THE GAMES: Cleveland St. Ignatius (27-4) vs. Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller (24-6), Thursday, 4 p.m. Lakewood St. Edward (22-6) vs. West Chester Lakota West (26-1), Thursday, 7 p.m. The winners play Saturday at 1 p.m.THE SKINNY: Neighborhood rivals from Cleveland join two perennial Southwest Ohio powers for what seems to be a wide-open Final Four. Though three parochial schools have advanced to Columbus, the lone public representative - Lakota West - happens to be the defending state champ and would probably be considered a slight favorite to repeat the feat.The neighborhood theme, though, goes deeper than just the possibility of a St. Edward-St. Ignatius final. Moeller defeated its archrival, St. Xavier, in last week's regional semifinals, 9-5, before holding off Lakota East - the neighborhood rival of its state semifinal opponent - by the same score a day later.Lakota West went the Columbus route for its regional and won a trip ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Freshman guard Kathryn Reynolds hit a layup at the buzzer — it'll be debated for years that it may have come after it — to give Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame its third consecutive Division I state championship Monday night with a heart-stopping 69-67 victory over West Chester Lakota West. Video replays appeared to show the ball still in Reynolds' hand as the neon light flashed on the backboard, which usually coincides with the final buzzer. Gabby Smith had stripped the ball from Lakota West's Tessa Elkins as Elkins drove in for a potential winning layup in the closing seconds. Ashley Fowler flipped a long pass to Reynolds, alone behind the defense, who dribbled to the basket in a race with the clock and a frantic Firebird defender. The basket touched off a wild celebration by MND (26-2), the state's No. 2-ranked team. The Cougars became the ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Courtney Chihil scored 18 points and Kettering Alter forced 26 turnovers in beating Columbus Mifflin 45-31 Thursday, earning a bit of payback for the last time the teams met in the Division II state semifinals. The seventh-ranked Knights (24-3) advance to Saturday's championship game to meet the team that lost in last year's final, Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown. The Blazers (22-4) moved on with a 68-58 overtime win over Lima Bath in the first semifinal. Alter won its 11th in a row with a tenacious pressure defense that caused the Punchers (20-5) problems all day. Chihil, a second-team Associated Press All-Ohioan, directed traffic and kept the Knights on track. She hit 7-of-10 shots from the field, including 2-of-3 3-pointers. Meghan Waterman chipped in with 11 points. Amber Arter was the leading scorer for unranked Mifflin, which had won its last 13 games, with eight points. The ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Alexis Dobbs scored eight of her 12 points in the last 1:46 of overtime — all on free throws — to help Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown hold off Lima Bath 68-58 and earn its second straight trip to the Division II state championship game. Hathaway Brown (22-4) won its 10th game in a row, avoiding a major collapse after building a 16-point first-half lead. Angela Groves scored 25 points and first-team All-Ohioan Mylan Woods had 17 despite heavy foul trouble and persistent leg cramps for the 10th-ranked Blazers, who lost to Warsaw River View in last year's title game in their only previous trip to the state's final four. Rachel Mauk had 18 points and Nicki Hopkins and second-team all-stater Stefanie Mauk each had 12 for No. 3-ranked Bath (24-2), which trailed 19-8 after a quarter and by seven points at halftime and through three periods. ...