Beavercreek coach Ed Zink reportedly had to fight back the tears when the buzzer sounded, but when he became Ohio's all-time winningest girls basketball coach recently, it was cause for celebration, according to the Dayton Daily News.
Beavercreek defeated Springfield 57-33 earlier this month to give Zink his 658th career win in 36 seasons and sole possession of the No. 1 spot all-time in the Buckeye State.
Beavercreek junior guard
Jacey Hardinstein had 14 points, nine assists and four rebounds and senior forward
Shelby Maloney had 13 points to lift Beavercreek in its historic win on Feb. 10.
"As a senior it's great to be on the team which broke the record," Maloney told the publication.
Zink passed
Lutheran West (Rocky River) coach Karen Wittrock, who was 657-198 through the 2009-10 season, according to the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
"It's a big relief," Zink told the Dayton Daily News. "So many people have been so great to us the last couple of weeks at the different games we've been to. And the crowd following us had been great. Looking up there when the buzzer sounded and seeing all those "658" signs and T-shirts. I was fighting back the tears."
Beavercreek's season ended Wednesday night with a 52-48 loss to
Xenia in the Division I sectional tournament.
MaxPreps Ohio girls basketball Freeman RankingsALLY MALOTT NAMED McDONALD'S ALL AMERICANMiddletown Madison senior forward
Allyson Malott was recently named a McDonald's All-American. The 6-foot-3 standout will play in the all-star game on March 30 at the United Center in Chicago. Malott, who has signed with the University of Dayton, is the only Ohio player on the girls team. She is the first Cincinnati-area player since Amber Gray (now at Xavier) in 2008 to be named to the McDonald's All-American team. Chaminade-Julienne standout Samarie Walker (now at Kentucky) was named to the team last year.
MIDDLETOWN TAKES DOWN MOELLER BOYSJunior guard
Geovonie McKnight had a game-high 24 points and senior center
Kirby Wright came off the bench to score 20 points to lead host
Middletown past No. 1-state ranked Moeller 65-45 on Tuesday night. Moeller was led by
Josh Davenport with 17 points. "This is a great win," Wright told the Middletown Journal. "We came in and worked hard and we played like we were No. 1 in the state." Middletown improved to 15-4 after the game, while Moeller dropped to 18-1. "We stuck to our game plan," Middletown coach Bob Ronai told the publication. "We had to keep them from penetrating and then scramble to their shooters, which we did all night long."
MaxPreps Ohio boys basketball Freeman RankingsTOP STANDOUTS* Raeshaun Gaffney, Fairfield girls basketball: The junior guard had 20 points, nine steals, seven assists and six rebounds in a 80-30 win over Middletown in a Division I sectional game. Gaffney, who is verbally committed to Virginia, averaged 26.7 points after the game.
* Taylor Courtney, Reading girls basketball: The senior center had 16 points in a 57-28 win over Shroder in a Division III sectional game at Fairfield, according to the Enquirer.
* Danni Scholl, Oak Hills girls basketball: The senior guard had 14 points, three rebounds and three assists in a 49-35 loss to Withrow in a Division I sectional game. Scholl averaged 16.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.2 assists this season.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE* State swimming and diving, Wednesday-Saturday (Feb. 23-26): The annual state swimming and diving meet will be held at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton. Several southwest Ohio individuals and teams should be in contention. The Division I boys diving begins Wednesday morning, with the Division II girls competition in the afternoon. The swimming finals are Saturday night.
* District bowling, Friday and Saturday (Feb. 25-26): The district boys bowling tournament is Friday morning at Eastern Lanes in Middletown. The district girls bowling tournament is Saturday. Glen Este and Oak Hills are among the top boys in Cincinnati. Mercy is considered to be the top-ranked girls team in Cincinnati.
* Kings (Kings Mill) vs. Lakota West (West Chester) boys basketball, Saturday (Feb. 26): This is an interesting matchup in the first round of the Division I sectional tournament. This game is the second of four games at Mason that day. Kings has been led by senior forward
Jonny Brewster, who averages about 12 points and 6.5 rebounds. Lakota West sophomore forward
Monty Boykins averages about 14.2 points and four rebounds. He has an early offer from Miami University.
RANDOM THOUGHTSBaseball and softball pitchers and catchers may begin practice next week across the state of Ohio. The baseball and softball seasons begin March 28. … Indian Hill senior guard
Nicole Bell recently scored her 1,000th point. She is verbally committed to Ball State. … Fayetteville senior guard
Shelby Sheets holds school records for assists, free throws attempted, free throws made and was second in steals and scoring at the start of the postseason. …
Georgetown girls basketball coach Bernie Cropper recently won his 400th career game, according to the Enquirer. After Georgetown's win over Felicity on Feb. 8, Cropper had a record of 400-170 in 15 seasons.
