NORWALK — You had to think it was a bad omen when the Admiral King girls fell behind Toledo Central Catholic 10-0 on Wednesday night. And 20-4 late in the first quarter.
Nor did it inspire confidence in Admirals fans when by halftime they had put up more turnovers than points, 17-14. It might have been the final clue when the Admirals took the court for the second half headed for the wrong end of the floor.
It just wasn’t their night.
Ninth-ranked Toledo Central Catholic took advantage of all that befell Admiral King’s best team in years and posted a 57-42 victory in a Division I regional semifinal. It was the first berth in a Sweet 16 for an Admirals girls team since 1982 and only the second in the history of the program.
Not that it matters, but Admiral King won the second half, 28-26.
“They jumped on us and we struggled overcoming ourselves,” said Admirals coach Cheryl Bansek, whose team finished 21-3 and won Lake Erie League division, sectional and district titles along the way. “We were not willing to make adjustments.”
The most glaring example was that the Admirals finished with 35 turnovers, many of them resulting from Central Catholic’s half-court trap.
Time and again the Admirals crossed midcourt, headed for a sideline and were instantly trapped by at least two — and sometimes three — defenders. Quick math could have told them the trap left teammates unguarded on the other side.
“We knew,” said Bansek. “We could see it, the bench could see it. But that was difficult for us. I just told the girls, ‘That team was better than us today, so they deserve to win.’ That doesn’t mean we didn’t have a great season. I mean, Sweet 16. Only 16 teams can say that. I told them they have nothing to hang their heads about.”
It was an unhappy end to the high school career of Kinesia Thorpe, King’s talented point guard, leading scorer and an all-star at several levels. Thorpe was held to eight points, four in each half, and she fouled out with 52 seconds left in her final game.
“I feel good even though we lost tonight, because we had a great season,” Thorpe said. “Even though we couldn’t go to state, we had our district championship. That’s OK.”
Thorpe’s mother, Jackie Lewis, played on the school’s only other district winner and Bansek was her freshman teammate.
Central Catholic’s Fighting Irish (22-3) led 20-6 after eight minutes as seniors Danielle Lewis and Katelyn Nowacki scored all the points, 12 by Nowacki. They carried a 31-14 lead into the second half. The teams played to a 15-all tie in the third quarter and Admiral King won the fourth, 13-11.
Nowacki finished with a game-high 16 points and Sharise Calhoun added 15. Calhoun scored 13 in the second half. Junior Sharde Little scored a team-high 12 points and was the only Admiral King player to score in double figures. Junior Shalanda Harvey contributed nine.
The Irish move on to Friday’s 7:30 p.m. regional final against 10th-ranked Solon (21-3). Solon dispatched Marion Harding in Wednesday’s first game, 44-32. Harding (23-2) had been ranked seventh in the state.  

Central Catholic 57, Admiral King 42

CENTRAL CATHOLIC (57): Sierra Calhoun 0-0-0, Kristen Murmen 0-0-0, Lauren Farrell 1-0-2, Ashley Sujkowski 0-0-0, Emily Sifuentes 0-0-0, Ashley Frazier 1-2-4, Danielle Lewis 4-0-8, Sharise Calhoun 7-1-15, Katelyn Nowacki 8-0-16, Paige Weaver 3-0-9, Lauren Pfahler 0-0-0, Valerie Gang 0-0-0, Brianna Jones 1-1-3. Totals: 25-4-57.
ADMIRAL KING (42): Drekia Mahone 2-0-5, Jillian Van Wagnen 0-4-4, Sharde Little 6-0-12, Dominique Higginbotham 1-0-2, Shalanda Harvey 3-3-9, Sheral Robinson 0-0-0, Jade Blair 0-0-0, Kinesia Thorpe 2-4-8, I’esha Holley 1-0-2, Ivory Smith 0-0-0, Zenaida Nettles 0-0-0. Totals 15-11-42.
Central Catholic     20    11    15    11    —    63
Admiral King    6    8    15    13    —    52
Three-point goals: Central Catholic 3-5 (Weaver 3); Adm. King 1-6 (Mahone). Field goals: Central Catholic 25-53 (47.2 percent); Adm. King 22-54 (40.7 percent). Free throws: Central Catholic 4-17; Adm. King 11-18. Rebounds: Central Catholic 30; Adm. King 39. Turnovers: Central Catholic 16; Adm. King 35. Fouled out: Thorpe.

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