Lima Senior’s Maisie Strawser drives past Lima Central Catholic’s Maria Pignataro last Saturday at Lima Central Catholic. Strawser can score off the dribble, as well as from the perimeter, averaging a team-high 17.1 points per game.
Nate Reynolds | The Lima News.
LIMA — The Lima Senior girls basketball program knows just one speed.
From the opening tip, Lima Senior wants to push the tempo.
When the Spartans have possession of the basketball, it’s off to the races. At the defensive end, Lima Senior’s pressure can sometimes be downright suffocating.
Lima Senior’s up-tempo style of play was in full display this past week.
In last Saturday’s 61-28 victory over Lima Central Catholic, the Spartans’ defensive pressure helped cause 32 LCC turnovers.
At the offensive end, Lima Senior connected on just 32 percent of its field goal attempts. However, the Spartans managed to take 74 shot attempts. Defensively, Lima Senior held LCC to just 11 of 44 shooting from the field.
Monday night, Lima Senior jumped out quickly on Toledo Woodward, outscoring Woodward 18-1 in the first quarter, and never looked back in a convincing 60-24 victory on the road.
“We love (applying) defensive pressure,” Lima Senior coach LaKeisha Sigman said. “Defense has been our big thing this year. I think in every game this season, that (defensive pressure) will be our biggest thing.
“We struggle a little bit with (making) layups. … We have all season. With our history — and I’ve been here a long time — normally, that’s what it is for us. … We miss a lot of layups. We’re still working on that. We keep working hard on defense to cover up the layup misses.”
Sigman is a 1991 Lima Senior graduate, where she was a standout in basketball, volleyball and track. Sigman, whose maiden name is White, was a long-time assistant coach for Lima Senior and took over as the head coach in 2021 when Vince Halliday resigned after 14 seasons as the head coach. Halliday moved on to Ada to take over the boys basketball program.
So far this season, Lima Senior is 4-4 overall and 1-2 in its first year in the Toledo City Athletic League. The Spartans lost to Wayne Trace on Thursday, 42-34.
In last Saturday’s convincing win over LCC, Anya James, a 5-foot-6 junior point guard for Lima Senior, led the way with game-highs of 21 points and nine steals. She also came away with six rebounds. Through Monday’s contest, James averaged 11.2 points and 4.6 steals per outing.
“Being longer (5-foot-6), I’m always up front,” James said. “I’m a little bit taller. So, I like to think I should be a ‘big,’ but I’m not.
“My long stature helps me get steals, and coach (Sigman) knows that. So, she puts me up front. I just do what my body allows me to do – what I’m naturally good at. Defense is my thing.”
James said her team can turn up the intensity whenever it wants.
“We’re quick. Sometimes we don’t play like we’re quick. But having that natural ability and skill, all we have to do is come in with the right mindset,” James said.
In Lima Senior’s win over Woodward on Monday, James scored 21 points.
A good portion of Lima Senior’s points come from driving into the lane. However, the Spartans can also score from the perimeter.
Maisie Strawser (5-foot-7, senior, guard) can score off the dribble, as well as from the perimeter.
Against LCC last Saturday, Strawser scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers. On the season, Strawser averaged 17.1 points per contest.
“We rely on Maisie Strawser a lot. She’s our big-time shooter,” Sigman said. “When we need a three, that is who we are looking for. The team knows that. When we need a three, we set up a play, so that Maisie gets a shot. She’s been doing really well with that this year.
“She is a very good shooter, but she also knows that she needs to get to the rim. When she’s not hitting from the outside, she knows to get to the rim.”
Strawser said she has been given the green light to take a 3-point shot, whenever she is open.
“I’m going to keep shooting because that’s what my coach always tells me to do. I like to shoot, but I also like to give my teammates a chance to do their own thing,” Strawser said.
Against LCC, Strawser had four assists.In Monday’s win over Woodward, Strawser led the Spartans with 26 points, including four 3-pointers.
Ke’Asia Jones (5-foot-3, junior, guard) had eight points and a couple steals against LCC last week. At the defensive end, Jones averaged 3.6 steals per contest.
Jones wants to improve her offensive output this season. She is averaging 3.4 points per game.
“It’s going well. … I just got to keep working on my offensive game,” Jones said. “(Playing) defense — that’s what I do. I like to get up and down (the court), get the steals and get it to my teammates, so they can score. I like to give my teammates a successful way to score.”
Sigman is optimistic of her team’s chances this season.
“We have five (returners) back. We bring three JV (junior varsity) girls up to varsity to help,” Sigman said. “We definitely can see some of those JV kids coming up and getting some minutes. They’re all doing really well.”
