20-21 League Preview- Ohio Valley Conference

The OVC brings in some good talent this season. As we head toward Christmas break, a look at the conference that includes Chesapeake, Coal Grove, Fairland, Gallia Academy, Ironton, Portsmouth, Rock Hill and South Point. Not all schools returned their request for information. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;">Players to Watch</span></strong> Makenzie Hanshaw, 2021 Rock Hill Aleigha Matney, 2021 Rock Hill Hadyn Bailey, 2023 Rock Hill (transfer from Grace Christian Academy, Huntington WV) [player_tooltip player_id="93545" first="Tomi" last="Hinkle"], 5-7 2023, Fairland Emma Marshall, 5-6 2021, Fairland Nia Trinidad, 5-6 2022, Portsmouth Ayonna Carr, 5-6 2024, Portsmouth [player_tooltip player_id="91087" first="Addi" last="Dillow"], 5-8 2021, Coal Grove <em>(feature photo above)</em> Abbey Hicks, 5-6 2022, Coal Grove Maddie Petro, 5-10 2021, Gallia Maddie Ward, 6-2 2021, Chesapeake Evan Williams, 5-6 2023, Ironton Kirsten Williams, 5-9 2023, Ironton <span style="font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Sleepers to Watch</span></strong></span> Hope Easterling, 2024 Rock Hill Cigi Pancake, 2023 Rock Hill Bree Allen, 5-11 2024 Fairland Emily Cheatham, 5-6 2024, Portsmouth Bre Wilson, 5-3 2023, Portsmouth Kaleigh Murphy, 5-10 2022, Coal Grove Isabel Morgan, 5-7 2023, Ironton <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong>Thoughts on the Season</strong></span> Rock Hill is a team who has eight players who are all high character kids according to their coach. They have a mixture of experience, solid young rising players and a transfer who helped lead her team to a state championship last season. The coach also stated they don’t have a "big game" on the schedule as they are trying to continue to build their program and respect all of their opponents for their preparation of the games. Fairland is a program that has enjoyed a lot of success over the years. Jon Buchanan will have his team prepared every night, and his team is a mix of experience with some really talented young kids. He is excited about the prospects in the program. Portsmouth has been under quarantine and had to reschedule schedule games. Coach Amy Hughes is looking to improve and make them individual players and with no seniors and only one junior, she knows the impact of not having a youth program is showing. She has not implemented a youth program with over 60 kids. Coal Grove should be a fun team to watch with a lot of good talent. [player_tooltip player_id="91087" first="Addi" last="Dillow"] is a multi-sport athlete who led the conference in scoring last season. They return all five starters after winning the league title last season. They lost to Fairland by seven points early in the season. They have experience on their side and when their shooters are on, they are tough to beat. I enjoyed Kaleigh Murphy’s game when I saw them a couple of weeks ago. Ironton returns some good talent, including both Williams’, Morgan, along with 5-5 2021 Kameren Arden and 5-5 2023 Teegan Carpenter along with newcomers 5-10 2023 Mary Lackey and 5-4 2021 Lilly Zornes. They lost six of their top eight players from last season. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;">Fun Facts</span></strong> Fairland senior point guard Emma Marshall kicked the winning field goal as time ran out in a regional football playoff game. Portsmouth coach Amy Hughes is one of the top girls basketball players in Ohio history, having played her college basketball at UConn and Xavier. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong>League Champion</strong></span> It should come down to Fairland and Coal Grove. &nbsp;