Centennial girls maintain control

The following is a true story.

On Dec. 3, as Beechcroft was dominating its number one rival, Northland in Columbus City League action, there was a conversation between two spectators.

One of the men said, "It looks like [Beechcroft] is gonna win the City." He was impressed as the speedy chaotic Cougars capitalized on nearly ever Northland mistake. The second spectator, warned the first, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Centennial still has Kennedy Houston."

For those of you who don't know, Centennial is the reigning Columbus City League champion for girls basketball. Kennedy Houston is one of Columbus' most special players of this decade. Prior to Houston's arrival, Africentric was the standard of the City League. Over her first two years in high school, Centennial went 34-5 with two appearances in the City League Championship game. Earlier this year, Centennial ended Africentric's nine-year reign as City League champs.

It was easy for the spectator to be convinced that Beechcroft had an answer for Houston. The Cougars have a freshman guard who in some ways mirrors Houston, now a junior. Beechcroft's Shandrella Balima is off to a fantastic start during her high school rookie season. She scored 15 points in each of her team's first two games and has been the most exciting and consistent player for Beechcroft thus far.

Her captivating play on offense and defense almost lifted Beechcroft to a win in a two-point loss to Bexley. She continued her brilliance on both sides of the floor and it was too much for Northland to handle.

Entering the game at 1-1, Beechcroft hoped that Balima's impact would slow down Houston and all of the other championship level players in a Centennial uniform.

On Dec. 5, visiting Beechcroft watched as Centennial had multiple pre-game celebrations on its home floor. One banner was presented for the 2024-25 City League Championship. A second banner was given to Houston for being named Player of the Year in the Central District. Then a third banner was held by Centennial head coach Earnest Bell who was named USA Today and District 10 Coach of the Year.

Once the game started Beechcroft was able to see how they measured up to the defending champs. Things didn't start out too bad as both teams scored in the first minute and were locked at 2-2. Later in the opening quarter Balima grabbed a rebound, raced up the court and scored for Beechcroft as it trailed 13-6. It looked like the Cougars had a shot to keep things close. Right after Balima scored, her new nemesis, Houston sneaked beyond the Beechcroft defense only to catch a long pass before scoring on a layup while being fouled.

A steal by Jayla Benjamin, who got an assist after finding Nileah Knight for a layup stretched Centennial's first quarter lead to 17-6. Beechcroft's freshman center who has shown flashes of brilliance powered her way to the basket on the next possession as the Cougars clung on with hopes to cutting into the deficit. Those hopes were crushed as Chloe Perkins got a steal for Centennial. She got the ball to Knight who passed it to Houston who was waiting in the corner before nailing a three-pointer.

That basket seemed to be the beginning of the end for Beechcroft. Houston's three-pointer made the score 20-8 shortly before the end of the first quarter. Before the start of the second quarter, Centennial had yet another celebration. That three-pointer put Houston at 1,000 career points.

"It just feels good to know that the things that I do as I'm practicing and training can translate into my game, and I'm seeing it," Houston said after the contest.

Houston's 1,000th point celebration included a presentation of balloons. She and her family which included her parents and brother Kevin, who is an assistant coach on the team briefly posed for photos as the audience applauded before the start of the second period.

From there, Centennial never lost control of the game. Houston scored 11 of her 14 points in the first quarter. After the opening period, it was her teammates that put in dominant offensive performances. Junior guard Isabel Tucker gave Beechcroft problems in the second and third quarters. She scored 14 of her 18 points during those two periods. Tucker had 18 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals and two assists in the 64-27 Centennial victory.

Knight, who transferred from Reynoldsburg, led Centennial with 21 points. She had a 10-point third quarter as the Stars outscored Beechcroft 23-5 in the penultimate period.

The Beechcroft offense was stalled for most of the night. Balima had three baskets in the first quarter. She never scored another field goal for the rest of the game. Balima led Beechcroft with nine points. Centennial did a strong job of stopping Sha'Mya Dukes who entered the game averaging 17.5 points in the first two contests. The senior scored all of her three points in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.

The following day, Centennial went on to compete against Marysville at a neutral site. The Stars suffered its first defeat of the season in a 56-49 loss. Houston posted 32 points in the defeat. This is just the sixth defeat in 42 games for Houston as a member of the Centennial girls basketball program.

Centennial (2-1) will host Linden-McKinley (2-3) in Columbus City League competition, Dec. 9. Beechcroft (1-2) will travel to face league foe East.

Columbus Academy outlasts Northland

On Saturday night, Dec. 6, Columbus Academy (1-2) earned a hard fought 48-41 victory over Northland (0-2) at Northside Christian Academy.

Academy entered the game led by senior guard Jason Singleton, who scored 70 points in the team's first two contests. Against Northland, Charlie Rubey's outside shooting saved the day and delivered Academy its first win of the year. Rubey scored 19 points while making four triples. The game's biggest narrative is how a previously unknown to most from Northland made it a difficult night for Academy's usual top scorer.

Charlie Johnson, a sophomore at Northland, spent most of the night sticking to Singleton like glue. He started guarding Singleton before he had the ball and made it hard for the Academy players to pass it to their star teammate.

Johnson is well under 5-10. He constantly harassed Singleton, listed at 6-4. Singleton gave credit to Johnson and Northland's plan to slow him down following the game. Singleton scored his only two field goals in the first quarter. Those baskets came on two rare occasions when Johnson wasn't covering him. Singleton, who entered the game averaging 35 points, scored a total of eight against Northland. Johnson finished with seven points.

The defensive scheme kept Northland, who was undersized, in the fight as it entered the fourth quarter trailing 37-34 to Academy who was a state runner-up during the 2024-25 season.

Northland was led in scoring by Diante James who posted 17 of his 21 points in the second half. The Vikings saw the return of forward Owan Mburugu after missing the opening game. He scored nine points. Northland will return to Columbus City League competition, with games against International and Centennial on Dec. 9 and Dec. 12 respectively.

Northland hopes that center Pharoahe Zaire will return to action during the week. The six-foot-nine, 350-pound junior transferred from International, where he competed as a freshman before sitting out during his 10th grade year. He elected to play in the Columbus Park and Recreation 18U League last season. Zaire has been out with a broken foot.

Academy's next game is at Worthington Christian on Dec. 9.