Local stars lead Ohio to sweep of all-star basketball series

CRESTVIEW HILLS – Abby Prohaska saw first-hand the perseverance of the University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team.

She was at the Final Four last weekend in Columbus, cheering on her future college team as they won the national championship, claiming both the semifinals and finals on buzzer-beating shots by Arike Ogunbowale. The semifinal win was over unbeaten powerhouse Connecticut. Notre Dame played the Final Four with mainly six players after four others suffered season-ending ACL injuries.

Prohaska, a Lakota West senior, will join them next year. She hopes her experiences in a Fighting Irish uniform live up to the thrills she had watching them.

“I’m speechless,” she said. “I got to see the team after and that was cool, and I’m excited to start that journey. Their hustle and work ethic and never giving up, after everything they’ve gone through and all the adversity. It was great to see them come out on top.”

Prohaska was drawn to the Irish by longtime head coach Muffet McGraw and her staff.

“The coaching staff is awesome,” she said. “They put the team first and they care for their players more than I’ve ever seen, so I’m really excited to be a part of that. Coach McGraw, I’m really excited to learn from her the next four years.”

Prohaska, a 5-foot-10 left-handed shooting guard, was on the winning Ohio team Saturday night in the Ohio-Kentucky senior all-star basketball series at Thomas More College.

Prohaska was one of three Firebirds in the game. She had seven points. Guard Ally Haar, who is signed with Division I Niagara, scored eight. Jasmine Ballew posted six.

McAuley’s Hailee Heidemann (Ashland) led the team with 17 points. She had eight in the third quarter, and sank four of Ohio’s 15 3-pointers.

West Clermont senior Alexis Starks, a 6-1 center headed to Gardner-Webb, and Wisconsin signee Jasmine Hale, a 5-10 guard, combined for 15 points.

““It was a really good opportunity to play with a lot of great players,” Prohaska said. “Some of them I haven’t played with before so it was a cool experience. It was really nice to bring it home to Ohio.”

KENTUCKY HOME: Cooper guard Lexi Held was the MVP for Kentucky. She tied for team leadership with 10 points, eight in the third quarter.

The Ninth Region player of the year averaged 28 points per game this season and will head to play for DePaul in the Big East Conference.

“It was a good time playing with a bunch of high elite-level players,” she said. “The competition, the competitiveness on both sides. We all had the common goal to win but it was fun to play with everybody.”

Five other Northern Kentucky seniors were in the game: Campbell County teammates Taylor Clos (NKU) and Mackenzie Schwarber (Morehead State), Simon Kenton teammates Ally Niece (NKU) and Shelby Harmeyer (Campbellsville) and Scott senior Anna Clephane (Ball State).

HOCKEY PLAYOFFS: Per tradition, the all-star game used the hockey-shift format. The 15 players on each team were divided into three units, who rotated five-minute shifts through the first three 10-minute periods. The fourth quarter allowed regular open substitution.

Kentucky head coach Chris Souder, who led Mercer County to its second straight Kentucky Sweet 16 state title last month, had three of his players on the roster, including Miss Basketball Seygan Robins. The first shift had Robins and two other players who have signed with the University of Louisville to play for Highlands grad Jeff Walz, Butler center Molly Lockhart and Ashland Blazer guard Mykasa Robinson.

The second shift had three future NKU Norse players in Clos, Niece and Souder’s daughter Emmy Souder from Mercer County.

“You want to win these games, but it’s not all about that,” coach Souder said. “I wanted the Louisville kids to play together and the NKU kids to play together. This is a great event. This bunch of girls have been absolutely phenomenal. They didn’t want to lose, but in there they’re having a good time, and that’s what it’s all about. It’s not about winning or losing a game, it’s about the relationships you build and ending your career the right way."

Ohio’s third shift won the game. After the first two shifts played to a 20-20 draw in the first quarter, the third shift of Buckeyes started the second quarter on a 20-3 run. Bexley Wallace, a 6-3 center headed to Penn State, had seven points in the run. She was one of three tall, powerful centers the Ohio side had to throw at their Bluegrass opponents, along with West Clermont’s Starks.

“When we doubled, they hit every open three,” Souder said. “They have a really good team. You have those rotations and you can’t change them, and we weren’t allowed to play zone. Give them credit, they’re a good ballclub.”

Taylor Mikesell, a Massillon Jackson senior headed to national power Maryland, had 12 points on four 3-pointers. The sharp-shooting guard won the national 3-point contest during the men’s Final Four in San Antonio.

