By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

 

Area girls’ basketball appears to have a good future.

Four local players have been selected to play in the Top 100 Showcase that will be held Saturday at Denison University in Granville for some of the top underclassmen in Ohio.

The showcase is to allow top freshmen, sophomores and juniors to play games and participate in drills before college coaches throughout the game.

Ironton junior Alicia Murphy along with Fairland junior Kayla Swiger, sophomore Chandler Fulks and freshman Kelsey Riley have been selected to participate.

The Lady Dragons finished 20-0 for the first time in school history and won only their second district title.

Swiger averaged 8.5 points and two steals a game, Fulks averaged 7.8 points and 3.7 assists a game while Riley — a defensive specialist — averaged 5.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists an outing. All three shot between 67 and 70 percent from the foul line.

Murphy averaged 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds a game while shooting 65 percent from the line.

A veteran girls’ basketball player showcased her talents as well.

South Point Lady Pointers’ senior Allison Mitchell has been hard for opponents to guard the past four years. The players at the Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game found out the same thing.

During the Friday Festival of Games on April 6, Mitchell was the one-on-one overall champion. She beat Chloe Pavlech of Cincinnati Sycamore 9-2 to win the Ohio championship and then hit a last-second shot to beat Mica Jones of Green County 11-9 for the overall title.

Portsmouth Dion McKinley won the Ohio and overall championship in the boys’ competition.

In the 3-on-3 tournament, Team Kentucky beat Team Ohio for the title. The Ohio team consisted of Chesapeake’s Austin McMaster, Chillicothe’s Malik London and Caris Levert of Pickerington Central.

London won the Ohio and overall dunking contest.