Rogers girls advance to state semifinals with 52-40 win over Bellevue

3/7/2014

ONTARIO -- The Rogers Rams are headed to the Division II girls state basketball semifinals Thursday, advancing there with a 52-40 victory over Bellevue in Friday night’s regional championship game at Ontario High School.

The 12th-ranked Rams (24-4) were led by 15 points from senior guard Sasha Dailey, plus 10 and nine points, respectively, from sophomores Keasja Peace and Akienreh Johnson.

Rogers took an 8-3 lead after one quarter, bumped it to 27-15 by halftime, and held a 37-25 edge entering the final quarter. The Rams closed the game by building a 43-28 lead midway in the fourth quarter, and successfully running a semi-delay game over the final four minutes.

Bellevue (22-5) was paced by 17 points from Carly Santoro and nine from Jenna Strayer..

The Rams will play in a state semifinal 1 p.m. Thursday at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. They will face the winner of Friday’s regional final between second-ranked Kettering Alter (27-0) and seventh-ranked Springfield Kenton Ridge (26-1).

This will be Rogers’ first appearance in a girls state final four, and the fourth by a Toledo Public Schools team from the City League in the past six years, joining Start (2009 and 2011) and Waite (2010).