Ohio Team Preview- Ansonia Tigers

Team Overview   "Ansonia is returning 6 of 8 varsity letter winners from last year, including 4 girls that started in multiple games. The Lady Tigers are looking to build off momentum from having the schools first double digit win season in over 10 years. As a coaching staff, we hoping that is just a small step in the right direction. We will have some varsity experience coming back, but will still be young as we only have 2 seniors in Gabby Leeper who started in 17 games last year and Sophia Aultman who will be coming up from spending time on the JV team last year."- Connor Custenborder   2023 Results   Last season, Ansonia finished 11-13 but had a disappointing middle of the year after getting out to a hot start, but we were able to turn it around the last few games before the tournament. 2 games that stuck out to coach Custenborder are their overtime win against Union City when Lydia Hahn (Jr for 24-25 season) made a last second layup in overtime to give them the win.   The other highlight win was their tournament game against Southeastern. The girls executed their game plan and were able to knock off the 4 seed in the first round. [player_tooltip player_id='861192' first='London' last='Reichert'] had a double double with 17 pts and 10 reb that game as a freshman. The 2 seniors they lost were Bailey Schmit and Brenna Schmit.   "They were a big reason we were able to lead the WOAC in steals and we will need to have someone step up in that role for us. We will also need some players to step up handling the ball as the twins handled a lot of our point guard responsibilities"- Custenborder   Players to Watch   [player_tooltip player_id='861192' first='London' last='Reichert'] 2027- Her biggest strengths are her work ethic and coachability. She will do whatever the team needs whenever the team needs it. She does it all as last year she averaged 8.4 pts 7.4 reb 2.1 blk 2.3 stl and shot 34.3% from the 3pt line. London has the ability to be a 3 or 4, but will play the 5 for us due to our lack of height and her being 5'11”. I expect her numbers to go up and for her to be one of the top players in the WOAC. They will want her to get a lot more looks at the basket this year.   Charlotte Barga, 2028- Charlotte's biggest strengths are her shooting and basketball knowledge. She is expected to come in and help as one of three guards they will be looking at to help Ansonia get the ball up the court. She should be in the middle of their diamond and 1 press that helped them get so many steals since she has a great feel for the game, and is expected her to take over a scoring role for them.   Olivia Creager, 2026- Olivias strengths are her versatility and defense. She could play the 1-5 position if needed. She was the head of their Diamond and 1 press last year and created a lot of turnovers. She has the speed to guard anyone out top and the strength to guard down low as well. She has had positive strides on the offensive end and she will help them out tremendously. She is the type of kid that every coach wants that can fill any role you needed.   More Names to Know   Gabby Leeper, 2025- Her strengths are her defense and leadership. Gabby was the only non-senior captain last year and she is the vocal leader of the team and gets the best out of everyone. Gabby does a great job guarding the other teams PG's as well. She does a great job helping us get the other team out of their offense. Expect her to be a good 3 pt shooter for the team this year.   Rose Barga, 2026- Her Strengths are her driving and finishing abilities. Rose was 3rd on their team in scoring last year while coming off of the bench for about half the games. Expect her to push to solidify a starting spot this year rather than just some games like last year. Rose is very fast and that helps her get around the defense. She does a great job finishing with a plethora of moves from a euro step, floater, or spin move.   Olivia Schmitmeyer, 2026- Her biggest strength is her shooting ability. She shoots the ball very well. She will play both the 4 and 5 for us. Her ability to stretch the floor is important to be able to pull her defender out. Olivia's best games last year were typically when other teams played a zone. She is a smart player and finds the open areas. We plan to continue to use her to help us attract other teams zone defenses.    Lydia Hahn, 2026- Her biggest strength is her defense. She does a great job on the ball. She typically rotates on the other team's best guard to help us stay fresh when trying to slow them down.   Sophia Aultman, 2025- Sophia's biggest strength is her physicality. This helped us every day in practice get ready for games last year, and can help us in games this upcoming season. She is not afraid to bang around down low. She spent last year on JV and I think that was good for her to get the opportunity to improve her overall game. I look forward to having her for her senior season.   Underclassmen To Keep An Eye On   Autumn Best, 2028- Autumn's biggest strength is her athleticism. She is the best pure athlete Ansonia has seen in some time. She can jump out of the gym, run fast, and will run through a wall for a loose ball. She has the capabilities to help us create a lot of turnovers when in the game. She has some improving to do on the skills aspect of the game, but will be a key part at the varsity level.   Lydia Klingshirn, 2028- She is a solid midrange shooter and a good defender. She also brings good size. She will play the 4-5 for them and should continue to develop over the next 4 years.   Games to Watch this season   Comments from Custenborder   Arcanum- I look at them as the early favorite to win the conference this year. Gibbons, Long, Anderson, and Noe will all be tough matchups and make it difficult to focus on any one player. Coach Moore will have her team ready to go.   Miss Valley- Playing them 2 times a year and the schools being 5 minutes from each other make it 2 big games every year. Taylee is a great player and will be hard to slow down.   Ft. Recovery and Parkway- Having a whole coaching staff from Versailles we want to be able to compete with the MAC. The MAC has a bunch of good teams and if we can compete with them that will earn us some respect come tournament time   Brookville- We play Brookville in the Showcase at Versailles sponsored by Prosperity Promotions. They have a freshman that I expect to come in for them right away and be a very tough matchup in the Gudorf girl.   Notable   This is one big family figuratively and literally, most of their team has a sister or at least a first cousin in the program.

Team Overview