The second shift provided many local highlights to start the second half, combining for all 31 points in the game in their five-minute showing. Held had eight points and Niece six for Kentucky. Heidemann scored eight, Hale six and Starks three.

BOYS RECAP: Ohio swept the night with a 99-90 win in the boys game. Kentucky led 84-80 midway through the fourth period. Moeller senior Jaxson Hayes scored on a three-point play, and Revere’s Pete Nance, who is signed with Northwestern, scored on a jumper to give Ohio the lead at 85-84.

Nance, a 6-8 player, is the brother of current Los Angeles Laker Larry Nance, Jr. Their father is former NBA All-Star Larry Nance, Sr.

Trailing 93-90, Kentucky missed several 3-pointers in a row, and the Buckeyes pulled away at the foul line.

Justin Ahrens from Versailles, who has signed with Ohio State, was the team MVP for Ohio. He had 11 points as one of seven Ohio players with nine points or more.

Moeller center Jaxson Hayes (Texas) had nine points and at least four blocked shots. The 6-9 center’s presence at the rim was a factor for the Buckeyes.  Senior teammate Jeremiah Davenport (Wright State) posted six points.

KUNKEL THE MVP: Cooper senior Adam Kunkel led Kentucky with 14 points and was team MVP. The Belmont signee had one of the highlights of the game, pulling up to hit a three over the 6-9 Hayes on the perimeter.

Boone County senior Ethan Haynes, who has committed to Division II Ohio Dominican, had three straight baskets in the third quarter, helping Kentucky to a 72-66 lead. Those three baskets accounted for all seven of his points.

Mercer County senior Trevon Faulkner, Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball honoree and an NKU signee, had 13 points. He’s looking forward to coming back to Highland Heights.  

“It’s a blessing coming back up here,” he said. “It feels like home and I can’t wait for that experience. It was the campus. The experience, the coaches."

Detorrion Ware, a 6-5 forward who averaged 31 points for Christian County this season, was the other Bluegrass player in double figures with 10 points.

GIRLS: Ohio 103, Kentucky 78

KENTUCKY: Robins 0 1 1, Johnson 1 0 2, Clos 1 0 2, Niece 3 2 8, Held 3 4 10, Cecil 0 2 2, Morrow 2 0 5, Robinson 1 5 7, Schwarber 1 0 2, Harmeyer 3 2 9, Clephane 3 0 6, Souder 4 1 10, Darnell 0 5 5, Davis 3 0 8, Lockard 0 1 1. Totals: 25 23 78.

OHIO: Hillman 1 2 4, Hale 3 3 9, Haar 3 0 8, Heidemann 6 1 17, Diehl 2 2 7, Mikesell 4 0 12, Mader 2 0 4, Prohaska 2 2 7, Fulton 1 0 2, Whitehead 3 3 9, Ballew 2 1 6, Lance 2 0 4, Starks 2 0 6, Wallace 4 0 8. Totals: 37 14 103.

Halftime: Ohio 51-27. 3-pointers: KY 5 (Davis 2, Morrow, Harmeyer, Souder), OH 15 (Mikesell 4, Heidemann 4, Starks 2, Haar 2, Diehl, Prohaska, Ballew).

BOYS: Ohio 99, Kentucky 90

KENTUCKY: Faulkner 4 4 13, Gray 2 0 4, Kunkel 4 4 14, Lewis 2 2 7, Potter 2 0 7, Haynes 3 0 7, Fitzgerald 1 3 6, Sullivan 1 0 2, Pearson 2 0 5, Reed 1 0 2, Scrubb 3 1 8, Ware 4 2 10, Keita 1 0 3, Ndim 1 0 2. 31 17 90.

OHIO: Ahrens 4 0 11, Taylor 5 0 13, Quisenberry 2 6 10, Arey 1 0 2, Carroll 3 0 7, Swackhammer 1 1 4, Parker 4 2 13, Davenport 1 3 6, Landis 1 0 2, Brooks-Harris 4 2 11, Hayes 4 1 9, Nance 4 0 9, Swingle 1 0 2. Totals: 35 15 99.

Halftime, Ohio 49-45. 3-pointers: Ohio 14 (Ahrens 3, Taylor 3, Parker 3, Carroll, Swackhammer, Davenport, Brooks-Harris, Nance), KY 11 (Kunkel 2, Potter 2, Faulkner, Lewis, Haynes, Fitzgerald, Pearson, Scrubb, Keita).