24 — Thursday, November 29, 2012
Plenty of blowouts on the horizon for Lady Knights The first two girls basketball games I went to this season were blowouts, and not much fun to cover. Friday night’s season opener between Smithville and East Knox wasn’t even fun for the Smithville crowd that watched the Smithies smother the Bulldogs. West Holmes’ game against Tri-Valley wasn’t much more fun to endure on Saturday. Sadly, with all the talent West Holmes brings to the floor this season, I’m afraid there are going to be a lot of games similar to Saturday’s thrashing of Tri-Valley. The Lady Knights are one of those teams that seems to have it all: size, depth, shooters, ball handlers and girls who love to play defense. Laina Snyder is a junior 6-footer who has guard skills in a post player’s body. She is truly fun to watch, but a nightmare for opponents. Emily Molnar and Rachelle Morrison are a pair of point guards who often are on the court at the same time, giving the Knights a pair of people who can get the offense into motion. Paiten Strother is a record-setting threat from beyond the arc and Justice Wright is another scoring threat who also brings defensive intensity
to the floor. West Holmes also has something it hasn’t had in coach Lisa Patterson’s tenure, and that is a huge senior class. There are six seniors on the squad this year, Wright and Morrison included. Other seniors include post players Mallori Vess and Natalie Abraham and guards Maria Straits and Jordan Snow. Vess was one of the top offensive rebounders for the girls last year when West Holmes went to the state title game, and she was deadly scoring from around the bucket. Abraham had a huge game against Tri-Valley in the opener, scoring eight points and grabbing a couple rebounds. You could see her confidence grow each trip down the floor. What a bonus it would be for the Knights if she could produce like that every night out. There are a slew of talented youngsters on the squad as well, making it hard for the all of them to get playing time. But when the games are as one-sided as the openingnight win was, it makes it easy for all of the players to get onto the court. Freshman Hannah Clark scored on a reverse layup in the final minutes of the Tri-Valley win, the first of many buckets she is sure to score in her career. I saw shades of her mother (Julie Martin) as she moved up and down the floor. It’s hard to believe I’ve been doing this job long enough to see kids of kids I covered 20 years ago. Time sure flies when you’re having fun.
The Holmes County Shopper News
The West Holmes Lady Knights are hoping for a successful season and long tournament run. The 2012-13 Knights consist of (front, from left) ball girl Regan Wilcox, Rachelle Morrison, Justice Wright, Mallori Vess, Natalie Abraham, Maria Straits, Jordan Snow, ball girl Taylor Miller; (back) assistant coaches Megan Abbey, Mike Molnar, Alex Brown, Alex Starr, Hannah Clark, Laina Snyder, Brittleigh Macaulay, Paiten Strother, Emily Molnar, head coach Lisa Patterson and Marlyce Yoder.
West Holmes girls have what it takes for another Final Four run
By KEVIN LYNCH Staff Writer The Knights have 10 players back from last year’s team that finished 24-4, falling to Hathaway Brown in the state championship game. The team returns a year older, wiser, stronger and hungrier. “Our team was tried and tested last year,” said seventh-year head coach of the Knights Lisa Patterson. “We hope those experiences can create an atmosphere of desire and challenge. We snuck up on a lot of teams last year. We weren’t state ranked. We really didn’t have anything to lose. We were just out there to play. “These kids compete every day… every day,” the coach continued. “I never have to remind them what it’s all about. West Holmes will have six seniors this year, three of whom have been playing varsity minutes for the past three years. Senior Rachelle Morrison shares the point guard duties with junior Emily Molnar. Morrison came on
strong at the end of last season, nailing one big shot after another to help the Knights advance as far as they did. She averaged nearly nine points per game and led the team with 69 assists, two more than Molnar, who chipped in five points and three rebounds per game. Senior Justice Wright is another marksman who provides plenty of offensive pop off the bench to go with some tough, in-your-face defense. Wright was sixth on the team in scoring with 121 points last season, and was tied for second on the team with 55 steals. Another senior, post Mallori Vess started on the post and knows how to clean up and finish around the basket. She averaged almost five points and four rebounds per game last year. Vess was a nice inside counter attack to first team All-Ohioan Laina Snyder. The versatile 6-foot junior comes off a campaign in which she scored 14.9 points and grabbed 10.6 rebounds per game. “Our strength is our inside and
outside presence,” Patterson said. “When you have an inside and an outside presence, you’re not one dimensional.” With Vess and Snyder doing the work inside, a bevy of guards provide plenty of options outside, including record-setting 3-point marksman Paiten Strother. The junior sharpshooter eclipsed Christa Wells’ 3-point record by drilling 57 triples on the year. Maria Straits and Natalie Abraham have been valuable extras who have made their mark at the end of games, cleaning up lopsided wins. Straits is an excellent shooter and Abraham is a powerful force inside. “Those kids help you get better every day in practice,” Patterson said. “When they get minutes in the game, that’s an added bonus. They’ve put in a lot of time, and a lot of hard work. Kids like them who stick around in your program even as role players are the type
See Pg. 25 — FINAL FOUR RUN
Same expectations on the hardwoods for Hiland girls By KEVIN LYNCH Staff Writer Expectations around the Hiland basketball team never vary, even when the team is in transition. Coming off a season in which the Hawks reached the state championship game after struggling through a seven-game losing skid midway through the year, veteran coach Dave Schlabach expects big things from his troops. But when you consider Hiland graduated its leading
scorer and top four rebounders, one might wonder what has the coach looking so forward to the upcoming season. “We learned a lot last year. It reminds you that anything can happen at the end of the year,” Schlabach said. “It’s why you keep working. It’s the first time we ever had a year like that, but it’s good to know that if things don’t go well early, if you stay committed and keep working, you’ve got a chance to do some things at the end of the year.”
Hiland finished last season 19-9, falling in the state championship game. “The way we finished last year allows me to say our schedule helped us,” Schlabach said. “Had we not finished like that… Our kids were pretty much taken to the brink, confidence-wise. When you continually get beat seven games in a row, it’s hard to say, ‘Hey, we’re doing all the right things. Keep working. It will pay off.’ At least it worked last year.” Playing another brutal sched-
ule where his troops will be tested almost every time they take the floor, the Hawks will either have to produce or be pummeled into submission. “Last year was the best schedule we ever had,” Schlabach said. “You take that schedule and figure in the fact that West Holmes is probably better than they were; Garaway has everybody back. The best teams we played last year are better, teams like Wadsworth, Div. I state champion Twinsburg, who has the longest winning streak
in the state of Ohio going right now and the best point guard in the state in Purdue-bound Ashley Morrisette, then you add in Div. I Tri-Valley. It’s an interesting schedule. The way we start out this year has kept us really focussed in the preseason.” The Hawks opened on the road Friday, Nov. 23, at Twinsburg, andf fell to the two-time defending state champions in 49-45 overtime. A trio of seniors will provide See Pg. 25 — HILAND GIRLS