McNicholas coach Rob Heise seems calm as he prepares for Thursday night's matchup with defending state champion Columbus Hartley. Their Division II semifinal is part of the 26th annual girls high school basketball tournament.

        “We're pretty excited about it,” said Heise, whose team is making its first state tourney appearance. “We've seen one tape of Hartley and a couple of my coaches saw them play Saturday. I think we match up pretty well.”

        The unranked Rockets (20-6) are led by second-team All-Ohio selection Ashley Clark, a 6-foot senior who averages 16.5 points a game. No other starter averages double figures, but they all score more than seven points a game and three are at least 5-foot-11.

        “The one thing I like about our team, everybody has been the top scorer at different times,” Heise said. “You can't cheat because someone else can hurt you.”

        Hartley (19-7) slipped to No. 10 in the final AP poll of the season, but is playing well at the right time. The Lady Hawks are one of only two champions from last season to reach the tournament this year.

        “We've got size, they've got speed,” Heise said. “But we've got five seniors. ... They believe we can do this.”

        The McNicholas-Hartley contest is the third of four games to be played Thursday at Value City Arena. The tournament opens with unranked Hamler Patrick Henry (21-4) meeting No. 10 Sardinia Eastern Brown (25-0), winners in 50 of its last 51 games, in Division III.

        Following that game is the matchup between defending champ South Euclid Regina (23-3), the second-ranked team in Division III, and unranked Cincinnati Wyoming (22-3), champions in its only other tournament appearance in 1996.

        The final game Thursday pits unranked Canfield (20-6) against No. 8 Pemberville Eastwood (24-2) in Division II.

        On Friday, No. 4 Bedford Chanel (22-3) plays No. 5 Jackson Center (25-1) in the first Division IV semifinal, followed by a matchup of unranked teams, Worthington Christian (23-3) and Holgate (23-2).

        The Division I semifinals are Friday night. Top-ranked Beavercreek (26-0), led by first-team All-Ohioan Alison Bales, plays No. 6 Cleveland East Tech (23-2), led by first-teamer Barbara Turner, who averages 23 points a game.

        In the nightcap, unranked Toledo Central Catholic (24-2) meets No. 5 Dayton Chaminade-Julienne (24-2) in a rematch of the 1998 semis, won by C-J 57-56.

        The championship games are set for Saturday at 11 a.m. (Division III), 2 p.m. (II), 5 p.m. (IV) and 8:30 p.m. (I).

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