Northern Miami Valley Basketball News: MAC/SCL stars making big impact in college
It was a double dose of Anna basketball last week and the girls continue to dominate, while the boys are on a three-game skid.
Fort Loramie at Anna Girls
The Lady Rockets are wheeling and the Lady Redskins are reeling.
After a close opening quarter, Anna shifted in high gear for a convincing 64-40 win over SCL rival Fort Loramie Thursday night before a capacity home crowd.
The win keeps Anna unbeaten in league play at 7-0 and 11-1 overall. Fort Loramie falls two games behind at 6-2 and 9-3 overall.
Anna coach Jack Billing said, “The season is early, but we keep getting better each night out. Our goal is not only to get to Columbus, but win it.”
Fort Loramie, funked in neutral ever since 42-38 loss to Minster before Christmas break, continued to struggle, shooting 31 percent from the floor and 61 percent from the line.
Morgan Huelskamp was the spark off the bench to ignite Anna on a 10-2 run to close out the first half with a 26-16 lead. The junior scored six of 11 points in the second quarter. She finished the game converting 5-of-7 from the field, including a three from the top of the key with 2:26 left in the third quarter for a 39-22 margin.
Billing said, “She was the player of the game for us. She is a big time player who could start for any other team, but she’s fine with coming off the bench to give us valuable minutes.”
Janel Olberding, back in the starting lineup for just the second game, hit a foul shot at the 37.2-second mark of the third quarter for 1000 career points. She becomes the fifth Loramie player to reach the coveted milestone, joining Sarah DeLoye, Faye Barhorst, Denise Meyer, and Mandy Winner.
Olberding finished the night with 13 points and three assists.
Teammate Clair Ruhenkamp finished with nine points and is 36 points shy of 1000.
But if the Lady Redskins plan to re-visit Columbus in March, Olberding and Ruhenkamp need to step it up a notch. Olberding was 4-of-18 from the field and Ruhenkamp was 4-of-12.
Anna assembled an 11-0 run midway through the final quarter for its biggest lead of the game, 58-33. It went down like this: Fort Loramie shot no good. Rebound Megan Fogt. Outlet pass to Ashley Frohne. Frohne cross-court pass to Rebecca Burch for the uncontested layup.
That stretch was poetry in motion. Frohne scored down low in transition. Carrie Watkins drained a three from the perimeter in transition. Fogt scored a layup and converted the three-point-play in transition. Sounds like a broken record: “Anna just scored in transition to see what kind of transition their transition was in.” Watkins capped the spurt with two free throws and Natalie Billing made one foul shot.
Billing said, “Our pressure defense and half-court trap allowed us to score easy baskets in transition. A few times it took Loramie 2-3 minutes to get a shot off.”
Brooke Turner stopped the bleeding with a 15-footer and Ruhenkamp followed with a bucket in the paint. Turner scored 10 points for the game.
Fogt paced the Rockets with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Burch added 14 with five assists and Watkins contributed 12 points and a game high nine assists. Anna’s precision passing resulted in 23 total team assists.
The Rockets shot 50 percent from the field and outrebounded Loramie 36-28.
Anna at Lehman Boys
The Lehman Cavaliers, high-beaming with confidence after huge win against Houston, caught Anna staring in the headlights 65-53 Friday night in a non-league matchup.
Jonathan Slagle, filling his role nicely at the two guard position, paced the Cav attack with 19 points. He exploited the Anna defense with his first step quickness. And Trent owen played strong, scoring 10 points off the bench.
Lehman coach Isaiah Williams preaches defense and his players have responded. The 29-year-old first year coach said, “We are turning the corner. Our defense played hard and tough. We got the stops when we needed. It’s all about defending and scoring.”
The Cavaliers did both, holding Anna to 53 points and 38 percent shooting and landing four players in double figures. Alex Baker scored 12 points, including 6-of-6 from the line. Nick Cordonnier added 10 points with 6-of-6 from the line also. In fact, lehman converted 19-of-21 foul shots, including 9-of-11 in the final quarter.
