Berlin, OHIO-An uninvited and unwelcome guest is making an un appreciated appearance at the 16th annual Classic in the Country Challenge. Mother Nature, in all of her winter glory, went one on one with the three day schedule for the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend and forced the event staff to scramble to keep the highly regarded event on track. With snow, sleet, wind and freezing temperatures looming, they were able to keep the line-up an agenda fans, recruiters and media alike would enjoy while still maintaining the high expectations that come with the Classic in the Country. While Day One was limited to an abbreviated four game schedule, it wasn’t without some “Classic” moments. A promising young Shaker Heights Laurel team gave highly regarded Mason a tougher challenge than the final score might indicate. Lakota West got a strong performance from freshman standout Chance Gray and Mt. Notre Dame claimed a “bragging rights” kind of win with their victory over nationally ranked Hamilton Heights.
Sunday and Monday promise 14 more games and plenty of hospitality from the folks in Amish country. The ice is piling up and the temperatures are falling even more as this is published, but it’s a safe bet tournament officials are keeping an eye on the situation being the full survive event operators that they are. If you doubt that you missed our National Anthem played and sung by OGBR’s Bryce McKey. For all you other tournament directors, the bar has been raised. Tune up your pipes…he nailed it.
Laurel competed with the talented Comets trailing by only one after the first period and just five at the half. Things were a toss-up in the third before Mason pulled away with a 14 – 4 run to take the win 50 – 45. Alanna Carter, a junior forward, led the way in the win with 20 points on 7 of 13 shooting including a 3 for 5 mark from three point range. Sophomore Marilyn Popplewell added 16 more. Senior Sammie Puisis (Florida State) paced the Comets on the glass with 12 while Popplewell backed her up with 9 of her own. Sophomore guard Taylor Thierry had 16 for Gators in the loss while junior Giuliana Marinozzi finished with 14. Haley Thierry, another sophomore, had 11 rebounds from her spot on the perimeter.
The Firebirds of Lakota West jumped out to a nine point edge after one period of play with Solon and never looked back. The lead was 10 at the half, 14 after three and 66 – 44 when the final horn sounded. Freshman guard Chance Gray was on fire to start and maintained her attack to lead the way with 23 points. The established young standout was 9 for 13 from the floor including a blistering 5 for 7 from deep. Senior Dominique Camp contributed 12 more on her own 6 for 10 shooting effort. Junior forward Nevaeh Dean (Virginia Tech verbal) had 10 rebounds in the win while Camp added 9 more for Lakota West. Solon got a quiet 17 from senior Sammi Rinicella while highly regarded sophomore Hailey Weaver struggled with 2 for 9 shooting. Weaver did pull 8 boards and lead the way in assists with some sharp passing.
In a game scheduled just 24 hours before tipoff due to weather, Mt. Notre Dame capitalized on a main stage national spotlight leading Hamilton Heights from beginning to end. Senior Gabbie Marshall (Iowa) was hot to start as the Cougars jumped out to a 21 -17 edge after the first period of play. The lead was six at the half before Hamilton Heights closed to just one at the end of the third quarter. An 18 – 11 final stanza gave MND the signature win with a final 59 – 51 margin. Marshall finished with 23 shooting 7 for 16 from the floor with a 4 for 8 report card from behind the arch. Sophomore Laila Phelia added 12 as did senior Julia Hoefling (Loyola – Chicago). Freshman standout guard KK Bransford paced the Cougars on the boards with nine rebounds on the night. For Hamilton Heights, junior 6-7 post Kamilla Cardoso had a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds while connecting on 8 of her 14 shot attempts. Classmate Treasure Hunt was ice cold (6 of 23) but did finish with 14 points in the loss. Another junior, Ruth Balogun added 10 more rebounds to the cause.
An uncharacteristic slow start for the host Hawks of Berlin Hiland saw them trailing Margaretta by one after eight minutes and by eight at the half. The hospitality brusquely went away with a 21 – 3 period for Hiland ultimately leading to a comfortable 42 – 33 win despite the frosty opening. Brynn Mullet, a sophomore guard, was critical in the decisive third and led the Hawks with 13 including 4 for 8 three point shooting. Zoe Miller was impressive with a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds. The Lady Bears didn’t have anyone in double figures but did have three players finish with seven in the loss. Margaretta was dominated on the boards pulling just 18 to a total of 40 for Hiland.
