Reynoldsburg girls basketball is again a state power in Ohio

The Reynoldsburg girls basketball team is proving that its first run to the Division I state tournament last season might have an encore this winter.

After losing to eventual state champion Canton McKinley 42-39 in a state semifinal last March, the Raiders lost three starters, including all-time leading scorer T'Shera Lucas, to graduation.

Last Friday, however, Reynoldsburg completed a season sweep of perennial area power Pickerington North (Pickerington) with a 59-47 victory that improved its record to 16-1. The Raiders' only loss came Nov. 27 to Fairmont (Kettering).

Fairmont was fifth in last week's state poll and Reynoldsburg was sixth.

"We're over the hump now," Raiders coach Jack Purtell told the Columbus Dispatch after his team beat Pickerington North. "It used to be such a psychological thing for us. There is not as much pressure on our players as before."

Senior point guard Kacia Grant and sophomore post player Destini Cooper are returnees from a year ago. Cooper finished with 13 points and three blocked shots and combined with freshman post player Alyssa Rice, who added four blocks, to help the Raiders win a physical battle with the Panthers.

Junior Aliyah Zantt has taken on an increased role after coming off the bench last season and scored a game-high 24 points. Sophomore Shiloh Murphy, a transfer from Zanesville, and junior Adesuwa Aideyman added nine and four points, respectively.

Pickerington North senior Kavunaa Edwards, who has signed with Villanova, finished with 23 points.

"We had a pretty good game from Aliyah Zantt," Purtell told the Dispatch. "She just lifts our team. She changes our personality somehow."

The Raiders should earn the top seed for the coming Central District tournament at the seeding meeting which will be held Sunday. They were seeded sixth last season when they eventually won their first district title in 19 years.

WADSWORTH WRESTLES WAY TO TITLE
The Wadsworth wrestling team won its home Grizzly Invitational Tournament for the 10th consecutive season last Saturday as the event celebrated its 25th season.

The Grizzlies' Kagan Squire (125 pounds), Alfredo Gray (130), Christian Baughman (135), Nate Ball (140), Sheldon Brandenburg (160) and Nick Tavanello (215) all won titles at the 12-team event.

Wadsworth scored 398 points, while Olentangy Liberty (Powell) finished second with 244 points and Howland (Warren) was third (243.5).

TOP PERFORMERS
* Stevie Taylor, Lincoln (Gahanna) boys basketball: Taylor became his school's all-time leading scorer during a 65-36 victory over Lancaster on Jan. 25. Taylor scored 13 points against the Gales and has 1,287 for his career.

* Chauncey Orr, Bowling Green boys basketball: Bowling Green senior Chauncey Orr finished with 19 points last Friday during an 85-44 victory over Rossford. His performance helped him become the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,258 points as the Bobcats improved to 12-2.

* Alexis Guy, Laurel (Shaker Heights) girls basketball: Guy shot 10-for-18 from the floor and made seven of nine free throws on the way to finishing with 27 points during a 52-38 win over Richmond Heights last Thursday. Guy also added 13 rebounds, five steals and three blocked shots.

COMING THIS WEEK
* Firestone (Akron) at Lorain, girls basketball: The Firestone girls basketball team, which was seventh in last week's Division I state poll, should have one of its tougher tests of the regular season when it travels to Lorain at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Falcons are 15-0 and Lorain has a 13-3 record.

* Lincoln (Gahanna) at Pickerington North, boys basketball: The second-ranked Lincoln boys basketball team will travel to Pickerington North on Friday looking for its 45th consecutive regular-season victory. The Lions beat the Panthers 61-41 on Dec. 22.

* St. Edward Super Quad, wrestling: The state's top-ranked St. Edward (Lakewood) wrestlers will be host to Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.), Kiski School (Saltsburg, Pa.) and Wyoming Seminary College Prep (Kingston, Pa.) on Saturday in the St. Edward Super Quad. Blair Academy, St. Edward and Wyoming Seminary all are ranked among the top 25 in the nation according to HSWrestling.net.

BRIEFLY
Brookhaven (Columbus) girls basketball coach Reggie Lee has confirmed that this will be his final season. He has more than 500 wins in 30 seasons with the Bearcats and led the program to the 1996 Division I state championship.

Jarrod Ulrey covers Central and Northern Ohio for MaxPreps.com. He covers prep sports for ThisWeekSPORTS.com and can be reached at julrey@thisweeknews.com.