COLUMBUS -- Unranked Holgate’s hope of upsetting third-ranked Zanesville Rosecrans was dashed early on.
The Tigers fell behind 16-4 after one quarter and never seriously threatened the Bishops in a 55-40 loss in Division IV girls state basketball semifinal Thursday night at the Schottenstein Center.
After Rosecrans got a 3-pointer and then three free throws from Kloie Johnson in a span of 37 seconds, the Bishops were ahead 12-2. Jess Smith then added a put-back basket with 1:49 left in the first quarter to give the Bishops (27-1) a 14-2 lead.
Marissa Myles scored eight of her 19 points in the second quarter, when Holgate (23-5) finally found some offensive flow to stay within 27-14 at halftime.
But the early hole proved too deep to climb out of, and continued to grow on the Tigers, who were making their fourth appearance in a state final four.
Rosecrans came out red-hot to start the second half, hitting its first five shots from the field, storming to a 39-14 lead.
That decisive surge was capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Johnson, who had all 19 of her points by the 4:41 mark of the third quarter.