Fairmont falls short in D1championship

COLUMBUS, Oh - Twinsburg jumped out to a 15-3 first quarter lead and held off a determined Fairmont squad as the Tigers defeated the Firebirds, 57-51, in the 2012 OHSAA Division I girls state basketball championship game Saturday night in Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. It was the second consecutive year Twinsburg defeated Fairmont for the Division I girls’ state basketball title.

After a first quarter where they shot 14-percent from the field, the Firebirds climbed back into the game and only trailed 34-32 with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. However, that is as close as the Firebirds would get as the Tigers pulled away late.

Twinsburg (25-3) helped its cause by outrebounding Fairmont 36-23 and shooting 44.4-percent from the field, as opposed to the Firebirds’ 36 field goal percentage. Twinsburg becomes the 11th school in OHSAA history to record back-to-back state titles.

Leading the effort for the Tigers were junior Ashley Morrissette’s 22 points and eight rebounds, senior Malina Howard’s 14 points and nine rebounds and senior LaShawna Gatewood’s double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Firebirds were led by junior Chelsea Welch’s 18 points and six rebounds and sophomore Kathryn Westbeld’s 15 points, 13 of which came in the first half.

Fairmont, in its third consecutive trip to the state tournament, finishes as the runner-up for the second time. The Firebirds finished the season 24-4, with two of their losses coming to Twinsburg.