Classic in the Country- Sunday Guards Pt. 1

There was a lot of outstanding players at Hiland High School over the weekend as the annual Classic in the Country was held, bringing a lot of Ohio’s top players to Amish Country for three-days of great basketball and hospitality. Angie Saiter and Mike Hughes covered the games on Saturday, and I had the chance to see all of the games on Sunday as the action got underway at noon and lasted until nearly 10:00 with the grand finale that day between the Las Vegas Bulldogs and Newark. Over the next week, I will look at some of the top players I saw in action from Sunday, starting the next three days with the top guards, followed at the end of the week with forward/posts. Some names this week will be familiar names, others are making their way onto the PGH Ohio radar. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;">[player_tooltip player_id="32556" first="Ivy" last="Wolf"], 5-8 2021, Minster</span></strong> She will be the first to admit, she did shoot the ball well in their Sunday game. After dropping 17 points in a big win over Hoban on Saturday, Ivy came back with 4-18 from the field on Sunday as Minster defeated Margaretta. But points aside, Ivy nearly pulled off a triple-double with six rebounds and 10 assists, most of them going to a post player you will read about later in the week. She commands the floor well and looks to get her teammates involved while still scoring around 20 per game. She can run the transition game well and showed that Miami is getting a solid guard next season. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91123" first="Emily" last="Savage"], 5-8 2021, Toledo St. Ursula</strong></span> She was an athletic point guard who was a good floor general and distributes the ball well to her teammates to make plays. She has the ability to score from deep range beyond the arc and will be heading out to Lincoln Memorial next season. Even in their tough loss to Glen Oak on Sunday, Emily put up good numbers, dropping 14 points with a trio of big threes in 23 minutes of action. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="157679" first="Breezie" last="Williams"], 5-5 2022, Canton GlenOak</strong></span> Breezie showed a lot of good athleticism in her game against St. Ursula, despite not shooting well in the. She showed more than just her ability to score with a game high five steals on defense, using her super athletic skillset from the point guard position to help run their offense. She can get to the rim and finish, and find the best shot as she dished out three assists. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;">Mari Bickely, 5-10 2023, Laurel</span> this kid is special and showed a lot of that on Sunday. She helped Lauren defeat Aurora on Sunday with a solid 18 point performance in the win, along with leading the team with five assists. She is extremely talented in transition and is a strong physical player who can finish on the break, and her defensive skills will create scoring chances for her team. <span style="font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">[player_tooltip player_id="91085" first="Kacee" last="Baumhower"], 5-7 2021, Sylvania Northview</span></strong></span> The St. Bonny commit showcased her next-level skills with a solid performance in her teams one-point buzzer-beating win over Magnificat. Kacee has good handles and can penetrate into the paint and create shots for herself. She has very good court vision and is considered one of the top players in NW Ohio. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;">Mollie Laspisa, 5-9 2022, Rocky River Magnificat</span></strong> I was impressed with her overall game despite their tough loss. Mollie showed me very steady play during her time on the court with good intensity. She can read and react well on the fly and can play north-south in transition with good handles. She can also finish on her penetration to the rim. &nbsp; &nbsp;