Girls teams set for tourney

By Joe Scalzo | February 7, 2011 at 12:03a.m.

MINERAL RIDGE

Lowellville High girls basketball coach Tony Matisi stood outside Mineral Ridge High School on Sunday afternoon wearing long black shorts — “I was lazy after church,” he said, laughing — as a group of coaches ignored the cold weather and the snow to talk tournaments.

Once again, Matisi’s Rockets earned the top seed for the Division IV tournament at Hubbard High, which he considered both flattering and irrelevant.

“It really doesn’t matter,” Matisi said. “You’ve got to beat the teams that are there, no matter where you’re seeded.”

“We’ve been the No. 1 seed in the past, so we’re pretty well used to it, but it’s nice to be respected.”

Lowellville has won two straight district titles despite starting three underclassmen (Ashley Moore, Taylor Hvisdak and Emily Carlson) both times. Hvisdak broke her arm a week before the Rockets fell in overtime to Cuyahoga Heights in last year’s regional semifinals.

Hvisdak is once again healthy, the three guards are now experienced juniors and Matisi is hoping he can overcome the loss of another starter (sophomore Kaye Solak, who tore her ACL earlier in the year) to make a long tournament run. His team’s main competition will be second-seeded Warren JFK (14-3), which recently pushed Ursuline to the brink.

“There’s a lot of good teams,” said Matisi, who also won district titles in 2004 and 2005. “It’s gonna be tough.”

In the Div. IV tournament at Rootstown, Western Reserve (14-3) got the second seed behind Kirtland (12-5), with Cornerstone Christian (12-0) and Lordstown (11-5) garnering the third and fourth seeds.

The Div. III tournament at Mineral Ridge is no different, with defending district champion Ursuline (10-4) leapfrogging some teams with better records to earn the top spot.

South Range (16-2) and United (14-4), which are tied atop Tier One of the Inter Tri-County League, earned the second and fourth seeds. Champion (14-3), which leads the Blue Tier of the All-American Conference, got the third seed.

“And Newton Falls, which is 15-2, got the fifth seed,” said Irish coach Sean Durkin. “There are a lot of good teams, so to be seeded first with some of those records is certainly a compliment.

“We’re getting the best teams in their conferences and teams that are used to winning always scare you.”

Led by junior Division I prospects Courtney Powell and Aurielle Irizarry, the Irish have loaded up their schedule with tough teams in hopes of making their first trip to Columbus since 2006.

“We like a lot of things about us,” said Durkin, who led the Irish to the Div. III title in 2004. “Playing the schedule we play, it’s been very up and down but we like who we are.

“I think if things are clicking at the right time, we certainly have a chance to make a long run.”

Defending Div. II district champion Struthers (13-3) overcame the lost of four starters to graduation to grab the Fitch tournament’s top seed, edging out second-seeded West Branch (11-4).

Considering the Wildcats have already lost to the third (Poland) and fourth (Liberty) seeds, this tournament might be the most wide open in the Valley.

“I think there’s a lot of balance,” said Struthers coach John Grandy, whose only returning starter is senior Katelyn Ardale. “We’re real happy with being the No. 1 seed. It’s taken a lot of hard work and we embrace it because it shows where the program has gone.

“We know West Branch is a very good team and they play a tough schedule. [Warriors coach Walt Deshields] is a great coach and there’s a lot of good coaches here, so we know we’re not going to out-coach anybody. We just hope our kids keep playing hard.”

In Div. I, Howland (14-1) earned the second seed at the Warrensville Heights tournament behind defending district champion Twinsburg, which has knocked Howland out of the tournament the past two seasons. Warren Harding (12-3) was seeded fourth.

In the Div. I tournament at Alliance, Canfield (11-5) grabbed the fourth seed behind defending state champion Canton McKinley, North Canton Hoover and Louisville.

Boardman, last year’s district runner-up, plays Louisville in the first round.