March 16, 2009

The 34th Annual State Girls Basketball Tournaments Preview

Action tips-off at 1 p.m. Thursday at Value City Arena in the Jerome Schottenstein Center with the Division IV and Division III semifinals, followed at 1 p.m. Friday with the Division II and Division I semis. Championship games start with Division IV playing at 10:45 a.m. Saturday.

The Division I field features one school that has built itself into a power this decade and three others looking for their first state titles. The first semifinal pits Canton McKinley against Cincinnati Mt. Notre Dame. McKinley (22-3) is making its third appearance in the state tournament and first since 1995. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 12, needed a game-winning three from senior Orlandriea Kirksey with four seconds remaining in their regional semifinal win over Twinsburg. There were no such dramatics in the regional finals, though, as freshman Ameryst Alston scored 14 points and McKinley forced 11 first-quarter turnovers in cruising to a 52-36 win over Mentor.

Mt. Notre Dame (25-1), the top-ranked team in the state, seeks its fourth straight title and has made it to the state tournament six consecutive times and seven overall.  The Cougars are the first Division I school to win three titles in a row and defeated Kettering Fairmont for the third time this season in their regional final, pulling away with a 52-35 win. Four seniors start for the Cougars, with center Kendall Hackney pacing the team with 13 points per game.

The second semifinal matches Toledo Start against West Chester Lakota West. Start (21-3) has never played in the state semifinals. University of Toledo-bound 6-foot-1 post player Yolanda Richardson had 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocked shots to lead the No. 11 Spartans in their regional semifinal win against Westlake. Defense was the name of the game in a 31-23 win over previously unbeaten Perrysburg in the regional finals. The Spartans closed the first half on a 14-2 run as Perrysburg scored just one field goal in the second quarter.

Lakota West (24-2) finished as runner-up in last year’s tournament. 6-foot-1 Duke recruit Alexis Rogers had 24 points and 10 rebounds in last year’s title game. The fifth-ranked squad in the AP poll, Lakota West defeated previously unbeaten and second-ranked Dublin Coffman in the regional finals for a second straight year as Rogers poured in 25 points. Four seniors and a junior make up the starting lineup for the Firebirds, with Rogers scoring over 15 points a game.

Division II also features a defending state champion, as well as a perennial power and another team that is making school history. One semifinal pits Wapakoneta against Warsaw River View. Junior forward Heidi Schlegel’s jumper with 3.5 seconds to go in overtime lifted Wapakoneta (24-1) to a 50-48 win over Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit. Schlegel had 19 points and nine boards in the victory, which makes this the first team in school history to reach the state tournament in any sport. Schlegel averages over 15 points per game to lead the No. 11 Redskins.

Warsaw River View knocked off rival Millersburg West Holmes 39-36 in their regional final matchup. Kari Daugherty (20 points) blocked a shot with less than 10 seconds and sank a free throw to seal the win. The seventh-ranked Lady Bears (23-2) have won four state championships, including back-to-back in 2006 and 2007. Overall, this is their sixth appearance in the state semifinals. Daugherty, a senior forward, scores 25.2 points per game.

Kettering Archbishop Alter squares off with Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown in the other semifinal in a rematch from the 2008 title game. The defending champs, Alter (24-2) defeated unbeaten and top-ranked Tipp City Tippecanoe 45-43 in overtime in the regional finals. Courtney Christie hit a jumper to force the extra session, then drilled the go-ahead three-pointer with 24 seconds to play in overtime. The Lady Knights are making their third overall appearance in the tournament and are the fifth-ranked team in the state.

No. 14 Hathaway Brown (19-6) rallied from a 10-0 deficit against Canton South in the regional finals to score a 61-52 victory. Junior Mylan Woods had 17 points and seven rebounds in the win. The Blazers are making their third straight and third overall appearance in the state tournament. Hathaway Brown finished as runner-up in their last two trips to Columbus and are led by Woods’ 16.4 points per game.

In Division III, three of the state’s top-five teams will compete for the title, as will the defending state champs. South Euclid Regina takes on Findlay Liberty-Benton in the first semifinal. Junior point guard Tay’ler Mingo had 21 points, six assists and five steals, and Regina (25-0) went on a 20-0 run to defeat unbeaten Smithville 62-41 in the regional finals. Regina, the second-ranked team in the state, has won its six tournament games by an average of 40 points. The Royals are the only school in the state to win four straight tournaments (2000-03) and they also won in 2005.

For Liberty-Benton (23-1), Amanda Hyde scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and the Eagles drilled seven three-pointers to roll to a 55-35 win over Castalia Margaretta in their regional finals. Liberty-Benton, the state’s fourth-ranked team, has never made it to the state semifinals. Four of the team’s five starters average over nine points per game for the Eagles, led by Hyde (21.4).

Oak Hill and Versailles face off in the other semifinal. The state’s fifth-ranked team, Oak Hill (24-1) fell behind South Point 11-0 in the opening minutes and trailed by nine into the second quarter before recovering in the second half for a 50-45 regional final win. The state runner-up in 2004, the Oaks’ average margin of victory was nearly 28 points per game this season, and they do not have a single senior in their starting five.

Unranked one year removed from their first state championship, the Versailles Tigers (18-8) rolled off runs of 15-3 and 15-4 to seize control over Middletown Madison Senior in their regional final contest, coming away with a 43-31 victory. The Tigers are making their third straight trip and fifth overall to the state tournament, with senior Emily Frey leading the team in scoring (11.6 points per game).

In Division IV, three of the top four teams in the state have reached Columbus and will vie for the championship.  The first semifinal has Convoy Crestview matched up with Columbus Africentric Early College. The top-ranked team in the state, Crestview (25-0) is making its second-straight and fourth overall appearance. The Knights held Cincinnati Seven Hills scoreless in the second quarter en route to a 37-19 win to reach the state tournament again. Crestview already defeated No. 3 New Bremen and No. 5 Delphos St. John’s in the district tournament, and the Knights allow their opposition just 25.4 points per game.

The fourth-ranked Nubians (21-4) jumped to a 20-0 lead over Columbus Harvest Preparatory and rolled to a 61-35 regional final win. Raven Ferguson and Shardai Morrison-Fountain combined for 39 points for Africentric. This is the third consecutive and third overall state appearance for the Nubians, who won in 2007 and finished as runner-up in 2008. Just a sophomore, Ferguson leads the team in scoring at 19.6 points per game.

The other semifinal has defending champs Berlin Hiland squaring off with Carey. Hiland (25-1) outscored Cleveland Heights Lutheran East 29-10 in the fourth quarter of their regional final matchup to break open what had been a one-point game, pulling away with a 63-43 victory. The four-time state champs are making their seventh appearance in the state tournament since 1999 and are ranked No. 2 in the state. The lone senior in Hiland’s starting five, Karli Mast averages 15 points per game.

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Contact Scott Miles: [email protected]