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Daniel, Strain headed toward promising rematch

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Woodland’s and Ranburne’s girls basketball teams both have games against different opponents tonight.

But if the teams’ regular-season encounters with their foes are an indication of how its postseason meetings might go, the rivals, which squared off in both last year’s area and Northeast Regional tournament finals, will meet up again in Saturday’s area final.

“It’s a classic matchup,” longtime Ranburne coach Tim Smith said. “It’s as big a rivalry as you’ll see. I’ve been coaching basketball for more than 25 years, and it’s right up there with anyone we played when we won the state title in ’91 or went to the final in ’93.”

To set up the showdown, each team has to get out of tonight’s first round of the Class 2A, Area 9 tournament. Ranburne (20-4) takes on Lineville at 6 p.m., while Woodland, 29-1 on the season and ranked No. 1 in the final Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 2A poll, follows against Randolph County at 7:30.

Ranburne is 3-0 against Lineville this season, winning the contests by a combined score of 164-89. Woodland’s outscored Randolph County 136-26 in two meetings with the Lady Tigers.

Ranburne and Woodland split a pair of regular-season meetings a year ago. Woodland won the coin toss for the right to host the area tournament, but the Lady Bulldogs upended the Lady Bobcats on their home court in the final. Smith referred to the 75-70 victory as “the best game we’ve played in a long, long time.”

That set up their epic tilt at Jacksonville’s Pete Mathews Coliseum in the Northeast Regional tournament final. Facebook feuding among fans from both sides the day prior to the game intensified the atmosphere inside the jam-packed gymnasium. Ranburne’s student section chanted, ‘She’s no princess’ whenever Woodland point guard Leah Strain touched the ball. The jab was a play on a headline in The Star which read, ‘Princess Leah,’ following the then-freshman’s 24-point performance to knock off then-No. 1 North Sand Mountain in double overtime in the regional semis.

She scored 26 to help her team to a 63-56 victory and move on to the Final 48 in Birmingham after seven trips to the regional tournament.

“Anytime you go up against Ranburne, you know it’s going to be a battle,” Woodland coach Larry Strain said. “As a coach, playing a team three times in a season, I can’t say I’m looking forward to it.”

Woodland is 2-0 against the Lady Bulldogs this season. The Lady Bobcats downed them 81-32 at home in the third game of the season on Dec. 9, then defeated them on the road 76-57 on Jan. 17.

The potential pairing could also pit two of the state’s premiere scorers with Strain going against Ranburne senior Julia Daniel again. Daniel eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for her career in a game against Ohatchee a couple weeks ago.

Daniel, a 5-foot-9 senior post player, is averaging 24.6 points, while Strain, a 5-4 sophomore point guard, goes for 25.4 points per game.

Strain and Daniel were both first-team all-state selections last year.

Both coaches said the other team’s big scorer is their primary focus on defense.

“It starts with Julia Daniel,” coach Strain said. “She’s a gritty offensive player. She’s hard to stop. She makes all the hustle plays, too.”

Said Smith of Leah: “When she wants to go to the basket, she’s almost unstoppable.”

There’s no getting away from the hype either.

“At school, everyone’s always asking if you’re ready for Woodland,” Daniel said. “You go to the store, the old guys there, are asking you about the game, too. It’s something, we look forward to.”

Smith likened the rivalry to Auburn and Alabama, albeit on a much smaller scale. But the good thing about these nemeses, the mutual respect is generally restored once the final whistle blows, he said.

“Every year, they bring out the best in us,” Leah said. “We know we can’t just walk in the gym and have it handed to us. We’re going to have to prepare and work hard to beat them should we make it that far.”

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Keywords: Woodland,Ranburne,basketball,

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