Southwestern Buckeye League Preview

The Southwestern Buckeye League saw some changes in the divisions. The East will include Bellbrook, Franklin, Monroe, Oakwood and Waynesville. The West will consist of Brookville, Carlisle, Eaton, Madison and Valley View. <span style="font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">10 Players to Watch</span></strong></span> [player_tooltip player_id="32608" first="Claire" last="Henson"], 5-11 2022, Valley View [player_tooltip player_id="216007" first="Riley" last="Hodson"], 5-10 2023, Valley View [player_tooltip player_id="269816" first="Isabella" last="Cassoni"], 5-8 2022, Waynesville [player_tooltip player_id="270607" first="Kelley" last="Griffin"], 5-7 2023, Bellbrook [player_tooltip player_id="312665" first="Malerie" last="Ross"], 6-2 2022, Brookville Allison Mowen, 5-6 2022, Eaton Cadence Boyd, 5-5 2022, Monroe [player_tooltip player_id="216009" first="Addie" last="Lloyd"], 5-6 2023, Franklin [player_tooltip player_id="212897" first="Sidney" last="Morris"], 5-8 2022, Carlisle Ella Campbell, 5-8 2023, Middletown Madison <span style="font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Teams to Watch</span></strong></span> Bellbrook is the defending champion, and they return solid talent to go for another title. Griffin is a true point guard, leading the league in assists last year and it wasn’t close. She is a great distributor and ball handler. Senior Dreann Price is a 5-6 2022 who is an athletic guard with good range and ability to get to the rim. Ashley Frantz is a 5-11 2023 who is a mismatch problem as she can score against the post, or step out and knock it down from the perimeter. Olivia Trusty (2023), [player_tooltip player_id="218300" first="Alayna" last="Meyer"] (2022) and [player_tooltip player_id="218299" first="Taylor" last="Scohy"] (2022) are all back and will add to this potent attack, Valley View lost some key players from last year, but return the top player in the West in D1 signee Henson <em>(feature photo above)</em>. The 5-11 2022 can do it all, play in transition, score from the perimeter or get by you to the rim. [player_tooltip player_id="216007" first="Riley" last="Hodson"] 5-10 2023 has been a solid defender for her career, now will have to increase her scoring output and she can do so in a variety of ways. Ellie Reed is a 2023 who also is a rising junior and will be counted on this season. Eaton should be contenders this season as they return some players who should help with their success. I like Mowen’s game as she is a good leader, handles the ball well from the guard spot and can distribute. Watch for the continued progress of 6-0 2023 Olivia Baumann, a player who was all-conference last season, and continues to improve. 5-9 2023 Lily Shepherd has been solid since her freshman season, I like her perimeter game and good court vision. Watch for 2025 Olivia Orr who has a very good upside. Monroe will battle you every night, and they bring a lot of weapons with them. Boyd is a natural guard who had a good summer, possesses good hands and can see the court. Solid on-ball defender who can create. The leading scorer returning is [player_tooltip player_id="216092" first="Paige" last="Frazier"], a 5-3 2023 who is quick and versatile. Saffron Weidner is a 2024 who continues to improve with a good freshman year under her belt. She plays with intensity and will contribute. Note that Brooklyn Miltenberger did not play this season as she is a D1 soccer recruit and is preparing for that stage of her life. Carlisle is another team with solid guard play back with Morris, Kylee Lawson and Jillian McIntosh, all 2022s who were key to their previous success. Franklin lost Kensey Black to swimming but returns Lloyd and 2023 Sophia Aldridge while Madison is a team who will go after the conference title with the return of 2023 Ella Campbell and 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="218278" first="Kylie" last="Wells"] among other key players returning. Brookville will have Jackie Fye back as a 2023 point guard to go with Ross, while Ashlee Haupt is a 2024 who is continuing to improve. Waynesville will be in any game with the dangerous guard Cassoni (top player in the East) along with 2022 Emma Whitaker and 2024s Caroline Stupp and Emme Greely. &nbsp; &nbsp;