Day 2 CITC matchups
By ELLIOTT SCHREINER
BERLIN — Here’s a capsule look at Day Two at the Classic in the Country V.
Cin. Princeton vs. Copley (noon)
Sunday could be dubbed Cincinnati-day as the Classic will host a bevy of teams from the state’s biggest river town.
Starting the festivities will be 6-foot-2 Jayne Cox and the Vikings, fresh off a big win over Toledo Central Catholic. Princeton brings a pair of Ohio’s top 50 seniors and a top-50 sophomore.
That could all spell trouble for Copley, the first team to beat Hiland at the Classic back in 2004. Brittany Powell and 6-foot-2 Beth Mantkowski are a formidable inside-outside pair that could help the Indians continue their CITC success.
Cin. Winton Woods vs. Reynoldsburg (1:45 p.m.)
The Warriors will try to make it a perfect weekend after a Saturday 60-47 win over Wadsworth. Once again, they’ll play the second game of the day.
It could very well happen as one of the weekend’s best starting fives take the floor, all of them ranked in the top 50 in their respective classes.
The Raiders are newcomers to the CITC and they will no doubt be greeted rudely by Winton Woods, Classic veterans playing their eighth game at Hiland.
Three starters return from last season’s 18-6 squad, including T’Shera Lucas, one of the state’s top sophomores. They’ll be up against a Winton Woods team that’s beaten opponents by an average of 27 points per game this season.
S. Euclid Regina vs. Sandusky Perkins (3:30 p.m.)
It wouldn’t be a far fetch to say this one will pit the eventual Div. II champion, Perkins, against eventual Div. III champion Regina. Time will tell if that comes to fruition, but one thing is sure: both are loaded.
The best small player at the Classic, Regina guard Shay Selby (25.4 ppg, 6.2 apg), will go against Perkins’ 6-foot-5 Cierra Bravard (21.1 ppg, 9.5 rpg). Selby is headed for ACC power Duke, while Bravard will suit up for rival Florida State at this time next season.
They’ve got some running mates, though. Tay’ler Mingo is the sophomore equivalent of Selby for Regina. The Pirates will counter with senior Trisha Krewson and junior Bethany Caudill, both top 50 Ohio players.
Lakota West vs. Toledo Central Catholic (5:15 p.m.)
Welcome to Columbus, er, Berlin.
Two teams that could see each other at state in Div. I will get up-close looks at each other.
Lakota West has one of the best inside tandems in the nation in Tennessee-bound post Amber Gray (17.1 ppg and junior Alexis Rogers, the No. 2 junior forward in the country.
Never fear, though, TCC fans, the Irish are equally as loaded. They return five starters off a team that played in the regional finals a season ago, and appear to be among the cream of the crop in northwestern Ohio this year.
Both teams are coming off Saturday losses. One will get a Classic win, the other will go away empty-handed.
Cin. Mt. Notre Dame vs. Toledo Waite (7:00 p.m.)
The defending Div. I state champions are as good as it gets after returning all five starters off last year’s 23-4 team. They’ve had a say in Div. I for a while, winning three of the last four, finishing runners-up in 2005. The best could be yet to come for the Cougars, who have just two seniors on this season’s team.
But Waite isn’t likely to back down. That’s thanks to 6-foot-3 Natasha Howard (16.5 ppg, 11.8 rpg), the No. 3 sophomore in all the country at any position. Look for Howard to become another Classic player that goes on to dominate in college.
It’ll likely take dominance for her and the Indians to bump MND. But, hey, they knocked off Toledo Central Catholic (No. 5, Div. I) Thursday. Anything’s possible.
N. Canton Hoover vs. Lexington (Ky.) Catholic (8:45 p.m.)
Hoover usually plays the toughest schedule of any team in Ohio. The CITC has helped them boost that this season, sending them to battle with the Knights, the No. 9 team in the latest USA Today top 25.
Hoover has one of the most solid post duos around in 6-foot-3 Kyle Baumgartner and six-foot Brittany Orban (25 ppg, 13 rpg).
Lex will counter with the best backcourt duo Kentucky has to offer. Notre Dame-bound Natalie Novosel (19.5 ppg) is one of the best off guards in the country, while Briana Young ranks as the No. 24 point guard nationally.
The Knights have bumped Hoover the last two times they’ve faced. This’ll be a good chance to even things up with a bit of a home-court advantage.