After jumping ahead by 30-plus points, the Pickerington Central girls basketball team never looked back in its 57-42 win over visiting Grove City Friday, Jan. 8.

"I was a little disappointed we didn't finish like we should have," said Tigers coach Wade Brockwell. "We let (the lead) get back down to 15. We played some extra kids and tried some new things.

"But I thought mentally they were there for a majority of the game, and it helped maybe build some confidence and stuff as we move forward to the second half of the season."

The win evened Central's record at 5-5, and gave them a 4-3 Ohio Capital Conference Ohio Division mark at the expense of the Greyhounds, a meeting that ended the first round of league games.
"Obviously, we haven't gotten as many wins as we had hoped to," Brockwell said. "But right now what we have is we have games where we have been close in and things haven't gone our way. Our schedule is pretty difficult."

The team's five losses have come to opponents who have a combined record of 37-5, including three who were undefeated.

"This hopefully is going to help us for the stretch run, getting ready for January and into February when the (postseason) tournament starts," the coach said. "We've always felt like January is the time when the good teams get much better."

Round two of OCC play is scheduled to begin Thursday, Jan. 14, when the Tigers travel to Reynoldsburg for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.