2019 – 20 League Preview: Mid-Buckeye Conference

The Mid-Buckeye Conference is an athletic conference spanning schools from Ashland, Crawford, Richland and Wayne Counties. The high schools comprising the league include Central Christian, Crestline, Loudonville, Lucas, Mansfield Christian and Mansfield St. Peter’s. <strong> </strong> <strong>5 Players to Watch:</strong> <strong>(schools are as of last year – unless PGH is 100% certain that a player has enrolled elsewhere)</strong> <strong>Emily Seboe - pictured above (Photo Credit: Ashland Times Gazette)</strong> – Loudonville Annie Seboe – Loudonville Sydney Cavanaugh – St. Peter’s Jessie Grover – Lucas Lauryn Tadda – Crestline &nbsp; <strong>4 Thoughts:</strong> Is this Lucas’ year to finally knock off the Loudonville Redbirds and win an MBC championship? The Cubs return a majority of their team from last year’s 19-win group, including All-Ohioan Jessie Grover, lead guard Jamie Grover and a supporting cast of Paige Arnold, Morgan Spitler, Kayla Hignite and Morgan Sweat. The two defeats that Lucas had in MBC play last year were at the hands of the Redbirds by lopsided scores of 70-42 and 73-45. Loudonville has to replace as much as production as any team in the area – losing a pair of 1000 point scorers in Nikki Weber (Malone) and Celeste Ryman (Clarion), as well as 3-year contributors in Steph Kline (Liberty – Track) and Emma Hinkle (Ashland – Track). However, the Redbirds do have Emily Seboe – who is already over 1000 career points and also holds the school record for blocked shots. Annie Seboe – Emily’s twin – is also back for her fourth year, as the two finish up their sterling careers before playing collegiately at Huntington University in Indiana, next year. Sydney Snyder, Grace Vermilya and West Holmes transfer Paige Race will need to play heavy minutes as the Redbirds try to win a share of their 4^th straight conference crown. Mansfield St. Peter’s – a program that used to routinely make trips to the Final 4 in Columbus – has fallen on hard times in recent years, however they do have new leadership this year. Roy Shoulders will lead the way for the Spartans as Sydney Cavanaugh and Julia Rizzo do their best to get their team back into league championship contention. Reports coming from Mansfield indicated that the Flames from Mansfield Christian have an outstanding freshmen class – perhaps the best in the conference. How quickly these girls can acclimate to Varsity basketball will determine the fate of MC’s team this winter. &nbsp; <strong>3 Big Games: </strong> Loudonville @ Lucas on December 14^th Loudonville vs Fort Loramie @ The Classic in the Country on January 18^th Mansfield Christian @ St. Peter’s on January 25^th &nbsp; <strong>2 Fun Facts: </strong> Loudonville is currently on a 23-game win-streak in the Mid-Buckeye Conference. Last season, the Redbirds outscored their conference opponents by a margin of 77 to 27 – on their way to their 3^rd consecutive 20-win season. Last year, Lucas standout Jessie Grover became the 4^th player in school history to reach the 1000 career point mark. Jessie currently holds the single-season record for points scored and is within striking distance of the career mark of 1,495 – held by 1985 graduate Lisa Kilgore. &nbsp; <strong>1 League Champion Prediction:</strong> Loudonville