2019 –20 League Preview: Firelands Conference
The Firelands Conference is an athletic conference spanning schools from Ashland, Huron and Richland Counties. The high schools comprising the league include Ashland Crestview, Mapleton, Monroeville, New London, Plymouth, Norwalk St. Paul, South Central and Collins Western Reserve. 5…
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Continue ReadingThe Firelands Conference is an athletic conference spanning schools from Ashland, Huron and Richland Counties. The high schools comprising the league include Ashland Crestview, Mapleton, Monroeville, New London, Plymouth, Norwalk St. Paul, South Central and Collins Western Reserve.
5 Players to Watch:
(schools are as of last year – unless PGH is 100% certain that a player has enrolled elsewhere)
Danielle Smith – St. Paul
Kathleen Leeper – Crestview
Megan Hammersmith – St. Paul
Kenedi Goon – Crestview
Ally Burton – South Central
4 Thoughts:
Crestview only loses 1 senior from last year’s team – returning their top 8 leading scorers from a group that won 17 games. Kathleen Leeper was an All-Ohio selection as a junior, averaging nearly 15 PPG, while also dishing out just over 3 assists per contest. Kenedi Goon – at well over 6 feet tall – is a legitimate post presence. She averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds per game last year, while also blocking nearly 4 shots a night. Autumn Bailey, Mary Leeper, Kylie Ringer and a host of others are back – making this one of head coach Aaron Goon’s deepest squads since he has been at the school.
Even with all of Crestview’s talent – Western Reserve won the league last winter. Longtime coach Brenda Friend found herself in a familiar position – on top of the Firelands Conference. However, Friend lost a boatload of contributors, as WR will need to replace all-conference performers in Jenna Skrada, Emma Blankenship and Katie Hipp, as well as league player of the year Cora Wyers. Look for the Roughriders to start the process with McKenna Woodruff, Avery Tubbs, Emma Weber and Isabella Zvara.
St. Paul may not be the odds-on favorite to win the Firelands Conference, but they may very well return the best duo in Danielle Smith and Megan Hammersmith. Anna Lukasko will also return for the Flyers – who have the potential to win the league and certainly expect to do so.
There are a number of outstanding players in the league, who may not have teams that can compete for a league championship. Ally Burton from South Central, Kiaya Thierry from New London, Kelsey Palmer from Monroeville and Cacie Stalnaker from Mapleton – belong in this category.
3 Big Games:
St. Paul @ Crestview on December 3rd
Crestview vs Loudonville @ Wadsworth Believe Roundball Classic on December 28th
Western Reserve @ St. Paul on January 25th
2 Fun Facts:
The Firelands Conference has been represented at the highest level of Division II women’s basketball in the past 4 years. South Central alum Anna Hintz was named the Player of the Year in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference last winter, after an outstanding senior season at the University of Findlay. Renee Stimpert already owns the career assists record at Ashland University and is closing in on 1000 points for the Eagles – who seem to constantly be in the national championship discussion – a distinction that the team won during Stimpert’s freshman year.
Since the 1993-1994 season when the current 8-team Firelands Conference began girls basketball play, each school except for Monroeville has won at least 1 league championship, making the Firelands Conference one of the most well-balanced and competitive leagues in the entire state of Ohio. After another championship last season, Western Reserve has won 10 of the 26 league titles and Crestview and St. Paul have each won 5.
1 League Champion Prediction:
Crestview