MasonBuzz.com

Mike Dyer reports:

Mason junior forward Jack Clark verbally committed to UC, according to Mason soccer coach Paul Reedy.

Clark, The Enquirer Division I player of the year last season, had 20 goals and nine assists for the Comets.

He was first-team all-Greater Miami Conference, the conference’s player of the year, first-team all-district and first-team all-state. Clark also had interest from Kentucky, Dayton and Lehigh, according to Reedy.

Mason junior guard Jenna Gunn verbally committed to play at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, according to Mason coach Rob Matula.

Gunn was a District 15 Coaches’ Association underclassmen selection, first-team all-Greater Miami Conference and Associated Press Division I special mention all-district. She averaged 12.9 points and 5.8 rebounds for the Comets last season.

Posted in: Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, comets, jack clark, jenna gunn, mason, mason high school, soccer, sports

Mason’s Kayla MacDowell attempts a layup during Saturday’s Division I district final game against Fairborn at Harrison High School.

Kevin Kelly reports:

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, comets, firebirds, girls basketball, jenna gunn, kayla mcdowell, kettering fairmont, mason, mason high school, nutter center, rob matula, sports

Mason’s Aly Herren (5) and Sarah Ammons (20) watch as a teammate cuts a piece of the basketball net after the Comets’ win against Fairborn in Saturday’s Division I district final at Harrison.

Mark Schmetzer reports:

By the last minute, Kayla McDowell could laugh off missing two free throws.

Mason was that much in control, thanks primarily to the senior and her running mate, junior Jenna Gunn.

McDowell scored 24 points, two short of matching her career high, and Gunn tied her’s with 23 as Mason rolled to a 64-48 win over Fairborn in a Division I district championship game Saturday at Harrison High School.

• Photos: Mason defeats Fairborn

“We always know where each other is,” said the Missouri-bound McDowell, with her piece of the net tied around the district championship medal draped around her neck. “We work well together.”

The two teamed up to give the Comets their biggest lead, with Gunn feeding McDowell with a deft no-look interior pass for a layup and, on the next trip down the floor, McDowell setting up Gunn for a layup that left Mason leading, 60-40, with 3:01 left in the game.

Those were two of the impressive 17 assists Mason racked up on 26 field goals, a ratio that didn’t surprise coach Rob Matula.

“We always do a nice job of being unselfish,” he said. “That’s what makes us a team. We never focus on one person.”

(more…)

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, comets, fairborn, girls basketball, jenna gunn, kayla mcdowell, mason, mason high school, rob matula, sports

Princeton’s Jasmyn Hardin (22) battles Kings guard Mackenzie Seiter for a rebound on Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (Tony Tribble for the Enquirer)

Mike Dyer reports:

Princeton continued a significant streak of sectional titles Monday night as the Vikings defeated Kings 71-35 at Lakota East.

Kelsey Mitchell had 17 points, Chelsea Mitchell added 16 and Carlie Pogue had 15 for the Vikings (18-7).

Princeton advances to play Winton Woods (18-6) in a Division I district final at 5 p.m. Saturday at Harrison.

• Photos: Kings fall to Princeton

Winton Woods, ranked No. 5 in The Enquirer Division I area coaches’ poll, has won four consecutive games this month since a 56-49 loss to Princeton on Feb. 6.

“I think they are a tough matchup,” Princeton coach Jill Phillips said.

Princeton, ranked No. 2 in The Enquirer poll, has won eight consecutive games overall. Princeton defeated Hamilton 51-44 in the Division I sectional semifinals Feb. 21.

Kelsey Mitchell, a junior guard, had 13 of her 17 points in the first half Monday night. Mitchell finished with seven assists.

“I thought she did a great job in the first half getting us going offensively and defensively,” Phillips said. “…Her points are sometimes very quiet…but she gives us so much.”

Mitchell was named last week the District 16 Coaches’ Association Division I player of the year despite playing in just seven regular-season games due to injury.

Mitchell returned to the starting lineup from a foot injury Jan. 30 against Hamilton. She injured her foot at Lakota West Dec. 1.

Phillips said Monday night it was good to continue to get Mitchell back in the flow of the game this postseason.

Going into Monday’s game, Mitchell averaged 22.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.7 steals. Mitchell is ranked the nation’s No. 4 player in the 2014 class by the ESPN.com/HoopGurlz Super 60 rankings and was a preseason All-American by USA Today. She has been the District 16 player of the year three consecutive years.

On Monday, the Vikings started quickly against Kings. Princeton led 17-6 at the end of the first quarter and led 38-19 at halftime. Princeton led 58-29 at the end of the third quarter.

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Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, girls basketball, kings, kings high school, knights, princeton, sports, vikings

Kayla McDowell / Photo provided

The Enquirer

Senior forward Kayla McDowell scored a game-high 21 points to lead top-ranked Mason against Oak Hills in the Division I sectional semifinal Wednesday.

McDowell rounded out the night with 10 rebounds, six steals and four assists.

Senior guard Alyssa Herren scored 15 and junior guard Jenna Gunn added 11 points for the Comets.

The Comets held a double-digit lead at halftime, and outscored Oak Hills 27-6 in the second half, disallowing any chance of a comeback.

Mason (20-1) advances to the sectional finals, where it will meet Lakota East on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Kings.

