The 34th Annual State Girls Basketball Tournaments Preview: Division I

OHSAA staff reports, March 16, 2009 2:44 p.m.

Action tips-off at 1 p.m. Thursday at Value City Arena in the Jerome Schottenstein Center with the Division IV and Division III semifinals, followed at 1 p.m. Friday with the Division II and Division I semis. Championship games start with Division IV playing at 10:45 a.m. Saturday.

The Division I field features one school that has built itself into a power this decade and three others looking for their first state titles. The first semifinal pits Canton McKinley against Cincinnati Mt. Notre Dame. McKinley (22-3) is making its third appearance in the state tournament and first since 1995. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 12, needed a game-winning three from senior Orlandriea Kirksey with four seconds remaining in their regional semifinal win over Twinsburg. There were no such dramatics in the regional finals, though, as freshman Ameryst Alston scored 14 points and McKinley forced 11 first-quarter turnovers in cruising to a 52-36 win over Mentor.

Mt. Notre Dame (25-1), the top-ranked team in the state, seeks its fourth straight title and has made it to the state tournament six consecutive times and seven overall.  The Cougars are the first Division I school to win three titles in a row and defeated Kettering Fairmont for the third time this season in their regional final, pulling away with a 52-35 win. Four seniors start for the Cougars, with center Kendall Hackney pacing the team with 13 points per game.

The second semifinal matches Toledo Start against West Chester Lakota West. Start (21-3) has never played in the state semifinals. University of Toledo-bound 6-foot-1 post player Yolanda Richardson had 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocked shots to lead the No. 11 Spartans in their regional semifinal win against Westlake. Defense was the name of the game in a 31-23 win over previously unbeaten Perrysburg in the regional finals. The Spartans closed the first half on a 14-2 run as Perrysburg scored just one field goal in the second quarter.

Lakota West (24-2) finished as runner-up in last year’s tournament. 6-foot-1 Duke recruit Alexis Rogers had 24 points and 10 rebounds in last year’s title game. The fifth-ranked squad in the AP poll, Lakota West defeated previously unbeaten and second-ranked Dublin Coffman in the regional finals for a second straight year as Rogers poured in 25 points. Four seniors and a junior make up the starting lineup for the Firebirds, with Rogers scoring over 15 points a game.