MANSFIELD — By Richland County’s lofty standards, the 2012-13 girls basketball season looked a lot like a shooting guard struggling to find her rhythm.
There were flashes of brilliance but, by and large, it just seemed a little disjointed.
As the 2013-14 season prepares to tip off, area coaches are hoping for a little more consistency — and a return to former glory.
Consistency was hard to come by last winter. For the first time since 2009 and just the second time in more than a decade, no area school won a district championship. Only three area teams made it as far as the district tournament and only one, Ontario, played for a berth in the Sweet 16. The Warriors fell to North Central Conference nemesis Wynford in the Division III district title game at Lexington.
“For whatever the reason, the area was down a little bit last year,” Madison coach Brian Carr said. “It seems like the power has shifted a little further to the north with programs like Clyde and Bellevue and Port Clinton emerging.
“It’s a different generation and kids just don’t want to put in the time. Basketball is a year-round commitment now.”
Perhaps area schools were victims of their own success. Local girls basketball enthusiasts have grown accustomed to seeing at least one county school — and sometimes more than one — not only advance to the regional tournament, but make a run at a Final Four berth. St. Peter’s, the measuring stick for local girls programs, advanced to the state tournament for the 12th time during the 2011-12 season, but didn’t make it out of the sectional last year.
“That was upsetting for us,” said first-year coach Shani Rush, who succeeded Bill Tomsich after serving as a Tomsich assistant for several seasons. “It was a down year, not just for us but for the entire area.”
As recently as 2003, three county teams advanced to the Final Four. Mansfield Senior (Division I), Lexington (Division II) and St. Peter’s (Division IV) all played in Columbus that memorable March.
“A lot of teams are struggling with numbers,” said first-year Lexington coach Michael Kathrein, who took over for Daryl Uhde. “There are only a few teams in the area that have freshman teams and some area programs don’t have junior varsity teams.”
St. Peter’s is among them. In fact, half of Rush’s 11-player varsity roster will be comprised of freshmen.
“We are going to have to rely on some young ones,” Rush said. “That usually isn’t the case here, but we don’t have a sophomore class and we’ve only got a handful of juniors and seniors.
“Our freshmen will have to grow up in a hurry. Hopefully, but the end of the year, they won’t be playing like freshmen any more.”
With nine juniors and seniors on the roster, Madison is one of the more experienced outfits in Richland County. The Rams endured some growing pains in Carr’s first season in charge last winter. Madison started slowly but came on strong near the end of the season, finishing 7-16.
“I feel a lot more comfortable with where we are going into this season,” said Carr, who was the head coach at Plymouth before landing at Madison. “The kids know the system and they know what is expected of them.
“These kids worked hard all summer. They played a lot of basketball.”
Senior Molea Thompson, who suffered a knee injury last winter, is one of seven returning letter winners. Thompson’s return late last season sparked Madison’s second-half surge.
“Molea tore her ACL and she was just getting comfortable at the end of the year last year,” Carr said. “By then, the kids had a better understanding of the system and what we were trying to do.
“Hopefully, the success we had at the end of last year will carry over into this year.”
The Ohio Cardinal Conference sent two teams to the Final Four last March. West Holmes fell to Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown in the Division II championship game, while Orrville lost to eventual Division III champion Anna in the state semifinals.
“The Ohio Cardinal Conference for girls basketball is unbelievable,” Carr said.
Second-year Clear Fork coach Heidi Roush agreed. The Colts boast seven seniors and six juniors on the 14-player varsity roster.
“We lost 13 games last year and five of them were to Final Four teams,” Roush said. “When you play the level of competition we play in the Ohio Cardinal Conference, it prepares you for anything you encounter in the postseason.”
Clear Fork lost to eventual Final Four qualifier Clyde in last year’s district semifinals. Before getting there, the Colts had to beat Lexington for a third time in the sectional finals.
“I think the main reason why we didn’t see any local teams make a long run last year is because we spend the entire season beating up on each other,” Roush said. “We all know each other so well. The sectional is like a county tournament and just to get to the district is difficult.”
Junior point guard Deijah Swihart, an All-Ohio first team pick in soccer, will lead the talented and experienced Colts.
“We won 11 games last year and I feel like that number should improve to 15 games this year,” Roush said. “These girls have been playing varsity basketball together for a long time now.
“We still have our moments, but they are a lot more mature now.”
Winning a sectional title last March has given Clear Fork more confidence heading into 2013-14.
“A lot of our girls play other sports and they have had tasted success,” Roush said. “Then they got to cut down a piece of the net last year. They want to get further this time around.”
So would Mansfield Senior after falling to Fremont Ross in the Division I sectional finals last year, Coach Todd Krill will have to replace a talented five-player senior class that included All-Ohioan Dierra Bluester.
Krill and his staff have changed their approach this season.
“We went back and took a look at the last three years and what we wanted to do,” Krill told Swank on Sports. “We changed some things and I think the girls are really willing to go with the changes and really stepped it up for us.
“Chemistry is the reason that a lot of teams get pretty far in the state tournament … We are trying to make sure the girls (understand) that they have to work together to be successful and that sometimes is as important as the talent you put on the floor.”
Mansfield Christian and Lucas will join St. Peter’s in the new-look Mid Buckeye Conference. The Flames and Cubs both have first-year coaches.
“The girls are very excited to have the opportunity to compete in a conference,” MCS coach J.R. Wilson said. “The team struggled to compete last year, so our goals are to be competitive and bring some excitement back to the program.”
Temple Christian, who competes in OCSAA, looks to grow after losing 4 seniors last year. The Lady Crusaders will return 3 lettering players and welcome 6 fresh faces to the squad.
“These girls are young but they do have a good work ethic,” said Baird, a former Pensacola Christian College basketball standout. Improvement and quality possessions will be the theme for a team loaded with youth. “They want to soak up everything they can to get better,” Baird added.
Ontario will join Shelby in the Northern Ohio League and both programs are retooling after big losses to graduation. The Warriors have just two seniors on the roster, while the Whippets lost three-time All-Ohioan Emma Hostetler to defending NCAA Division II national champion Ashland University.
Both Crestview and Plymouth should be in the hunt for the Firelands Conference crown. Crestview coach Tracy Richards welcomes back high-scoring sophomore Renee Stimpert, while Plymouth has a five-player senior class.
While it may not be what it was a decade ago, girls basketball in north central Ohio looks to be on the rebound. At least Madison’s Carr hopes so.
“Everyone would like to see the girls game get back to where it once was locally,” Carr said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. The area may still be a little down in general this year, but I think it’s pointed in the right direction.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
