ONTARIO – Tiffin Columbian might wait a while before it trumpets winning the 2010 Division II girls basketball state poll championship.

 

The top-ranked Lady Tornadoes (23-1) were dominated by second-ranked Walsh Jesuit (22-2) Tuesday night in a regional semifinal played at Ontario High School.

 

Final score: Walsh 75, Tiffin Columbian 34.

 

This matchup of No. 1 and No. 2 in the state fell far short of any hype.

 

Up next for the Warriors is Rocky River, a 57-49 winner over Wauseon, in the tourney opener. Walsh faces the Lady Pirates (21-4) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Ontario. The winner will advance to Columbus for the state semifinals.

 

Walsh jumped on Columbian 10-2 out of the gate and the mismatch quickly became apparent.  Walsh sophomore point guard Rachel Theriot had a hand in in the Warriors’ first 13 points, scoring seven and assisting on six.

 

“We didn’t have an answer,” dejected Columbian coach Larry Kisabeth said. “They are by far the quickest team we’ve seen.”

 

Senior guard Ariel McNair nailed a 3-pointer as the first-quarter horn sounded and Walsh led 25-8 after eight minutes. In the second quarter, the Tornadoes got to within 32-18 before Walsh scored the final six points of the half. McNair drained another back-breaking triple in the final seconds of the half and bucket seemed to take the life out of Tiffin Columbian.

 

“We felt that if we could get the lead, then we could play our game,” Walsh coach Pete Zaccari said. ‘If we fell behind and they were able to slow us down and get us into a halfcourt game, then that wasn’t to our advantage. We wanted to run. We wanted to get the lead and keep playing our game."

 

Asked about his team’s perimeter defense, Zaccari replied: “That’s definitely our game. Did we do it very well today? Yes, we did it very well today.”

 

Tiffin Columbian’s players will see Walsh’s pint-sized senior guard Kara Goliat in their sleep. Goliat collected 10 steals to along with 17 points and five assists.

 

Theriot let up on the pedal slightly after an 11-point, 3-assist first half and finished with 19 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

 

McNair drilled three 3-pointers and ended with 13 points, six rebounds, and two steals.

 

Walsh is striving to make amends for last year’s 50-48 loss to Wapakoneta in the regional final.

 

“Every since the buzzer went off, and that girl made that basket in overtime last year, I think our goal was to get back here and go even further this year,” McNair said. “So, that’s what’s driving us right now.”

 

The second half was more of the same. Walsh outscored Columbian 14-3 in the third quarter and led 52-21 going into the fourth.

 

“I thought Walsh did everything they needed to do to get us out of our flow,” Kisabeth said. “We never really got into any kind of offensive flow whatsoever.”

 

Walsh pounded the glass for 18 offensive rebounds and plenty of second-chance opportunities. In the meantime, Columbian coughed up 27 turnovers, many against full-court Walsh pressure.

 

Tiffin Columbian’s best player, 6-foot-2 senior Jill Stein, started the game 1-of-8 shooting from the floor and finished 2-of-11 with five points and six rebounds. Stein has committed to Bowling Green State University.