Mason 63, Oak Hills 26

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: alyssa gunn, basketball, comets, division i semifinal, girls basketball, jenna gunn, kayla mcdowell, lakota east, mason, mason high school

Mason girls’ varsity basketball team. Photo provided

Mike Dyer reports:

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, comets, enquirer poll, girls basketball, mason, mason high school, rob matula, sports

Sectional top seed Mason is coming off its first loss of the season against Princeton. Mason’s Madison Melnick battles for a loose ball against Princeton’s Jasmyn Hardin in the second quarter. The Vikings avenged a Dec.15 loss to the Comets. The Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

Kevin Goheen reports:

Mason, Talawanda, Middletown Madison, Summit Country Day and Cincinnati Country Day all earned No. 1 seeds at Sunday’s girls’ basketball sectional draw meeting at Wyoming.

The sectional tournament begins for area teams with games in Division II, III and IV on Feb. 13 while the Division I tournament starts up on Feb. 14.

The Division I sectional is a 32-team “super” draw field in which all teams are seeded and they get to choose one of five brackets that lead to the district tournament.

Mason, coming off its first loss of the season Saturday afternoon against Princeton, 64-55, will open on Feb. 20 against the winner of the game between Oak Hills and Woodward in the Cincinnati 1 bracket at Kings.

The Comets (18-1) are ranked No. 1 in the Enquirer coaches’ poll and No. 2 in the Associated Press state poll. They have one game left in the regular season against Colerain this Saturday. A win would clinch their first Greater Miami Conference title.

Princeton (13-7) is the second seed and will open against Northwest on Feb. 16 in the Cincinnati 3 bracket at Lakota East. The Vikings have been bolstered by junior guard Kelsey Mitchell’s return from a broken left foot that forced her to miss 15 games. Mitchell, regarded as the top-ranked player nationally in her class by multiple recruiting services, scored 30 points in the win against Mason.

Princeton has won three consecutive district titles, while Mason has been to the regional tournament three of the last four seasons. Mason lost to three-time reigning regional champ Kettering Fairmont last season.

Lakota West (16-3), Ursuline (15-4), Mercy (16-4) and Winton Woods (13-4) round out the top six seeds. No teams seeded higher than No. 14 are in Mason or Princeton’s brackets.

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Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, comets, girls basketball, girls' basketball sectional, gmc, kings, mason, mason high school, princeton, vikings, wyoming

Kevin Goheen reports:

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, comets, girls basketball, gmc, kayla mcdowell, mason, mason high school, mcauley, mohawks, rob matula, sports

Mason’s Cameron Arminio grabs a rebound in front of Winton Woods’ Stefaun Briggins.

Jeff Wallner reports:

Winton Woods’ boys basketball team entered Wednesday’s game at Mason having lost five of its past six games. Warriors coach Donnie Gillespie challenged his players to begin the new year on a positive note; they responded in a big way.

Trent Donald scored 26 points and Kwan Cheatham added 10 points as Winton Woods rolled to a 63-44 victory over the Comets.

“We made a lot of progress (tonight),” said Donald. “We wanted to put last year behind us. It’s a new year.”

• Photos: Mason vs. Winton Woods

Senior guard Connor McVey led Mason with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Bryan King had nine points and one 3-pointer.

Both Mason and Winton Woods had endured four-game losing streaks this season, and entered Wednesday night’s contest having dropped a combined nine of 11 games.

McVey, who shoots better than 41 percent from 3-point range, hit a 3-pointer for Mason’s first field goal. But consecutive baskets by Donald put Winton Woods ahead 10-3.

Cheatham, a University of Akron commit, had a tip-in off a missed free throw to make the score 14-5. He later followed his own miss to give the Warriors a 20-11 lead in the second quarter.

Moments after missing a one-handed dunk attempt, Cheatham scored on a turnaround jumper to give Winton Woods its largest lead, 22-11.

The Warriors’ run reached 12-0 before McVey hit consecutive 3-pointers, making the score 28-17. He went 3 for 5 from 3-point range and had a team-leading 11 points in the first half.

Winton Woods forced seven turnovers in the first half.

After losing the rebounding battle in the first half, Winton Woods ended up out-rebounding the Comets 37-22. The Warriors forced 10 turnovers and had six steals.

(more…)

Posted in: Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, boys basketball, comets, mason, mason high school, sports, warriors, winton woods

Michael Stainbrook reports:

Milford used its size and experience to edge past a pesky Kings squad for a critical Eastern Cincinnati Conference road win.

The Eagles trailed most of the game but outlasted the Knights 55-49 to start a five-game road stretch to close out 2012. Milford had an edge with four senior starters and two sizeable forwards, while Kings started no seniors and lacked size inside.

Senior forward and Bowling Green commit Garrett Mayleben led Milford with 14 points, and senior guard Brennan Farrell added 13.

Kings overcame some sloppy play early to lead most of the game before Milford (4-2, 3-1 ECC) pulled away in the closing minutes. The Eagles’ second-half defensive adjustments and clutch free-throw shooting proved to be the difference in what coach Joe Cambron described as a crucial game.

“Our backs were against the wall,” Cambron said. “This was an absolute must-win for us to even have a shot at a conference championship.”

Kings built an early lead by using it speed on the perimeter to open holes in the paint. Sophomore guard Cameron Fails and junior forward Jamison Williams led the charge as the Knights settled into an offensive rhythm and opened a nine-point first-half lead. Milford responded to cut the lead with a few well-executed pick-and-roll plays but still trailed by five at halftime.

(more…)

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, eagles, kings, kings high school, knights, milford