Clear Fork's Lilly Wortman drives past Ontario's Lizzie Nagel during a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game at Ontario. Wortman is averaging 7.9 points and a team-best 7.1 rebounds a game.
Clear Fork's Lilly Wortman drives past Ontario's Lizzie Nagel during a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game at Ontario. Wortman is averaging 7.9 points and a team-best 7.1 rebounds a game.
BELLVILLE — The learning curve was a steep one, but Annika Labaki and her Clear Fork teammates passed the test.
A junior sharpshooter, Labaki was one of seven letterwinners coach Scott Sellers welcomed back from last year’s district runner-up squad. The one missing piece from that team, however, was impossible to overlook.
Bekah Conrad, a third-team All-Ohioan, was one of three seniors lost to graduation. She accounted for nearly a third of Clear Fork’s scoring and rebounding as the Colts went 21-5 and reached the district championship game for the first time since 1989.
Playing without their 6-foot-4 security blanket has taken some getting used to. Conrad averaged 17.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game as a senior after scoring 14.9 points and grabbing 8.5 rebounds a game as a junior.
“We had to put in a new offense and a new defense in the off-season,” Sellers said. “We had to adapt to not having that comfort level she provided. As the season has gone on, it feels like we’ve figured some things out.”
Clear Fork boasts one of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference’s most balanced offenses. Six players average between 8.5 and 4.9 points a game.
“As a team we are so unselfish,” said Labaki, one of the area’s most prolific 3-point shooters. “We just worked really hard in the off-season on shooting and driving and our chemistry is so good.”
In last week’s win over Ontario, Labaki knocked down six 3-pointers. She tied a school record when she connected on seven treys in a win over Galion a week earlier.
Pacey Chrastina leads the way, averaging 8.5 points a game. Lilly Wortman is good for 7.9 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds a game, while Lyvia Davis averages 7.6 points a night. Labaki averages 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds a game and Lillian Weikle averages 5.8 points and 4.9 rebounds a night.
Clear Fork (11-6, 7-3) is fourth in the MOAC standings, but only one game behind the leaders in the loss column. Shelby, River Valley and Pleasant all have two conference losses. The Colts host Pleasant on Thursday and welcome the Whippets to the Colt Corral on Feb. 3.
“We would have to get pretty lucky at this point with three losses,” Sellers said of his team’s chances to win the MOAC crown. “But you never know.”
The girls tournament draw is Sunday. Clear Fork dropped to Division III this year and will compete in the Shelby district.
“We’re really looking toward the stretch run,” Sellers said. “I’d like to think we’re peaking at the right time.”
I have covered high school sports in Richland County since 2000. Email him at curt@richlandsource.com or follow him on Twitter: Follow @curtjconrad on twitter.
