Girls Basketball Preview 2022

Barnesville Has New Head Coach, 9 Returning Letterwinners

BARNESVILLE – With a wealth of experience returning from last year, things are looking good for the Barnesville girls’ basketball team for the 2022-23 season. First-year head coach Ty Leach welcomes nine letterwinners back. A pair of them are two-year veterans in senior Alyssa Carter (5-5) and junior Ellie Thompson (5-8). Others who lettered last winter are senior Rilee Lucas (5-4); juniors Ava McFarland and Maddy Schaffer; and sophomores Abigail Johnson, Zoey Fritter, Madelynn Tyson, and Lilly Welch. While the Shamrocks only lost one player, it was leading scorer and rebounder ...

Martins Ferry To Start Over, Start Fresh Under Reasbeck

MARTINS FERRY — The new era of Martins Ferry girls basketball begins this season. Head coach Dave Reasbeck believes his Purple Riders are going to be embarking on a strong run of success in the coming seasons and the foundation that’s laid down this season will be quite important in what lies ahead. “We’re starting over and we’re starting fresh,” Reasbeck said. “We have a whole new attitude and team. We’re very positive and energetic from the junior high level up to the varsity. We have some really good, young players.” The Purple Riders posted a 13-10 record last ...

River Has Good Vibes Around Practice As Isaly Enters 19th Year As Head Coach

HANNIBAL – It may sound like a broken record at most schools, but at River, under ultra-successful girls coach Rick Isaly, there are good vibes around practice, indicating the Lady Pilots can continue their winning ways in 2022-23. The Hannibal-based school returns six lettermen from a 15-10 record squad which advanced to the Division IV District last winter before bowing to eventual Regional qualifier Monroe Central, 61-53. Entering his 19th season at River with a pair of OVAC 2-A titles to his credit, Isaly’s crew upended Beallsville (50-29) and Strasburg (48-43) to capture the ...

Monroe Looks To Continue Success Of Last Season

WOODSFIELD – The Monroe Central Lady Seminoles finished last season with a 20-7 record, winning the MOVL and the Sectional and District titles before bowing out in the first round of the Regional tournament to Trimble. Graduated from that team are Kalista Friday, Haylyn Hiles, Trista Morris, and Hailie Hoyt, but the cabinet is far from empty in Woodfield. A total of fifteen girls are filling varsity spots this season, with nine of them being underclassmen, something veteran Seminoles coach Troy Baker is pleased with. A quartet of seniors spotlight the Seminoles. Abby Thompson is a ...

Buckeye Local Begins Second Season Under Valuska

CONNORVILLE — Year two begins under head coach Tom Valuska in Connorville with a little optimism. The Panthers are coming off their best season (9-14) since a 10-win campaign back in 2018. The team also returns two starters, technically three if not for injury issues a season ago. But size will definitely be an issue, both in stature of the girls that take the floor, and in terms of the number of girls that are even attempting to take the floor. “We’ve got a decent little group, but it’s a small group, just 13 girls,” Valuska said. “We’re not going to have any ...

Harrison Central Has New Head Coach For 2022-23 Campaign

CADIZ — The Harrison Central girls team too is breaking in a new coach, though he should be a familiar face to Huskies faithful, especially anywhere near the hardwood. A star guard for the Huskies as a student, Smith spent the last few seasons assistant longtime girls goal Nick Yourkovich, and prior to that, served as head coach of the OU Eastern women’s team. One positive—four actually—for Smith is he’s not only familiar with his current crop of Huskies, but four of the team’s starters from last season return. Senior Maddy Butler (5-2), Emma Fischer (5-5), Mackenzie ...