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Lakota West junior guard Monty Boykins added an offer last week, while Lakota East senior Aylssa Grevenkamp recently decided to verbally commit to a college.

Boykins, who averaged 12.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game last season, received an offer by James Madison last week, according to the Lakota West athletic department. Boykins received an offer from Toledo in June and from Miami last summer.

Grevenkamp (photo), who averaged 9.3 points and 5.9 rebounds last season, recently decided to commit to Findlay, she was also considering Valparaiso .

Grevenkamp’s teammates are also working on making their college choices.

Senior Whitney Wyckoff, who averaged 12.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, will visit Yale and is likely to commit to the Ivy League school.

Meanwhile, fellow seniors, Tazzie Shaw (9.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg) will visit Marshall and Eastern Michigan, Molly Blomer (10.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg) visited Ohio Dominican and is considering Wofford and Otterbein, Aleth Pashi (3.3 ppg, 2.5 apg) has interest from Lincoln Memorial and Transylvania and Bernice Satterwhite (4 ppg, 3.2 rpg) has interest from Walsh.

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Tags: Tags: Alyssa Grevenkamp, boys' basketball, cincyhoops, cincysports, girls' basketball, Lakota East, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Molly Blomer, Monty Boykins, Nikki Drew, offer, ohio basketball recruiting, Ohio High School sports recruiting, Ohio preps recruiting, Ohio sports recruiting, Olivia Wrencher, recruiting, Tazzie Shaw, Whitney Wyckoff

Lakota East and Lakota West basketball players are beginning to receive interest from colleges. Two local athletes, Lakota West’s Monty Boykins and Lakota East’s Whitney Wyckoff, have already received offers.

Boykins, who will be a junior during the 2011-2012 season, most recently received an offer from the University of Toledo, according to Pulse Journal reporter Steven Matthews. Boykins had already received an offer from Miami (Ohio) University prior to the start of his sophomore season.

This past season, Boykins averaged 12.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

Meanwhile, Lakota East head coach Nikki Drew confirms offers to senior-to-be Whitney Wyckoff (photo) from Yale University and Loyola University Chicago.

Drew also confirmed that fellow seniors-to-be Alyssa Grevenkamp (Valparaiso and Findlay), Tazzie Shaw (Eastern Kentucky, Marshall and Akron) and Molly Blomer (Austin Peay and Charleston) have received interest from schools.

Statistically, Wyckoff (12.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg), Grevenkamp (9.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg), Shaw (9.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg) and Blomer (10.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg) all performed well during the 2010-2011 season.

On another note, Lakota East might be able to add Olivia Wrencher to its roster next season. Wrencher, who is a transfer from Lakota West, averaged 6.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in five games last season as the Firebirds’ center. In 24 games as a sophomore, during the 2009-2010 season, Wrencher scored 4.8 points and pulled down 4.8 rebounds per game.

Wrencher is enrolled at East, but has to be approved by the OHSAA. Drew has declined to comment until a decision has been made, which is expected to take place sometime in July.

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Tags: Tags: Alyssa Grevenkamp, boys' basketball, cincyhoops, cincysports, girls' basketball, Lakota East, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Molly Blomer, Monty Boykins, Nikki Drew, offer, Olivia Wrencher, recruiting, Tazzie Shaw, Whitney Wyckoff

Lakota West has lost two straight games to two of the Greater Miami Conference’s top teams in Princeton and Mason. However, the Firebirds hope to get back on track when it hosts Colerain (3-2, 1-1 in GMC) tonight, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m.

Princeton, which is No. 1 in the Cincinnati Enquirer’s coaches poll, defeated the Firebirds 57-46 on Saturday, Dec. 11. The previous Saturday the fifth-ranked Mason Comets beat Lakota West 52-42.

Colerain, on the other hand, has won three straight games. Junior guard Sheaira Jones is averaging 17.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for the Cardinals. Fellow juniors Shelly Harper (10.6 points and seven rebounds per game), Kristen Thompson (9.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game) and Abby Feuchter (7.8 points and 3.2 assists per game) have also played well this season.

In three games this season, Lakota West (1-2, 0-2 in GMC) has failed to score more than 46 points. Offensively, the Firebirds are led by University of Massachusetts recruit Ronni Grandison who is averaging 11.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game.

Lakota West is also getting good numbers from junior center Olivia Wrencher, who is averaging 7.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

Colerain is currently ranked No. 15 in the Cincinnati Enquirer local Division I coaches poll. Lakota West is a two-way tie for No. 8.

Picture provided by Mark Ferland/Ferland Fotos. For more photos of this game and other Lakota West athletic events visit ferlandfotos.smugmug.com.

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Tags: Tags: Abby Feuchter, Colerain, Kristen Thompson, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Olivia Wrencher, Ronni Grandison, Sheaira Jones, Shelly Harper

For the first time since early November, Lakota West and Lakota East high schools released the names of their athletes of the week. Junior Olivia Wrencher and freshman Kevin Leonhardt received the honor at Lakota West and junior Aleth Pashi and senior Zach Douglas were honored at Lakota East.

Olivia Wrencher is a junior member of the Lakota West girls’ basketball team. In Saturday’s (Dec. 4) 52-42 loss to Mason, Wrencher (photo) led the Firebirds in points scored (11) rebounds (six) and blocked shots (5). In two games this season, Wrencher is averaging is 9.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.

Kevin Leonhardt is a freshman member of the Lakota West wrestling squad. At Saturday’s (Dec. 4) Olentangy Invitational, Leonhardt won the 112-pound championship. Leonhardt won the division in his first varsity competition. The Olentangy Invitational featured 12 different schools.

