WORTH THE HYPE...was the Miami East - Versailles match-up between the top two state ranked teams.

January 26, 2008 – CASSTOWN
It's a game that rarely happens - at least in regular season play - where the top two teams in the state of Ohio hook up.

But that was the stage at Miami East High School on Saturday as the No. 1 ranked Versailles Tiger brought with them an undefeated 18-0 record to face the No. 2 ranked and 17-0 Lady Vikings.

And the game lived up to billing - and then some.

Versailles, a program accustom to the big-game atmosphere, took it to Miami East from the start - building a 12-5 lead after one and a 31-14 lead at the break.

Miami East just didn't have an answer for the size and athleticism of Versailles post players, primarily Justine Raterman. The future UD Flyer torched Miami East for 13 points at the break and tallied 24 for the afternoon.

Just when it seemed Miami East was out of it, the Lady Vikings fought right back.

Big shots by Rebecca Leffel and Katie Mengos got Miami East back into the contest as it was able to chip the lead to under double digits midway through the third, 34-26. The Vikings eventually cut the margin to 38-31 by the end of the frame.

But Versailles showed by they are the top ranked team in the state to open the fourth - and appeared to put the game away.

The Tigers went on a 7-0 run to increase the margin to 43-31 to put Miami East in deep trouble.

But after each team took turns scoring on a pair of baskets, the Lady Vikings made their move.

Trailing 47-35, Miami East went on 9-0 run in a blink of an eye. Huge treys by Leffel and Megos sparked the run and put Miami East in position to steal the game, trailing just 47-44 with nearly 2:00 to play.

But, unfortunately for Miami East, the Lady Tigers of Versailles didn't panic and took the momentum back with back-to-back treys by Emily Bohman to push the lead to 55-44.

Miami East was forced to foul with time ticking away and Versailles closed the show by making its free throws for the 61-44 win.

The Lady Vikings were led by Rebecca Leffel with 17 points, while Katie Mengos scored 11.

Justine Raterman recorded a game-high 24 points for the Lady Tigers, while Emily Bohman poured in 20 points.

The defeat is the first for Miami East (17-1), while Versailles retains its top ranking and improves to 19-0.

But don't be surprised to see a rematch down the line. Should it happen, you can bet it will be a hot ticket.

Scoring by Quarters:
Versailles .....................12......31......38......61
Miami East .....................5......14......31......44

Miami East Scoring:
Rebecca Leffel - 17
Katie Mengos - 11
Sarah Skidmore - 8
Katie Denlinger - 6

Versailles Scoring:
Justine Raterman - 24
Emily Bohman - 20
Emily Frey - 9
Emily Eilerman - 3
Mallory Barga - 3
Karen Smith - 2

Three-Point Scoring:
Miami East: Leffel (2), Mengos (1), Skidmore (1)
Versailles: Bohman (2), Raterman (1), Frey (1)