PARKERSBURG -Something has to give when the respective head coaches meet in Friday's 11th annual Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis Basketball Classic.
In the girls game slated for a 6 p.m. start at Parkersburg South's Rod Oldham Athletic Center, both Ohio's Jerry Close and West Virginia's Fred Sauro are undefeated in their previous encounters at this all-star event.
Not only are Close and Sauro both 1-0 in their BACF career, but the series between the two teams is even at five wins apiece. Last year, Ohio extended its winning streak to three in a row after defeating West Virginia 74-53.
Close will have the luxury of coaching two members (Emily Brown and Kaitlin Pottmeyer) from his Waterford outfit which posted a 20-4 record. The 5-foot-9 Brown led the Wildcats in scoring at 19 points per contest and also finished with a team-high 5.9 rebounds and 3.4 steals.
While Brown was named the captain of the Ohio squad, the same honor has been bestowed on Williamstown's Liz Flowers. The first-team all-stater closed her out her career scoring 25.5 points per game. Her final numbers during her senior year also included 7.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 4.9 steals for a Yellowjacket team which advanced to the Class A state semifinals.
Points could be scored in bunches, especially on the West Virginia side with the likes of Clay County's Jacee Markle (20.0 ppg), Parkersburg South's Jenna McAtee (16.3), St. Marys' Dani Renner (13.3), Wirt County's Hannah Nichols (12.5) and Paden City's Dominique Craft (10.0).
Also listed on the West Virginia roster are Ritchie County's Maria Webber, Parkersburg's Precious Ramsey, Williamstown's Courtney Taylor; Parkersburg South's Carmen Cutlip, Herbert Hoover's Chelsie Chapman, Parkersburg Catholic's Emily Koerber and Emily Ruscitto and Ripley's Paige Smith.
Webber provides an outside threat after hitting 31 3-pointers this past season, while Ramsey (6.1 rebounds per game) and Taylor (5.3 rpg) can dominate the boards. Koerber (2.7 steals per game) and Cutlip (3.1 spg) are two of the best pick-pocketers in the area.
Figured to provide plenty of scoring punch for Ohio are Warren's Allie Grace Proctor and Belpre's Allison Flowers. Proctor was selected an All-Ohio honoree after averaging 12 points for a Warren team which finished 18-6.
Size could also be a factor with Ohio's pair of 5-11 individuals - Frontier's Mackenzie Haessly and Meadowbrook's Chasity Brooker.
Fairland's Lauren Poe also stands 5-10.
Rounding out the Ohio roster are Fairland's Katie Fuller, Belpre's Kelsey Lerch, Shenandoah's Carissa Wukelich, South Gallia's Chandra Canaday, Fort Frye's Sammi Hanson, Jackson's Meredith Harless and Caldwell's Hannah Jones.
