New Philadelphia enters this afternoon’s girls high school basketball Division II state semifinal clash unranked against No. 6 Toledo Rogers, and will play the role of underdog for just the second time this season.
The Quakers and Rams share several similarities. Each comes into contest with 25 wins and unblemished conferences records. New Philadelphia is 25-2 overall and finished 14-0 in the East Central Ohio League, while the Rams are 25-3 and were 12-0 in the Toledo City Athletic League.
They also share a similar playing style, as far as being defensive-minded teams who like to pressure the ball. Add their size to protect the rim on the back end, and it helps make them more formidable defensively.
Being close knit, and having family oriented atmospheres surround their teams is a quality often overlooked as a contributor to team success.
Both are battle tested.
New Philadelphia’s schedule featured perennial solid Division I schools, while Rogers played an array of top out-of-state teams.
“We played a lot of out-of-state competition, and I think it prepared us well for the run through the tourney this year,” said Rams head coach Lamar Smith. “Zai (Cooke) really wanted this as well, making a state Final Four was something she hadn’t done yet.”
“We scheduled a lot of Division I schools since our conference (ECOL) is made up of Division II and III teams,” said Quakers head coach Tracy Payne. “I think being battle tested helped us prepare for the tournament.”
Both the Quakers and Rams boast First Team All-Ohio players.
For The Quakers, it’s Aaliyah Currence, who averages 19.5 points per game. For the Rams, it’s Zai Cooke, who averages 25.6 points per game. Cooke also played on the U.S. National Team, and participated in several overseas tournaments. The versatile Cooke is the Rams' point guard and primary scorer -- doing so in a variety of ways.
Rogers brings a lot more height to the court than New Philadelphia does. The Rams have two 6-foot-1 post players who start and play well down low, and another 6-footer who comes off the bench.
New Philadelphia will offset that with a quicker back court, and more pure 3-point shooters, giving them an advantage in depth. The Quakers will need to keep the turnovers down and shoot well from behind the arc to advance to the finals Saturday at 5:15 p.m. against the winner of the semifinal between Gates Mills Gilmour Academy and Bellbrook.
After the respective leading scorers for the Quakers and Rams, New Philadelphia balances out with six or seven girls who can score in double figures in any given game. Rogers relies on 5-foot-11 freshman guard Madison Royal-Davis as the secondary scorer, averaging just over 18 points per contest.
“Madison has been consistent all year long. She didn’t start the first six games, but her play made it to where I couldn’t keep her out of the lineup any longer,” said Smith.
The Rams also bring more championship experience, as Smith has coached the school to three Final Four appearances (2018, 2015, 2014). The Rams haven't won a state championship, but were runners-up in 2015. During his eight years at the school, he has posted a 171-44 record.
For Coach Payne and the Quakers it's their first Final Four appearance in school history. In her second year as head coach, Payne's teams tallied a 46-7 record.