Elida’s Addisyn Freeman shoots against Spencerville’s Gabi Croft during a game this past season at the Elida Fieldhouse. Freeman finished her season with her career with 1,172 points.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
Addisyn Freeman has always been there. Always.
She started for Elida’s girls basketball team in the first game of her freshman season and in every game after that for four years.
The 5-10 forward ended her career with 1,172 points and had her best season as a senior this year when she averaged 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4 assists and three steals a game and was named the Western Buckeye League girls basketball Player of the Year and special mention All-Ohio in Division II.
That followed a junior season when she was second-team All-WBL. She also was second-team all-league as a freshman and third-team all-league as a sophomore.
“The years before my senior year, I felt like I could have done a lot more. This year, I really just took off,” Freeman said.
That big senior season also made her the Player of the Year on The Lima News girls basketball Dream Team.
When Elida girls basketball coach Elise Jenkins was asked how to best describe Freeman she said, “A leader. She’s a leader just by her demeanor when she walks on the court with her teammates. She does it by example. She is such a good communicator on the court. In the huddles, she’s right there.
“She’s very mature for her age. She always has been that way. I coached her in the eighth grade. Even in her younger days years she was a very good leader,” she said.
Freeman had 15 double doubles (points and rebounds) and one triple double this season.
“She’s the leader in every single category – the leader in assists, the leader in steals, the leader in rebounds, the leader in deflections and blocks. It’s just a lot of little things she does as well as scoring,” Jenkins said.
Freeman said she thinks she showed the leadership her coach talked about mainly by example.
“There would be times coach would pull me to the side and say, ‘Anything you do, they’re going to follow.’ I definitely had to lead my senior year – by voice and by example,” she said.
Freeman pointed to three team accomplishments and one individual milestone as highlights of her senior season.
Elida had an 11-13 overall record but its 5-4 Western Buckeye League record was the first time since the 2004-2005 season it had a winning record in the WBL.
Those five WBL wins included a 44-37 victory over Bath. The only other league loss for the Wildkittens came against WBL champion Ottawa Glandorf.
“We were the underdog, we had nothing to lose and we were expected to lose. But we just stayed composed and coach gave us a game plan and that was a game where we really stuck to our game plan,” Freeman said about the win over Bath.
“We won the Vicki Mauk Tournament and we hadn’t won that in 17 years. And my 1,000 points game (against Bluffton), that was big for me,” she said.
Freeman would like to play college basketball but hasn’t yet found what she is looking for.
“I definitely want to but I need to find the right place. I just want to find the right place for me. I’m just looking,” she said.
The other members of The Lima News girls basketball Dream Team are: Lauryn Auchmuty (Columbus Grove), Savana Brooks (Allen East), Grace Freiberger (Shawnee), Cali Gregory (Crestview), Katie Kaufman (Ottawa-Glandorf), Whitney Langhals (Leipsic), Lyv Lindeman (Delphos Jefferson), Elena Oliver (Bath) and Olivia Stolly (Lima Central Catholic).
More coverage
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Boys Coach of the Year: Winning the norm at Ottawa-Glandorf with McGlaughlin at the helm
Girls Coach of the Year: Longevity pays off at Leipsic for Kreinbrink
Meet the Girls Dream Team
Lauryn Auchmuty
Columbus Grove
5-6, Soph.
17.2
==
Savana Brooks
Allen East
5-8, Jr.
15.0
==
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Addisyn Freeman
Elida
5-10, Sr.
17.5
==
Grace Freiberger
Shawnee
5-7, Jr.
20.3
==
Cali Gregory
Crestview
5-10, Jr.
20.3
==
Katie Kaufman
Ottawa-Glandorf
6-0, Jr.
10.0
==
Whitney Langhals
Leipsic
5-5, Sr.
14.2
==
Lyv Lindeman
Delphos Jefferson
5-7, Jr.
20.3
==
Elena Oliver
Bath
6-0, Sr.
12.5
==
Olivia Stolly
Lima Central Catholic
5-7, Sr.
14.3
Honorable mention
Rachel Clark (Bath), Ania Pearson (Shawnee), Karsyn Erford (Ottawa-Glandorf), Tatum Miller (Kenton), Cora Rable (St. Marys), Morgan Hesse (St. Marys), Kyra Welch (Van Wert), Sofi Houg (Van Wert), Sami Scoles (Bluffton), Courtney Sumner (Ada), Gabi Croft (Spencerville), Lauren French (Delphos Jefferson), Laci McCoy (Crestview), Rilynn Jones (Allen East), Bryn Tegenkamp (Continental), Camille Hovest (Kalida), Erica Thorbahn (Ottoville), Jaylen Sautter (Columbus Grove), Maggie Pothast (Fort Jennings), Ava Henry (Leipsic), Grace Pfau (Miller City), Isabella Furley ( Ottoville), Tatelyn Faraglia (Waynesfield-Goshen), Emma Martin (Hardin Northern), Khaliah Luster (Perry), Lexenna Lee (Perry), Raegan Hutchison (Waynesfield-Goshen), Riley Rismiller (Coldwater), Lindsey Koenig (Marion Local), Avae Unrast (Marion Local), Lilly Barhorst (Minster), Chloe Homan (New Bremen), Marina Nelson (New Bremen), Allison Hughes (Parkway), Gabrielle Stober (Parkway), Paige Williamson (Parkway), Molly Wendel (St. Henry)
Reach Jim Naveau at 567-242-0414.
