For the first time since winning a state championship in 2005, the Walsh girls basketball team has advanced to the state semifinals.

 

The Warriors (23-2) used a 9-0 run late in the second quarter to pull away from Rocky River and eventually defeated the Lady Pirates 53-44 in a Division II Regional final Friday night at Ontario High School.

 

“I feel like we had a mental block here from last year and we had to overcome that and now I feel like the sky is the limit for next week,” Walsh senior guard Ariel McNair said. “I can’t wait.”

 

The Warriors were determined not to repeat last year’s two-point, overtime loss in the regional final. McNair said it has been a motivating factor ever since.

 

But falling behind 12-10 after the first quarter to Rocky River (21-5) had the same feel as last year’s 50-48 loss to Wapakoneta.

 

“Pete told us to get our heads into the game, and to be more into it mentally,” Walsh senior Kara Goliat said. “And that's what we did out of the timeout.”

 

Senior Molly McNally’s third 3-pointer of the first half gave the Lady Pirates a 21-20 lead midway through the second quarter.

 

“After you have a big win, it’s tough to regroup yourself and gather yourself and realize this is going to be a battle, and it was,” said Walsh coach Pete Zaccari, referring to Tuesday’s domination of No. 1-ranked Tiffin Columbian. “Rocky River is well coached and they came out and they fought hard and matched us play for play in the first quarter. But I thought in the middle of the second quarter we started getting the hang of it and started playing our game again.”

 

That’s when sophomore point guard Rachel Theriot and senior center Nenka Offodile launched Walsh Jesuit on the path toward victory.

 

Theriot hit a floater to make it 22-21 Warriors. Then the Walsh tandem played pick and roll, and Theriot dropped off a nice dish for Offodile to get the layup.

 

The next possession, Offodile stepped out and drained a 17-foot jumper from just inside the top of the key. Theriot capped the run with a 3-pointer and the Warriors led 29-21.

 

It proved to be the key stretch in the game. Walsh took a 29-23 margin into the halftime locker room and protected that advantage the entire second half.

 

“At halftime, I felt very confident we were doing our thing and were ready to roll,” Zaccari said.

 

The Walsh lead swelled to 43-30 at 5:54 of the fourth quarter after Offodile hit another mid-range jumper and the Warriors dropped 5-of-6 free tosses.

 

The Lady Pirates ran off a mini 6-0 run to whittle their deficit to 43-36 and eventually Rocky River shaved it to six at 47-41 after sophomore Hannah McCue sank a triple with 1:24 left.

 

But on the ensuing possession, McNair beat the press and fed senior Cheryl Yu for a decisive layup at 1:15, giving Walsh a 49-41 lead. Theriot closed it out making 6-of-6 free throws in the final 1:39 and wound up with 25 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

 

"Rachel is our leader on the court," McNair said. "We have five seniors who are the vocal leaders, but Rachel is the leader on the court."

 

Offodile was solid in collecting 11 points, nine rebounds and two steals. The Warriors meet Hathaway Brown in the state semifinal on Thursday, March 18, at 6 p.m. at the Ohio State Schottenstein Center.

 

McCue finished with 16 points for Rocky River, while McNally had 15 (all in the first half).