Aleth Pashi is a junior member of the Lakota East girls’ basketball team. In last week’s (Dec. 1) 61-35 win against Notre Dame (Ky.), Pashi scored a career-high 12 points, had three steals and three assists. In her first two games this season, Pashi, who plays point guard, has not missed a field goal (6-for-6) and has not turned the ball over. After the Notre Dame win, her head coach Nikki Drew dubbed Pashi the “emotional leader” of the team.

Zach Douglas is a senior member of the Lakota East chess team. Currently, the Lakota East chess team is second in the Greater Miami Conference standings with a 7-1 record. According to the school’s official athletic website, Douglas “is an excellent chess player and has contributed many wins along with good sportsmanship to the East chess team.”

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Tags: Tags: Aleth Pashi, basketball, chess, girls' basketball, Kevin Leonhardt, Lakota East, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Olivia Wrencher, wrestling, Zach Douglas

After a dominating third quarter, Mason was able to hold off a late surge by Lakota West in a 52-42 win in a matchup of Greater Miami Conference rivals. The Firebirds will face Mason again on the road Jan. 26.

“It is huge. Anytime you beat a program like West, who has a great tradition, it is big,” Mason head coach Rob Matula said. “I was telling the girls that it is an early signature win and it is key because our conference is going to be dang good this season.

Trailing by 13 points heading into the fourth quarter, Lakota West head coach Andy Fishman used a pressuring defense to force Mason into committing seven turnovers in the last quarter. Despite multiple missed opportunities under the basket on offense, Lakota West was able to outscore Mason 15-7 in the first seven minutes of the quarter.

“The outcome of our pressure was that we were able to score some easy baskets and frustrate them, but when it was all said and done they were able to break our pressure and hold on,” Lakota West head coach Andy Fishman said.

The pressure defense wasn’t enough as Mason (1-1 overall, 1-0 in GMC) was able to hang on to their first win of the season. With the loss, Lakota West falls to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the GMC.

After a sloppy first half, that featured a total of 22 turnovers (11 by each team), Lakota West held a slim 21-19 advantage. However, Mason’s defense shut the Firebirds down in the third quarter. The Comets outscored Lakota West 21-6 in the frame to take a 40-27 lead heading into the last eight minutes.

>>>PHOTOS OF MASON AT LAKOTA WEST<<<

“(In the third quarter) we didn’t have good ball movement or good defense,” Fishman said. “They made us look bad.”

Mason senior point guard Sarah Hunter, who is committed to Wright State, and junior center Brianna Glover combined for 12 points in the third quarter. Hunter would finish with 15 points. (more…)

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Tags: Tags: Andy Fishman, Bari Schwartz, basketball, Dayton, girls' basketball, Jenna Gunn, Kayla McDowell, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Louisville, Mason, Olivia Wrencher, photo gallery, photos, Ronni Grandison, Sarah Hunter, Toledo, University of Dayton, Xavier, Xavier University

The Lakota West girls’ basketball program will have its home opener this Saturday, Dec. 4, at 2 p.m. against Mason.

Last season, the Lakota West was able to squeak out a 36-35 win against its Greater Miami Conference rival, the Mason Comets. Sophomore forward Tazzie Shaw, who has since transferred to Lakota East, led both teams with 12 points.

Not only has Shaw left the team, but so has last season’s leading scorer in Kindsay Brandt. Lakota West does return senior Ronni Grandison, who has accepted a basketball scholarship at the University of Massachusetts.

“Ronni exemplifies all that is great in our program,” Lakota West head coach Andy Fishman said. “She is a great teammate and super hard worker who learns and plays with an always positive attitude and no ego interference. She is totally focused on getting better and helping her team win. We count on her for scoring, rebounding and overall toughness.”

In addition to Grandison, Lakota West returns senior Mea Williams, junior Summer Reeves, junior Shabazz Reeves, junior Bari Schartz and junior Olivia Wrencher.

“From the first day of practice to where she is now, Olivia has made more improvement than most of the players I have ever coached,” Fishman said of his 6-foot-3 center. “She is absorbing our coaching and on pace to be a more dominant player each game.” (more…)

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Tags: Tags: Bari Schartz, basketball, girls' basketball, Kayla McDowell, Kindsay Brandt, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Mea Williams, Olivia Wrencher, Ronni Grandison, Sarah Ammons, Sarah Hunter, Shabazz Reeves, Tazzie Shaw

Both the Lakota West and Lakota East girls’ basketball programs squeaked out victories in their season openers over the weekend. On Nov. 27, Lakota West defeated Mt. Notre Dame 44-40 and Lakota East defeated St. Ursula 68-65.

Lakota West, who was ranked No. 10 in the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Division I preseason poll, jumped out to a 22-6 first quarter lead against the Cougars, who were ranked No. 12 in the preseason poll.

The Firebirds held off Mt. Notre Dame, despite being outscored 26-16 in the second half.

University of Massachusetts recruit senior Ronni Grandison led Lakota West with 12 points. Junior center Olivia Wrencher added eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Firebirds.

Lakota East, who was ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll, headed into the fourth quarter with a 51-39 advantage against the Bulldogs, who were ranked No. 14 in the preseason poll.

The Thunderbirds held off St. Ursula, despite being outscored 26-17 in the final quarter.

Junior Mackenzie Loesing, who scored 19 points in the loss, led St. Ursula.

Lakota West junior Whitney Wyckoff led all scorers with 24 points. Teammate junior Tazzie Shaw, who transferred to East this season from Lakota West, added 12 points and eight rebounds.

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Tags: Tags: basketball, girls' basketball, Lakota East, Lakota East Sports, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Mackenzie Loesing, Mt. Notre Dame, Olivia Wrencher, Ronni Grandison, St. Ursula, Tazzie Shaw, Whitney Wyckoff