Shawnee looks poised to take the next step.
Last year the Indians manufactured its first winning season since 2011-12 with a 15-8 mark, and this year with five returning starters. Shawnee has jumped out to a quick 4-0 start and is looking to compete for the Western Buckeye League title.
Shawnee head coach Rachel Rumbaugh, entering her third season at the helm, said one of the big differences is the team’s defense.
“I think a big part of it is our ability to score out of our defense,” Rumbaugh said. “We are getting so many points out of our transition and we are knocking down contested shots. We are getting multiple one and one almost every game.”
Since taking over Rumbaugh added that this is something they have been trying to push out of the defense and everything seems to be falling in place this year.
It doesn’t hurt when you have a veteran group to work with. Featuring the two sophomores, Grace Freiberger, a first-team, all-WBL selection last year, and Zoe Best, a second team choice, the Indians have a number of talented players and are deep.
“We have five returning starters which is incredible for us,” Rumbaugh said. “We are super versatile which makes us a really hard match up. Zoe Best plays a guard for us. She is a 5-10 guard which makes it a hard match up and then we also have Kelly Cooper, who’s 5-10, Halie Conrad, Ania Pearson and so we have a lot of girls pushing six foot which makes them hard to match up with and then we have our guard play.
“We have Grace Freiberger who obviously finishes really well around the rim and then we pulled in CeCe Worsham this year from Temple (Christian) who is doing a great job for us. She has a nice little jumper that really helps us out on the offensive end especially when Zoe and Grace are being face guarded, she helps us out offensively.
Rumbaugh added that she doesn’t feel like she loses much when she brings in Zoe Smith and Tessa Stahler coming off the bench and they have been doing a great job this year.
Despite having an experienced team, Rumbaugh said it is still a work in progress and during the preseason the team set some goals and worked on coming together more as a team.
“We made statistical goals,” Rumbaugh said. “We made personal goals and those are things we work on every day. A big one of those is communication on the floor. That is something we need to work on. Our half court offense is something we are working on as well as rebounding.
“One of our big goals is to be competitive every game and improve our record from last season.”
In the early going, Shawnee has accomplished the one goal of being competitive and appears heading toward accomplishing the second.
The Indians opened the year with a convincing 60-14 win over Fort Jennings, followed by victories over the always tough Columbus Grove, 52-42, and Marion Local, 55-42, squads. Shawnee then opened WBL play with a 67-29 performance against Elida.
“It has been really exciting and we have played quite a few good teams,” Rumbaugh said. “Marion Local and Columbus Grove were really tough teams that we prepared for. I don’t think in the last seven or nine years we’ve beaten them so that was a really big win for us. Those are two well-coached teams we are really proud of how our girls came out and played against them.”
But the road will continue to get tougher in the WBL. Up next is Bath, a team that the Indians have never beaten in girls basketball. Rumbaugh said one of the team’s goals is to compete in the top of the league this year.
Rumbaugh, like the rest of the team, understands the significance of playing Bath. The team knows it needs to be ready for a fight.
“Well, obviously it is Bath, so it gives it a little more of a competitive edge but we talk about taking care of the ball and controlling our possessions and limiting our turnovers,” Rumbaugh said. “That is going to be a big part of the game because Bath does a really good job of a half court set and controlling it and coach Mauk does a great job with those girls and they may not have the deepest of benches but he does a really good job with the girls that he has on the floor.”
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