kyprepfan0622

Big week for Manual. #8 Sacred Heart Tuesday away, #2 Mercy Thursday at home, this weekend - Toledo Start, OH #13 Nationally ranked and Twinsburg, OH #41 Nationally ranked at the Classic in the Country Challenge in Berlin, OH. (http://classicinthecountry.org/).

From CJ: Top-ranked Manual dismantles CAL The top-ranked Manual girls' basketball team (11-3) took advantage of poor shooting by Christian Academy (6-4) to build a 15-2 first-quarter lead and cruise to a 68-33 victory at the University of Louisville's Cardinal Arena on Friday night. Mechael Guess had 12 points and 15 rebounds and Kara Wright scored 15 for the winners. Molly Wilder led the Centurions with 11 points. Star guard China Dow was held to five points.

http://blogs.courier-journal.com/khs/2011/01/06/manual-tops-girls-litkenhous-ratings/ The Manual High School girls’ basketball team is No. 1 in the state in the first edition of The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings released Thursday. The Lady Crimsons are 10-3 after Wednesday’s 85-59 victory over Fern Creek and will be the No. 1 seed for the Republic Bank/Coca-Cola Louisville Invitational Tournament set for Jan. 25-29 at Bellarmine University’s Knights Hall. Manual is followed by Bowling Green (9-1), defending state champion Mercy (11-2), Rockcastle County (11-1) and Boone County (10-3). Manual and Mercy are among four Seventh Region teams in the Top 20, joining No. 9 Sacred Heart (11-2) and No. 13 Jeffersontown (12-0). No. 8 Butler (10-2) is the only Sixth Region squad in the Top 20. The Litratings are a computerized power ranking of each team in Kentucky based on a formula that includes records, strength of schedule and margin of victory. Games against out-of-state opponents are not included. The Litratings also are used to determine the 12 Louisville-area teams for the Girls’ LIT. Joining Manual, Mercy, Butler, Sacred Heart and J’town in the field will be Christian Academy, Bullitt East, Ballard, Assumption, Fern Creek, Central and Eastern. Tournament director Joyce Seymour said Bullitt Central, which would have qualified, chose not to participate in the LIT. The top four teams left out, according to the Litratings, were Male, Holy Cross, Presentation and Pleasure Ridge Park. Joining the 12 Louisville-area teams in the field will be Boone County, No. 12 Scott County, No. 19 Marion County and Owensboro Catholic. Here are the pairings: * Tues, Jan. 25: Ballard vs. Assumption, 3:30; Jeffersontown vs. Eastern, 5; Christian Academy vs. Central, 6:30; Bullitt East vs. Fern Creek, 8 * Wed., Jan. 26: Butler vs. Christian Academy-Central winner, 3:30; Mercy vs. Bullitt East-Fern Creek winner, 5; Manual vs. Ballard-Assumption winner, 6:30; Sacred Heart vs. Jeffersontown-Eastern winner, 8 * Fri., Jan. 28: Marion County vs. Mercy-Bullitt East-Fern Creek survivor, 4; Scott County vs. Sacred Heart-Jeffersontown-Eastern survivor, 5:30; Owensboro Catholic vs. Manual-Ballard-Assumption survivor, 7; Boone County vs. Butler-Christian Academy-Central survivor, 8:30 * Sat., Jan. 29: Semifinals at 9 and 10:30 a.m.; final at 8 p.m.

Manual 73 Westlake (Atlanta, GA) 45 at Naples Daily News Holiday Shootout

7th Region has 3 of the final four teams with Manual, Mercy and Sacred Heart. Bowling Green rounds out the final four.

From Courier Journal: Manual 70, Elizabethtown 53, final: The No. 2 Lady Crimsons improved to 6-0 and will face the Bowling Green-Christian Academy winner in Wednesday’s 9 a.m. semifinal. Manual finished with 24 steals and forced 32 E’town turnovers. Mechael Guess led Manual with 15 points. Kara Wright (13 points), April Wilson (12 points, seven steals, six assists) and Destony Curry (10 points, seven rebounds) also had big games. Natalie Greenwell led No. 9 E’town (8-1) with 14 points but also had 10 turnovers.

Sacred Heart 52 Marion 40

Manual 70 Elizabethtown 53

Manual 48 Newport Central Catholic 39

Manual 80 N. Laurel 45

Manual moves to 3-0 with a 66-23 win over Assumption. Manual raced to a 25-1 early lead and a 35-6 half time score limiting Assumption to two first half field goals while cruising to the win.

