NEWS AND NOTES

Nice to meet you Warriors...The Irish are 0-2 all time against Westerville North, but have never faced the Warriors in the regular season. The last time these teams met was in the Central District tournament in 1999. Westerville North won 60-49.

On the road again..Scioto is in the midst of five consecutive games away from home. They played North Canton Hoover at the College of Wooster on Sunday, December 14 and will travel to Westerville Central on Tuesday, December 23. After a short holiday break, the Irish will visit Columbus Independence before returning home on Friday, January 2 to face the Mt. Vernon Yellow Jackets.

Deflections...A defensive statistic tracked by the Irish coaching staff that doesn’t show up in the box score is deflections. It is credited whenever a defender gets his hand on a pass. Why does it make a difference? Deflections tend to slow down the offense a bit because it demonstrates that passing lanes will be challenged. They can lead to steals or turnovers. They can slow down a fast break or advantage gained by the opposing offense. They have a way of energizing other players in the game and teammates on the bench. Deflections...one of the little things that lead teams to be successful!

Area rankings..This Week Newspapers issues a weekly Super 7 poll in which beat reporters rate area teams regardless of division. Unbeaten and highly regarded Northland retained its #1 ranking in the second week of this poll. Scioto, second in the initial poll, retained its ranking despite the 50-48 to North Canton Hoover. Columbus DeSales moved up to the #3 spot after a home win against Worthington Christian (ranked #7) on Friday. The next three teams are members of the OCC Ohio..,Grove City (#4), Gahanna (#5) and Newark (#6). Other teams in the mix are Canal Winchester, Columbus Brookhaven and Dublin Coffman. While it's fun for high school sports fans, the only basketball rankings that really matter are league standings and who earns a district title in March.

Irish girls off to great start...The Scioto varsity girls team is 4-0 on the season following two convincing wins last week against Olentangy and Westerville South. The Irish are ranked #3 in the This 20 Weeks Girls Super 7. Last season, the Irish won the OCC Capital Division and finished as district runners-up.

Cardinal updates...Marysville broke into the win column with a 50-46 win against Thomas Worthington on Tuesday... Since dropping its opener at home against the Irish, Olentangy has ripped off three straight convincing wins..the closest being a 62-44 victory over Capital Division contender Delaware this week.