It was a showdown the Cincinnati area waited for all season.
When the
Princeton (Cincinnati) vs.
Sycamore (Cincinnati) girls' basketball game arrived in the middle of last week, it was the home team and preseason favorite Vikings who took advantage of the opportunity. Princeton, ranked No. 1 in the Cincinnati Enquirer
area coaches' poll, defeated league rival and No. 2-ranked Sycamore 64-52 in a Greater Miami Conference game on Wednesday.
Princeton improved to 9-0 overall (5-0 in the GMC) and gained sole possession of the league standings. Sycamore's record dropped to 9-1 and 6-1 in the league. It was the first and only time the teams are scheduled to play during the regular season.
Princeton defeated Colerain 61-48 on Saturday, while Sycamore lost to Lakota West 42-34.
Princeton (10-0), which was voted the preseason Division I favorite by Cincinnati-area coaches, figures to be among the top teams in the state when the first Associated Press poll is released this week. Princeton was led by senior center
Neschelle Williams (Ball State commit), who had 21 points and 11 rebounds against the Aviators.
"It was a group effort," Williams told the Enquirer. "When the opportunity came to me, I took it."
Freshman guard
Kelsey Mitchell had 19 points, four rebounds and four assists.
"In 29 years, she's the best freshman I've ever seen," Sycamore coach Paula Hayden told the Enquirer. "She's the real deal."
Sycamore (9-2) was led by senior guard
Ashley Schaefer, who had 13 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard
Chloe Pavlech (Maryland commit) had eight points and eight rebounds.
LAKOTA EAST BOYS STAY PERFECTThe
Lakota East (Liberty Township) boys' basketball team improved to 9-0 on Saturday night with a 64-45 win at Woodward. Sophomore guard Stedman Lowry had 15 points and five rebounds to lead the Thunderhawks. It was the second win in two nights for Lakota East, which defeated league rival Middletown 67-39 on Friday night. Senior guard Michael Boyd had a game-high 17 points in that game. Lakota East plays at Fairfield on Jan. 14.
ST. URSULA FIELD HOCKEY COACH WINS NATIONAL AWARDSt. Ursula Academy (Cincinnati) field hockey coach Sarah Catlin won a National Coach of the Year award from the field hockey website, TopofTheCircle.com, according to the school. Catlin, who finished her second season as the Bulldogs' coach this past fall, led St. Ursula to its first state field hockey title in October.
TOP STANDOUTS* Kaitlyn Gerrety, McAuley girls' basketball: The senior center had 14 points and 14 rebounds in a 40-31 win over visiting Anderson on Monday, according to the Enquirer
. Gerrety, who is committed to play at Northern Kentucky University, was the leading scorer in the Girls' Greater Cincinnati League at 19 points per game as of last week.
* Ronni Grandison, Lakota West girls' basketball: The senior forward had 15 points, three rebounds and two steals as the Firebirds won their fifth consecutive game – a 56-49 win over visiting St. Ursula. Grandison, who is the daughter of former NBA player Ronnie Grandison, is verbally committed to play at Massachusetts.
* Ana Richter, Cincinnati Christian girls' basketball: The freshman had a game-high 21 points as Cincinnati Christian defeated Middletown Christian 37-23, according to the Hamilton Journal-News.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE* Taft (Cincinnati) at Winton Woods (Cincinnati) boys' basketball, 7:30 p.m. Monday: These two teams meet in a highly anticipated matchup to start the week. Winton Woods leads the Fort Ancient Valley Conference West Division at the start of the week. Senior guard
Dennis Thomas averages 17.2 points for the Warriors. Taft, ranked No. 1 in the Cincinnati Enquirer
Divisions II-IV poll, is led by juniors
Adolphus Washington and
Dwayne Stanford.
* Southwest Ohio High School Swimming and Diving Classic, Saturday and Sunday: The annual event features 3,200 swimmers and divers at several locations. The finals are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at St. Xavier. The diving finals will be held at 9 a.m. Sunday at the University of Cincinnati.
* Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) at St. Xavier (Cincinnati) basketball, 7:30 p.m. Friday: These Greater Catholic League South division rivals renew their rivalry. St. X needs to win to stay competitive in the league standings. Moeller has won eight consecutive regular-season games against the Bombers. The teams next play Feb. 4 at Moeller.
RECRUITING NEWSThe Kent State basketball program is recruiting Roger Bacon senior center
Jared Bryant; he has offers from Bowling Green, James Madison and Wright State.
RANDOM THOUGHTSLa Salle basketball coach Dan Fleming recently won his 300th career game at the school. Fleming is in his 21st season at the school. … Baseball and softball pitchers and catchers may begin practice on Feb. 21 per Ohio High School Athletic Association rules.
(Information from the Cincinnati Enquirer, Hamilton Journal-News, Pulse Journal, ScoutingOhio.com and Dayton Daily News was used in this report)
