Westerville South tops Reynoldsburg 66-50 in a possible girls basketball postseason preview

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio – If everything transpires the way the Westerville South and Reynoldsburg girls basketball teams are hoping, they’ll meet a little less than a month from now with a spot in the regional championship game on the line.

With that in mind, the matchup between the Wildcats and the host Raiders on Tuesday night filled the bill of a postseason tune-up for two teams looking to build depth and experience.

Both teams were missing one starter, but each showed flashes of what they can do best during South’s 66-50 victory.

For the 46-team Division I Central District tournament which begins with sectional action February 15th, South is the No. 5 seed and the Raiders are seeded sixth.

“First off, they're a very good team,” South head coach Jermaine Guice said. “They were (missing a key player) that makes a huge difference for them. We were missing one of our players as well. We jumped out on them, but they came back and jumped right back at us. We kind of settled in and played some really good defense, ran the floor really well and got some easy baskets.”

South, which improved to 17-2, was a district runner-up a year ago when guards Nelia Guice and Leila Jones led the way.

Nelia Guice, who is the coach’s daughter and has signed with Ohio Dominican, missed her fifth consecutive game because of a high ankle sprain but could return as soon as this weekend.

Defending state champion Reynoldsburg is 13-6 overall. 

Junior Daniya McDonald, a 6-foot-1 wing player who attended Reynoldsburg as a freshman, averaged 20.5 points for Whitehall last season and is back with the program this winter, was out with sickness.

While Jones is an Akron commit, South also has one of the state’s top freshmen in Ariyana Cradle, whose nickname is “Peanut.” A 5-foot-8 guard, Cradle finished with 25 points.

“Neither of us is healthy right now,” said Raiders head coach Jack Purtell, who earlier this season won his 400th game with the program. “I went and watched them (January 28th) and knew their guards are really good. Peanut, their little freshman, had 25 points, and (senior point guard) Tamara Ortiz is really good. They’ve got a really good backcourt.”

Cradle scored six points during the game’s first three minutes to help South build a 9-3 lead but Reynoldsburg sophomore guard Aubree Price helped fill the void left by McDonald’s absence by scoring 13 first-quarter points as the Raiders built a 23-16 lead.

The Raiders were held to five second-quarter points and the game was tied at 28 at the half.

“We got some touches on the basketball and we started to secure some rebounds, and once we were able to do that, we were able to get out in transition and get some easy baskets,” coach Guice said. “(Cradle is) super tough, a great kid who plays hard and competes hard. This was our fifth game with Nelia out, but she’s recovering and we’re looking to have her back so she can get acclimated to what we’re doing. She’s kind of our grit down low and battles. She has a lot of intangibles.”

South seized the momentum in the third quarter and didn't let it go behind the play-making abilities of Cradle, who averages 16.1 points, as well as Ortiz, who finished with 21 points.

Cradle scored the first two baskets of the third quarter, both on fast breaks, and had 10 in the period overall as her team built a 54-40 lead.

“We definitely were getting the ball and going up the court real quick,” Cradle said. “We had that winner’s mentality.

“I really didn’t know what I was getting into (this season), but I definitely love it. I think I’m getting better and better each game.”

South is in the same bracket as third-seeded Olentangy Liberty and would meet the Raiders again if both teams win district titles.

Reynoldsburg opened the season by losing three of its first four games but has bounced back behind the play of Price and senior forward Samara Savoy, who contributed 14 points.

The Raiders, who won their first state title last season after making three previous state tournaments all under Purtell, are in the same district bracket as No. 2 Marysville and eighth-seeded Gahanna Lincoln.

“I tell this team all the time that they’ve improved from the beginning of the year until now, even though we didn’t play great tonight, as much as any team we’ve had,” Purtell said. “I’ve been proud of what the kids have done and the improvement they’ve made so far.”