Columbus –  The sixth-ranked Waite Lady Indians basketball will square off against the ninth-ranked Lady Pups of Canton McKinley in tonight’s Ohio High School Athletic Association State Basketball Championships Division I final at 8:30 p.m. (televised live on Sportstime Ohio).

It marks the second year in a row that a City League team appears in the DI final. Last year, Toledo Start lost to five-time defending state champion Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame 52-38.

Last night the Lady Indians (24-2) held on to defeat Kettering Fairmont 61-55 behind 22 points and four rebounds from senior Natasha Howard, who became 2010’s Ms. Ohio Basketball as the DI state Player of the Year.

The Lady Pups (24-3) overcame Reynoldsburg 42-39 in overtime in the second DI semifinal, getting 16 points from Ameryat Alston and 11 points from Syndee Penn.

Tonight’s championship game features two programs still seeking their first state title. Waite is making its first appearance in the final four while McKinley is back for the second season in a row and making its fourth appearance overall. In 2009 the Lady Pups lost in the semis to Mt. Notre Dame.

Whichever team wins will snap a six-year drought for public schools winning the DI title. Beavercreek was the last in 2003.

Lady Indians coach Manny May expects an uptempo, back-and-forth game.

“(They) play a fast-paced game and we’re going to have to be prepared for it,” he said of the Indians’ final foe of a remarkable season.

Howard is the team’s nationally renowned star- but Waite will showcase its depth this evening in senior wing Miriah Haynes, senior guard Courtney Jackson, junior post Shanice McNeal and junior 5’5” point guard Brooke Hunt.

Tags: Prep Sports

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 20th, 2010 at 7:55 pm and is filed under Breaking News, Prep Sports, Sports.
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