Walker leads CJ to upset of Alter in girls basketball

FAIRBORN — Samarie Walker told herself, “Enough.”

The Chaminade Julienne High School senior had lost two straight girls high school basketball games to rival Alter, and entered the fourth quarter down 36-35.

“I told myself at the end of the third, ‘This is my time.’ I had to step up and that’s what I did,” the University of Connecticut recruit said.

Walker responded with 10 of her team’s 17 points in the fourth quarter and blocked a couple shots to help CJ upset Alter 50-42 on Friday, Jan. 29. The win snapped Alter’s 17-game regular-season winning streak — including 15 straight this season.

Walker had 22 points, 20 rebounds (14 defensive) and three blocks.

Alter (15-1, 6-1 Girls Greater Cincinnati League Grey North) entered ranked No. 1 in both the Division II state poll and Dayton Daily News rankings. CJ (12-5, 6-2 GGCL) was No. 4 in the DDN and No. 14 in the state.

Alter won the first meeting 46-45 on Dec. 16, but CJ made sure this outcome was different with improved and aggressive defense and determination. The Eagles held the Knights scoreless for 4:30 in the fourth quarter, and capped the win by hitting 9 of 11 free throws over the final 2:47.

“You have to have confidence you can compete with someone,” CJ first-year coach Duane Williams said of getting over any mental hurdles. “If we lose this game, another tough one down the stretch, we can say we’re capable (of beating Alter) but are they going to believe me?”

Simmone Gage added 11 points and Sierra Gage 10 for CJ. Ashley Christie led Alter with 14 points and Allison Bockrath added seven points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a game that saw 14 lead changes.

The loss stung, but Alter figured one was coming sooner or later.

“We never expected to be undefeated,” Alter coach Chris Hart said. “If we’ve gone undefeated we tell our kids we haven’t done a good job scheduling. We want to be challenged. ... One thing about our kids this year is we learn from wins. And you always learn a lot from a loss. If we recommit and refocus it could be a good thing.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2400, ext. 6991, or 
gbilling@DaytonDailyNews.com.