The first quarter witnessed four lead changes and two ties as the Cavs led 13-9 after one. Joe Staley and Baker eached scored four points for Lehman. Jay Meyer bombed a three and Bryce Finkenbine scored on a 15-footer at the buzzer for Anna.
Lehman stretched the lead to 28-22 at the break. Owen went to work inside scoring six points and Slagle added five with a three-ball and a slashing drive to the bucket.
The third quarter was fast and furious, just the way Williams likes it. The Cavs outscored Anna 22-16. Slagle exploded for nine points, including a sweet fade-away 15-footer and a bomb from the corner.
Meyer paced the Rockets with two three-balls and a baseline 12-footer, but Slagle closed out the quarter with two spinning drives down the lane and the Cavs led 50-38.
Lehman secured the win in the fourth at the foul line.
Lehman shot 48 percent from the field and a sizzling 90 percent from the charity stripe. Lehman won the battle of the boards 25-18. Both teams were guilty of 15 turnovers.
Meyer paced the Rockets with 15 points. Alex Fogt added 12 and Finkenbine tallied 11.
Lehman improves to 4-3 and Anna dips to 5-6.
No doubt, Williams brings high-energy and intensity to the boys basketball program. It was evident Friday and Wayne coach Travis Trice would have been proud of his protege.
Coaching Changes
Kevin Fell was named head football coach at Elyria last Tuesday. He has been coaching for 32 seasons, five different schools, including Sidney in 1989. He has compiled a 237-113-2 record with one state title, two runner-ups, and four final fours. Fell has won 13 conference titles and five undefeated seasons. Last season he led Amherst to an 8-2 record. He was elected to the OHSAA Hall of Fame in 2008.
Dan Cairns was named head football coach at Parkway last Thursday. Cairns left Sidney after six seasons, compiling an 18-42 record. His best seasons were 2007 and 2009 when the Jackets were 5-5. He was GWOC North Coach of the Year in 2009. His teams were named Academic All-Ohio the past two seasons.
Due to another failed school levy, Cairns future was uncertain so he jumped at the opportunity to coach in the MAC.
He was always a great interview and had a great sense of humor during the rough times. My favorite quote, “…the only light at the end of the tunnel is a gorilla holding a flashlight.”
College Update
Several area basketball players are enjoying success at the college level.
Ladies first. Jaclyn Willoughby (Houston) was named Athlete of the Week at Wittenberg for her performance against Kenyon January 15. She set the second highest single-game scoring mark in Wittenberg history and the highest output ever by a freshman, tallying 33 points in a 74-65 win over Kenyon. She also set the school record for most points in a single half with 27 in the second half.
The starting point guard averages 8.2 points a game. The Lady Tigers are 8-7 on the season.
Teammate Kim Replogle (Houston) averages 8.1 points a game off the bench with 4.7 rebounds. The sophomore post player is shooting 50 percent from the field.
Ohio Northern is off to a 12-4 start thanks to Joanna Snyder (Fort Recovery). The sophomore forward is a starter and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Grand Canyon Classic in Arizona December 29-30. She scored 12 points the first night and 15 points the second night. On the season, she is averaging 7.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, shooting 48 percent from the field and 85 percent from the line.
On the boys side, three area players are making a splash for 8th ranked Findlay College in Division II. Greg Kahlig (Fort Recovery) is a starting guard averaging 11.1 points and shooting 92 percent from the foul line. During a three-game stretch in December, he scored 24, 28, and 22 points, respectively.
Brad Piehl (New Knoxville) averages 20 minutes a game and is scoring at a 6.3 clip with 3.7 rebounds.
Mark Frilling (Fort Loramie) is averaging 2.4 points and shooting 64 percent from the field. He logs about 10 minutes a game.
Lake Superior State owns a 10-5 record and starting point guard Derek Billing (Anna) is the floor leader with 6.0 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 24 steals. The freshman is shooting 49 percent from the field, including 40 percent from beyond the arc.
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