to smooth out the scoring summary.
Olentangy Liberty 61, Olentangy Orange 29
Kelly Levering closed with a game-best 16 points while Trinity Ramos and Taylor Redman added 11 apiece to lead the Patriots to a league win over the visiting Pioneers Friday night in Powell.
Liberty (11-5, 5-2) led 21-7 after the first quarter and 44-15 by the break.
Kayla Delmore led Orange (2-13, 1-6) with six points.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Henry Hinkle poured in 10 of his team-best 17 points in the first quarter to lead Olentangy Liberty to a 56-48 OCC-Buckeye Division win over the visiting Pioneers Friday night in Powell.
The Patriots (9-4, 4-2) led 19-12 after the first quarter and 31-22 by halftime. The Pioneers (8-4, 2-4) battled back with a 16-9 third, but Liberty won the fourth 16-10 to smooth out the scoring summary.
Andrew Wade and Ty Foster joined Hinkle in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Jason Foster led Orange with a game-high 18 points.
Delaware Hayes 51, Hilliard Darby 50
Addison Harvey hit a huge three-pointer to swing the momentum and the Pacers hit their free throws down the stretch to hold off the host Panthers Friday night in Hilliard.
Hayes (7-7, 4-4) outscored Darby (4-9, 4-4) 22-15 in the fourth to seal the deal.
Nate Griggs was huge in the final frame, scoring 11 of his game-high 18 points. Paul Burris was also steady in the win, finishing with 16 points.
Westerville South 62, Olentangy 61
The Braves led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, but the visiting Wildcats used an 18-1 run to all but erase it on the way to a come-from-behind league win Friday night in Lewis Center.
Still, Olentangy (4-10, 0-6) had chances to win at the end, but missed the front end of one-and-one opportunities on two different occasions in the final minute as the game slipped away.
Jake Elmore had 15 points for the Braves while Ethan Smith added 13, Tavian James chipped in 11 and Josiah Seymour finished with 10.
Jaiden Guice and Tabari Howard had 15 points apiece to lead the Wildcats (10-4, 5-1).
Dublin Scioto 58, Olentangy Berlin 32
The host Irish outscored the Bears 18-2 in the second quarter to break things open on the way to an OCC-Cardinal Division win Friday night in Dublin.
Scioto’s (8-4, 5-3) Jaydon Pearson led all scorers with 15 points while Austin Corley led Berlin (1-12, 0-8) with 10 points in the setback.
Big Walnut 61, Canal Winchester 39
The Golden Eagles dominated the middle two quarters, outscoring the visiting Indians 20-4 in the second and 16-8 in the third on the way to a solid league win Friday night in Sunbury.
Nine players scored for Big Walnut (9-5, 3-3), with Caleb Conard and Jared Kreager leading the way with 11 and 10, respectively.
Cole Metzler had 15 points for Canal (8-4, 3-3).
Also: Whitehall 38, Buckeye Valley 36
