Classic in the Country 2024 Day 2: Ottawa-Glandorf, Solon, Mason among the winners (01/14/2024)
BERLIN, Ohio - The 2024 Classic in the Country began on Saturday with eight games at the Reese Center at Berlin Hiland High School and continued with seven more games on Sunday. Below is a quick recap of each of Sunday's games.
Ottawa-Glandorf 35, Smithville 25
A 7-0 run to end each quarter in the second half helped propel the Titans to a win and a 12-1 record.
Leading by just two in the third quarter, Ottawa-Glandorf went on a 7-0 run to finish the third quarter to take a 28-17 lead after three.
And then after Smithville (8-5) started the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run, the Titans responded by scoring the final seven points of the game.
Karsyn Erford led Ottawa-Glandorf with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Katie Kaufman scored nine.
Leading the way for the Smithies was Madi Singer with 11 points and Naomi Keib with nine points and nine rebounds.
Solon 43, Archbishop Alter 42
In a game between a pair of teams ranked in the latest SBLive Ohio girls basketball Power 25, Solon outlasted Alter.
Solon, ranked No. 17, held on in part because of a blocked shot in the final seconds by senior Kaylee Levenhagen in the final seconds. After No. 12 Alter split a pair of free throws, the Knights still had a chance after the offensive rebound but the defense of Levenhagen denied the opportunity.
Mackenzie Blackford led the Comets with 21 points and nine rebounds.
Maddie Moody led the Knights with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Princeton 53, Magnificat 42
In a matchup of two of the top four teams in the SBLive Ohio girls basketball Power 25, Princeton used two big runs in the second half to pull off a 53-42 win.
The Vikings shut out the Blue Streaks in the third quarter and then finished the game on a 16-4 run to close it out.
The defending Division I state champions, Princeton is the No. 3-ranked team in the SBLive Ohio girls basketball Power 25 and moves to 11-1 on the season. Magnificat, ranked No. 4, drops to 9-4.
Leadin the Vikings were Mari Gerton with 21 points, Kali Fortson with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Mackenzie Givens with 12.
Katie Maryo hit three 3-pointers and led Magnificat with 13 points.
Lakota West 50, Toledo Notre Dame 37
Lakota West got off to a fast start and never looked back after leading 12-2 following the first quarter.
Katie Fox again led the Firebirds, as she scored 26 points and pulled down seven rebounds after her 30-point, 12-rebound performance on Saturday. She made six of her nine attempts from 3-point range against Notre Dame.
Caroline Bayliff added 10 points and six rebounds for the Firebirds.
Jade Battle had eight points and seven rebounds for Notre Dame to lead the way.
Mason 46, Portsmouth 28
Mason's defense didn't allow Portsmouth to score in double digits in any quarter en route to a win that improved its record to 11-2.
Mason, ranked No. 14 in the SBLive Ohio girls basketball Power 25, jumped out to a 26-13 halftime lead and then led by 17 after three quarters and led by as many as 21 in the fourth.
Madison Parrish led Mason with 15 points, while Riley Yost scored 10 and grabbed seven rebounds.
Dayhsa Reid led Portsmouth (11-2) with eight points.
Anthony Wayne 71, Laurel 70
Despite one of the best individual performances at the Classic in the Country by Laurel sophomore Saniyah Hall, Anthony Wayne held on for a win.
Once trailing by 18 in the fourth quarter, Laurel (8-7) cut the lead to one and had a chance to win on the final play but a shot by Hall hit the rim and bounced off.
Anthony Wayne (11-2) had great individual performances of their own, as Elise Bender scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and twin sister Brooke Bender hit five 3-pointers and finished with 22 points.
Hall finished the game with 43 points, 18 rebounds and five assists.
Warrensville Heights 61, Kettering Fairmont 51
Warrensville Heights led wire-to-wire to improve to 11-2 on the season.
The Tigers opened up a 9-point lead at the half and eventually led by 11 in the third quarter before Fairmont made a run. Most of the fourth quarter was played within six points until Warrensville Heights pulled away at the free throw line.
Warrensville Heights shot 55.8% from the field for the game, including 12-of-19 in the second half.
Leilani McNeill led the Tigers with 21 points and Chelsea Johnson added 11.
Sofia Coovert of Fairmont led all scorers with 23 points and Kenzie Roark chipped in with nine.
-- Ryan Isley | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveoh
(Feature image: Princeton head coach Dee Davis coaches her team during the 2023 OHSAA Division I state championship game. Photo credit: Michael Noyes, SBLive Sports)
