When Joe Lang considers his team’s tournament drawing, the Ready High School girls basketball coach believes the potential is there for the Silver Knights to surprise their way to a Division III district final.

Adding credibility to that idea is the recent performance of 5-foot-10 sophomore Margie Berkemeyer.

After missing the first 12 games because of illness, Berkemeyer scored two points during Ready’s 37-34 loss to Hartley on Jan. 7.

The Silver Knights closed the regular season by winning five of their last seven, however, and Berkemeyer found her stride during a 47-17 victory over Grandview on Feb. 8 when she scored a season-high 23 points.

“She’s a sophomore, but she has a great shooting touch,” Lang said. “We didn’t have her for our first (12) games and when she came back she didn’t have any wind or much strength at first. (Against Grandview) she just shot the ball extremely well.”

Berkemeyer, who shot 10-for-16 from the floor against the Bobcats, joins Nikki Brown and Lauren Ruth in what Lang believes can be a strong inside game.

As recently as winter break, Lang was concerned that Berkemeyer might not be able to help much, if any, this season.

After Berkemeyer helped the girls volleyball team reach a state semifinal Nov. 10, she went to basketball practice the next day but began to experience flu-like symptoms later that weekend.

Despite enduring symptoms similar to mononucleosis over the next month, doctors never determined what caused Berkemeyer to feel weak and sick.

By early January, she finally felt well enough to return to action. She scored eight points during a 76-37 victory over Columbus School for Girls on Jan. 21 but didn’t completely break out until the Grandview game.

The Silver Knights received the 10th seed for the district tournament, but because of Lang’s desire to not have a first-round bye, he elected to set up his team with an opening-round game against fifth-seeded Johnstown.

If Ready can upset the Johnnies at 2:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at New Albany, it will face CSG on Feb. 25 at the same site. While CSG is 1-19, Johnstown is 16-4.

Seventh-seeded Marion Pleasant, eighth-seeded West Jefferson or 11th-seeded Madison Plains would await the Silver Knights in a district semifinal Feb. 28 at New Albany if they win their first two tournament games.

The district final is March 3 at New Albany, where top-seeded Africentric likely will be looming.

For Berkemeyer, simply getting to the point where she could contribute again has been a relief.

“I just kept feeling nauseated and extremely tired,” Berkemeyer said. “I went to the (emergency room) one time and they thought I had appendicitis, so I went again and had to get an MRI. It was more annoying than scary because they didn’t give me any medicine. I had a few setbacks but I finally started feeling OK around mid-January.

“For a while I could only play about five minutes, and I lost about 10 pounds. I definitely don’t feel 100 percent, but I’m doing much better. (The Grandview game) was probably the most I’ve played. It would be so important if I could contribute to this team and to come back from something horrible like this. Everyone on the varsity team has been really supportive and helped me to come back.”

•The boys basketball team is hoping to rebuild some momentum for the postseason.

After winning seven of their first nine, the Silver Knights had lost nine in a row before playing North Union on Feb. 14.

During the skid, Ready lost close games to Centerburg (45-44 on Jan. 28) and Wellington (67-61 on Feb. 7) and averaged just 37.4 points.

•The wrestling team failed to defend its CCL championship.

After scoring 256.5 points to capture the league title a year ago, Ready scored 180.5 but finished behind host Hartley (191.5) and ahead of St. Charles (152.5), DeSales (114) and Watterson (16.5) on Feb. 11. It’s the first league championship for the Hawks.

Winning league titles for Ready were Steven Pozz (106 pounds), Bobby Smith (126), Patrick Stover (145) and Patrik Garren (heavyweight).

Those four should be among the top competitors for Ready in a Division III sectional tournament Friday, Feb. 17, and Saturday, Feb. 18, at Cardington. Also looking for strong performances are Andrew Jones (113), Nick Headlee (132) and Dalton Scott (120).

The top four in each weight class advance to the district tournament Feb. 24 and 25 at Heath.

Brandon Burt, who was expected to compete at 152 or 160, is out for the season with an injury, according to coach Chance Van Gundy.

“I think (Garren) has only lost five or six this year, and he was second at the (Catholic Invitational Tournament on Jan. 14 and 15 at Cincinnati Elder),” Van Gundy said. “Dalton Scott has been doing pretty well.”

•Football players Brandon Gutheil, Trey Thatcher and Gregg Yoho signed letters of intent Feb. 2 to play in college.

Gutheil will play for Ashland University and Thatcher and Yoho will play for Urbana University. Both Ashland and Urbana compete in NCAA Division II.

Last season, Gutheil made second-team all-district in Division IV as an offensive lineman and also played on the defensive line.

Thatcher made first-team all-district on the offensive line and played on the defensive line.

Yoho saw action at quarterback, slotback and in the defensive backfield for the Silver Knights, who finished 4-6.