Local Sports

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Div. III Girls Basketball: Clash of titans

By TED RADICK

Staff writer

Start with a senior all-Ohio player.

Add in a steady point guard, and a solid supporting cast that can step up and force defenses to honor each player on the floor.

Throw in a solid man-to-man defense and that describes the Liberty-Benton girls basketball team, right?

Well, yes. But in this case, the discussion centers on Smithville.

Liberty-Benton (25-0) and Smithville (25-1) meet at 3 p.m. today in the Division III state semifinals at Value City Arena in Columbus. Middletown Madison (26-0) and Ironton (17-7) square off in the 1 p.m. semifinal. The state title game will be at 10:45 a.m. Saturday.

Smithville began the season with a 41-40 loss to Loudonville. Since then, the Smithies have reeled off 25 consecutive wins, and that one loss came with a couple of caveats.

First, Loudonville was no slouch at 23-2 this season. And, Smithville had just six basketball practices under its belt after the school's volleyball team advanced to the final four.

Six-foot senior power forward Jenna Pew (20.8 ppg, 10.9 rpg) leads the Smithies.

"They probably have the best post player that we've seen all year," Liberty-Benton coach Nate Irwin said. "We've played some good post players, but I don't know that we've played anyone quite as good as her."

Pew is, simply put, an outstanding athlete. She was first-team all-Ohio in basketball last year and first-team all-state in volleyball this past fall -- she'll play collegiate volleyball at Wheeling Jesuit. She recently was named the Division III all-Northeast Inland District player of the year.

"Jenna's just been an outstanding player for our program," Smithville coach Mike Miller said. "She stepped in as a freshman and has never looked back. She's our leading scorer in school history with more than 1,600 points. She's averaged a double-double the past two years."

Pew shoots more than 60 percent from 2-point range, 35 percent from beyond the 3-point arc and 80 percent from the free-throw line. She's second all-time at Smithville in rebounds and third in assists.

"When she get doubled-down in the post, she'll find people who are open. There are bigger post people in the state, but I don't know if I've seen a post player that has the footwork that she does," Miller said. "Her basketball IQ is outstanding."

Sophomore Tara Schaffter (8.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg), a 6-0 center, gives the Smithies a second presence on the blocks. Kylie Fritzell (10.2 ppg) is a freshman forward who averages nearly five rebounds.

"The main thing when you play a team like that, especially since they have a size advantage on us inside, is that you can't just guard them one way," Irwin said. "If you continue to guard them the same way, a good coach and a good team like Smithville will find a way to exploit an open spot.

On the perimeter, senior point guard Alex Leister (10.3 ppg) runs the show. Sophomore guard Kelsey Kallenborn (4.7 ppg) is the team's lock-down defender.

"We're a motion team; we always have been," Miller said. "At times we're a three-out, two-in motion. There will be a four-out, one-in motion or a five-out motion where we'll flash people into the lane and post up and then back out. We'll try to read and react to what the defense is doing."

Irwin, 100-35 in six years at L-B, said defense will be the key Thursday.

"The main reason we've gotten here is our defense. We take a lot of pride and our kids do a good job of making the adjustments we need depending on the type of team we're playing."

Miller, 242-78 in 14 seasons at Smithville, is confident in his defense as well, and with good reason. The Smithies have held their opponents to less than 30 percent shooting from the field.

"We're predominately a man-to-man team," Miller said. "We'll play some occasional zone, some 2-3 and some 1-3-1. Most of the time we try to play solid in the half-court from the 3-point arc in and try to defend well there."

Miller's team must contend L-B's balanced L-B four-guard attack. Senior guard Amanda Hyde, the Northwest Ohio District player of the year, averages 21.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Catie Craft scores 17.3 points, senior guard Amber Petersen 8.6, senior guard Catelen Ramsey 11 and junior Ashley Snyder 2.6 points and 3.0 rebounds.

"There's no question it all starts with Hyde," Miller said. "She's kind of like Jennifer, she's had an outstanding career. She can take it off the dribble and score, has great vision and can pass, and she can step out and hit the '3'.

"The Craft girl, she's flat-out a great shooter. We're really impressed with her. Their point guard does a nice job. If you leave her open she's going to bury '3s' on you.

"Petersen, we saw a game where she scored 19. (L-B center Ashley) Snider does a great job. She doesn't score much but she does the dirty work inside, playing great defense and setting screens on their specials."

Liberty-Benton has hit 222 3-pointers this season, second-best all-time in Ohio girls' basketball history. Craft's 84 treys tie her for ninth-best in the state in a single season.

Radick, 419-427-8405

tedradick@thecourier.com

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