Manual 81 Ballard 45

From Courier-Journal: Manual High School basketball standout April Wilson has given a verbal commitment to Purdue University after a visit to West Lafayette, Ind., over the weekend. The 5-foot-7 Wilson said she visited the campus and told the coaches in person on Saturday that she was picking the Boilermakers. She had narrowed her list to Purdue, Miami, Fla., Florida and Louisville before the July evaluation period. "I decided I was going to make a decision before my junior year," Wilson said. "The entire month of July, Purdue was at every game. They showed me they wanted me and I decided that's just where I wanted to be." Wilson is considered the top player statewide in the Class of 2012 and is the first member of that class to give a verbal commitment. "I know they have won national championship and they're trying to recruit to win another one," Wilson said. "It's a big weight off my shoulder, knowing where I am going to school."

Owensboro Catholic

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/basketball/womens/news/story?id=5427870 NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- When she said back in April that her team would be ready come Nike Nationals, Ariel Massengale of the Tennessee Flight had no way of knowing that she'd arrive at in Augusta already sporting a gold medal. Massengale, the 5-foot-6 point guard from Bolingbrook, Ill., who is the No. 3 prospect in the 2011 class, made the statement shortly after the Flight lost to Boo Williams at the Boo Williams Invitational in April. Massengale had shrugged off the loss, convinced the Flight would be just fine in Augusta when it came time for what many consider the "national championship" of the girls' basketball summer circuit. But between then and now, Massengale hasn't spent much time with the Flight. Instead, she and her Flight teammate, No. 2 2011 prospect Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, have been overseas with the U17 national team, helping the U.S. to the gold medal at the FIBA world championships. This week, they made their return to American soil, and were immediately re-inserted into the starting lineup. [+] Enlarge Glenn Nelson / ESPN.com Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had 23 points in the championship for the Tennessee Flight and, along with teammate Aerial Massengale, completed a world-national championship double. The result: Massengale fed Mosqueda-Lewis, and Mosqueda-Lewis fed the basket, turning in 23 points Saturday afternoon in the final against DFW, and staging off a late run from the Texas-based club for a 65-62 win. "I told Ariel and Kaleena back in May, 'When you get back to Nike I'll have the younger kids ready,' " Flight coach Tom Insell said. "Our team knew from the start they were coming back and they were going to start. I told my young kids, 'Carry us until then.' " Carry them they did. The Flight won four tournaments before Augusta, largely on the back of Rebecca Greenwell, a 2013 prospect. On Saturday Greenwell showed she could play even if the stars were back in town, knocking down a key three that gave the Flight a 62-54 edge and providing an extra burst of energy during the final two minutes. "Becca played good before but at this tournament she was killing," Mosqueda-Lewis said, noting that she and Massengale didn't sense a hint of jealousy from teammates who might be frustrated at a loss of playing time. "No one seemed to be offended. We won now, so we're all happy." Mosqueda-Lewis and Massengale arrived in Augusta from France at about 3 a.m. on Tuesday and went straight to sleep. They stayed in bed most of the day, rising later in the evening for one practice -- their first in weeks with the Flight -- before opening pool play Wednesday morning with a win over the Illinois Hustle. "My legs were tired and I took a couple ice baths to make it through the week, but this is our last AAU game," Massengale said. "We wanted it." [+] Enlarge Glenn Nelson / ESPN.com DWF's Moriah Jefferson sat out much of the championship first half with foul trouble, but had a scintillating Nike Nationals and was named Most Outstanding Player by the ESPN HoopGurlz staff. It didn't come easily. The Flight had to claw their way to the title, surviving a gutsy performance from DFW, who lost one player Friday to an injury (De'Amber Wilhite) and another player Saturday for long stretches due to foul trouble (Moriah Jefferson). In fact, overtime looked like a decent possibility with four seconds to go when sharpshooter Mosqueda-Lewis missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving DFW a chance to tie should they hit a three. Amber Orrange's attempt fell short though, and the Flight -- led by Massengale -- sprinted to the bench in celebration. The win capped an incredible -- and incredibly exhausting -- month for Massengale and Mosqueda-Lewis, who completed a rare double with a gold medal and a national championship. "The way we gelled was incredible, especially because a lot of other teams weren't able to do it," Massengale said, noting that other clubs struggled to reintegrate their former leading scorers after a summer without them. "Our teammates carried us this week." So what's next on the to-do list for two of the 2011 superstars? After a deep sigh, Massengale answered. "A long nap."