MANSFIELD, Ohio — The calendar has just barely flipped to 2016, but girls basketball’s second season is just around the corner.
The earlier than usual start to the regular season has moved everything up a week. That means the tournament draw will take place on the final day of January and the sectionals begin in less than a month.
While the last few postseasons have been unkind to area teams — no Richland County team has made it to the regional level since 2012, when St. Peter’s advanced to the Final Four — there is guarded optimism that the area’s district championship drought could soon come to an end.
The biggest news to come out of the most recent divisional reconfiguration is that Mansfield Senior dropped to Division II. The cutoff for Division I was set at 328 girls and Senior High’s most recent enrollment figures showed 299 girls in grades 9 through 11 as of Oct. 2014.
Instead of duking it out with the Toledo-area powers, the Tygers will be in the Willard sectional/district with fellow Ohio Cardinal Conference members Clear Fork and Lexington along with six Northern Ohio League representatives, including Ontario and Shelby.
“We upgraded the schedule because we figured we would be in Division I,” Senior High coach Todd Krill said. “In the Division II tournament, we feel like we can finish strong.”
A healthy Erica Johnson will make Senior High a tough out regardless of the Tygers’ seed at the sectional/district. The 6-foot junior averages 23 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.5 steals and 2.4 blocks a game. Rajaa Anderson (10.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg) is a rugged post presence.
Neither Shelby nor Ontario can be overlooked at the Division II sectional/district. The Whippets boast a wealth of talent led by guards Jackie Garrett and Kennadie Goth and sisters Sienna and Maggie King, who transferred from Willard.
The Warriors are bolstered by St. Peter’s transfer Emily Yeager, who had to sit out the first half of the season after transferring from St. Peter’s. The All-Ohioan joins a talented frontcourt that includes Amanda Nething and Nashail Shelby.
Both Bellevue and Norwalk will be in the mix. Bellevue is the defending NOL champ and Norwalk has one of the region’s best players in Jiselle Thomas, who put on a show at the Richland Source NOL-OCC Challenge in December. Upper Sandusky is 10-3 and in the hunt for the Northern 10 title.
Crestview is 13-0 thanks largely to do-it-all senior Renee Stimpert, an Ashland University recruit. The Cougars are in the Division III Shelby sectional/district, but advancing won’t be easy. Crestview was 20-2 during the regular season last year but lost its first sectional game to Wynford in overtime.
“That has been a big motivator,” Crestview coach Aaron Goon said.
All the pieces seem to be in place for the Cougars, ranked second in Division III in the most recent Associated Press state poll.
“These girls are deserving,” Goon said. “We have talent that works hard.”
