First Posted: 2/18/2015
1. As the girls basketball tournament tips off this week can one of the teams from the area get to state?
Last year was a rare year for the area. No girls basketball teams reached the state tournament.
There was Versailles, from the Midwest Athletic Conference, which went all the way to the Division III state championship game before falling to Africentric, 49-37.
Bath in Division II and Crestview in Division IV made the regionals last year and should once again be in the hunt for a trip to the state tournament.
2. What kind of route does Bath (16-1) have in the tournament?
Bath, the No. 1 seed in Division II, opens with a one-game sectional against Bryan in Hicksville. From there, it advances to the district at Paulding and will meet Defiance, Van Wert or Elida.
Feeding into the Paulding district will be No. 2 seed Wapakoneta and No. 3 seed Wauseon.
If Bath wins the district, it moves on to the Ohio Northern regional, where it would play the Toledo district winner in the regional semifinals. The top seeds out of Toledo are No. 1 Toledo Rogers and No. 2 Toledo Central Catholic.
Rogers knocked off Bath in the regional semifinals last year, 52-39.
In order to make a strong tournament run, Bath will have to gobble up turnovers off its 2-2-1 full-court press and convert baskets at the other end. Three-point shooters Dackin, Alyssa Manley and Haylee Brenek will need to get on a roll.
3. Who are a few of the top players to watch?
Bath’s 5-foot-9 senior forward Maddie Dackin averages 16 points, five rebounds and two assists per game. Dackin is headed to Ashland.
Lima Senior has 5-9 junior Rion Thompson, who is averaging 22 points per game.
Crestview is led by Lindsey Motycka, who recently signed with Lourdes College (Toledo).
Lima Central Catholic’s Madison Stolly set the single-game scoring record this year with 39 points against Van Wert.
Upper Scioto Valley sophomore Emily Patton is averaging 20 points and six rebounds.
4. Which teams in the WBL have the best shot at making a tournament run besides Bath?
Wapakoneta only had a handful of losses this year and could advance to the Division II district. The Redskins have the size inside with 6-foot Carly Buzzard and 6-1 Riley Culver. There’s also hustling point guard Maddi Stiles and Megan Watt.
The Redskins would meet Bath in the district finals.
Ottawa-Glandorf is the No. 2 seed in Division III. O-G’s Elissa Ellerbrock tossed in 18 points in a recent big win over Wapakoneta. The Titans also have Erin Basinger and Dani Ellerbrock.
If the Titans make the district, the top teams in their way would be No. 1 seed Liberty-Benton, No. 3 seed Lima Central Catholic and No. 4 seed Columbus Grove.
5. Which Northwest Conference team has the best shot at a tournament run?
Crestview had three juniors and a sophomore starting on a team that went 23-2 and reached the regional semifinals last year before falling to Holgate, 54-46. The Knights lost their point guard, Kennis Mercer, to a knee injury in the district semifinals last year. This year Mercer, Lindsey Motycka, Mac Riggenbach and 5-9 Emily Bauer all return for the Knights.
6. How does the road look for Lima Senior?
The Spartans have two standout players in Rion Thompson (22 points) and Essence Cowan (13 points). Since January, Imara Haynes (8.2 points, 8.4 rebounds) has given the team a big boost on the inside.
The Spartans, the No. 6 seed, will be favored in their first game against Ashland. After that, life will get difficult in a hurry. The sectional finals could be match between Lima Senior and No. 2 seed Sylvania Northview. The Spartans wouldn’t face No. 1 seed Notre Dame until the district finals.
7. Which team can make a run in the Northwest Central Conference?
Upper Scioto Valley is having a great season and is led by sophomore Emily Patton, who averages 20 points, six rebounds and 2.6 assists. She scored 35 against Riverdale. The Rams are seeded No. 2 and could play No. 1 seed Marion Local in the district finals at Wapakoneta. New Knoxville, the No. 3 seed, will also feed into that district.
8. Which team out of the Putnam County League could challenge Crestview?
Leipsic received the No. 2 seed, with Crestview No. 1. Leipsic wouldn’t see Crestview until the district finals. If they do meet, it would be a rematch of last year’s district title game, which Crestview won.
The Vikings are led by veterans Shalynn Morman (17 points) and Kelly Nadler (10 points, nine rebounds).
Kalida could also make a run. Kelly Osterhage is averaging 13 points for the Wildcats. Kalida’s Jackie Gardner, one of the top soccer players in the area, averages 9.5 points. Kalida would face Leipsic in the district semifinals.
9. Can Ottoville make a run?
It’s hard to ever rule out a Dave Kleman-coached team. But this isn’t the Big Green of two years ago, when it had Abby Siefker, who is now a sophomore at Bowling Green State University.
The Big Green returned four starters this year, Annie Lindeman, Lexie Wannemacher, Brooke Mangas and Lisah Honigford.
The possible game to watch would be Ottoville vs. Crestview in the district semifinals.
10. How does it look for Columbus Grove and Lima Central Catholic in Division III?
LCC received the No. 3 seed, while Columbus Grove was seeded fourth.
Sophomore Madison Stolly has paced LCC this year. Columbus Grove is led by Jade Clement (16 points) and Lynea Diller (10 points).
LCC could meet No. 1 seed Liberty-Benton in the district semifinals. The Bulldogs would run into No. 2 seed O-G in the district finals.
