Bellevue hosts Margaretta in battle of No. 1 teams

One of the biggest girls basketball games in the state of Ohio on Saturday takes place at Bellevue High School. That's where the Lady Red — ranked No. 1 in Division IV according to MaxPreps — hosts Margaretta — No. 1 in Division VI — in Sandusky Bay Conference crossover action. Bellevue, the reigning Division IV state champion, enters with a record of 7-0 while Margaretta is 8-0. Junior varsity tip is scheduled for 11 a.m. "I think we're trending in the right way," Bellevue coach Kory Santoro said. "I've said it before. We are not a veteran group. We have two seniors on the roster. We have young kids that are contributing. I think each and every time out, we are getting better. We are growing together." The Lady Red are averaging 63.3 points per game while allowing 30 points a night. Margaretta averages 57.5 points per contest while giving up 28 points per game. "We're off to a good start," Margaretta coach Ray Neill said. "With that being said, there are things we need to look at, address and hopefully fix. "Without question, it is a game that we'd be lying if we said we had not circled it at the beginning of the season. With it now being on the horizon, both teams are showing up with perfect records and being not only thought of locally as two pretty good basketball teams, but both have some state rankings. That's pretty good." Bellevue is led offensively by freshman Ava Jakubcin-Theis, who is scoring 14.3 points per game. She's reached double digits in six of the Lady Red's seven games. Backing her is Division I Youngstown State signee Kaitlyn Turinsky, who tosses in 12.9 points a night. Mazie Gracemyer chips in 10 points per contest and point guard Ellie Freitag is averaging 9.3 points a game. "First of all, they're well-coached," Neill said. "Coach Santoro and (assistant) coach (Troy) Stamm do a great job. They have all the pieces that good basketball teams have. They're very athletic. They have length and they are a team that enjoys a very physical game of basketball. They play tremendous full-court pressure and they play the half-court very tenaciously and physically. "With all that said, they have a 6-foot-3 girl (Turinsky) that, if you're fortunate to get through their full-court pressure which is like a minefield, she's a rim protector and another obstacle waiting for you." Turinsky adds team-highs of 8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Freitag tops Bellevue with 4.7 assists a night and Gracemyer picks 3.4 steals per contest. The Lady Red are only averaging eight turnovers a game. Bellevue's game against Oregon Clay earlier this week was postponed, leaving the Lady Red off nine days before the game against Margaretta. "It has always been a one-game approach," Santoro said. "We were focused on Clay, but once that was cancelled, the focus turned to Margaretta. This game has always come down to two very good teams. It really feels like the winner has bragging rights as the top team in the area over the last eight or nine years." Margaretta counters with plenty of offensive power itself. The Polar Bears are paced by Division I Gardner-Webb signee Cassidy Lane, who is averaging 14.8 points and 10.4 rebounds a game. Ellyse Schaefer, who will play collegiately at Southeastern University in Florida, adds 12.9 points per game. The senior sharpshooter has made 23 3-pointers this season. Kenadie Saylor, who recently committed to Heidelberg University, contributes 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds a night. Thea Wybensinger, who can only play the first 11 games of this season due to OHSAA transfer rules, adds 6.9 points a night. "They have some nice players," Santoro said. "They have shooters and girls who can play, obviously. Cassidy Lane is a Division I post. Schaefer is a very good 3-pointer shooter. Wybensinger adds to that. Saylor is athletic. They're doing a lot of good things." Unlike the past two seasons when the teams played twice, this is the only meeting this season. Santoro said that feels a little more normal while Neill said a second meeting could have happened, but both are playing at the Tourney Tune-Up at Margaretta on Feb. 1. Bellevue faces Avon Lake that day while the Polar Bears take on defending Division VI state champion Columbus Grove. "Playing once is how it used to be," Santoro said. "Playing once is normal. This is the start of a tough stretch for us. We turn around and play Copley (7-1) on Monday. We have some tough games coming up. Norwalk (5-2) is in there. This is the fun part of the season." Santoro enters the game with a career record of 249-43. He's in his 12th season at the helm of Bellevue, having won league championships in the first 11 seasons to go along with seven district championships. "This is a huge challenge for us," Neill said. "I don't think Bellevue has had any extended struggling time. Even being undefeated at 8-0, we have had a clunker of a quarter here or there. We can't have any clunkers against them." Neill is 297-99 as a basketball coach in his time at Perkins and Margaretta. He also has 510 wins as a baseball coach at the two schools, totaling over 800 for his career. "With the success the two programs have had, this feels like the game of the year," Neill said. "We've recently told the girls that we don't want to look ahead, but we thought Bellevue was going to be undefeated by this time. We wanted to have a goose egg on our record. "We're fortunate and blessed to play in the biggest game in the state of Ohio." Margaretta (8-0) Nov. 22: at Shelby, W 56-24Nov. 29: vs. Fremont Ross, W 56-19Dec. 2: at Clyde, W 56-48Dec. 5: at Port Clinton, W 60-9Dec. 9: at New London, W 45-19Dec. 12: vs. Huron, W 66-27Dec. 18: at Oak Harbor, W 71-68 (3 OT)Dec. 22: at Edison, W 50-10 Bellevue (7-0) Nov. 22: vs. Carey, W 62-25Nov. 25: vs. Elyria Catholic, W 49-37Dec. 2: at Oak Harbor, W 71-47Dec. 6: vs. Clyde, W 69-32Dec. 12: at Tiffin Columbian, W 62-22Dec. 15: at Perrysburg, W 65-24Dec. 18: vs. Perkins, W 65-23