Greater Miami Conference Preview

The Greater Miami Conference has seen some coaching changes and roster changes as the new season is here. It is a ten team conference made up of Colerain, Fairfield, Hamilton, Lakota West, Lakota West, Mason, Middletown, Oak Hills, Princeton and Sycamore. <span style="font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">5 Players to Watch</span></strong></span> [player_tooltip player_id="32612" first="Abaigeal" last="McNally"], 5-11 2022, Colerain [player_tooltip player_id="216105" first="Madison" last="French"], 5-9 2023, Lakota East [player_tooltip player_id="32617" first="Kyla" last="Oldacre"], 6-5 2022, Mason [player_tooltip player_id="157707" first="Sole" last="Williams"], 5-8 2023, Princeton [player_tooltip player_id="269830" first="Leah" last="Riley"], 5-8 2022, Sycamore <span style="font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">4 Teams to Watch</span></strong></span> New coach Dee Davis returns to her alma mater Princeton and they will be a top contender for the GMC title with the healthy return of the electrifying guard [player_tooltip player_id="157707" first="Sole" last="Williams"]. The lefty is so explosive and makes things happen all over the court. This team will be fun to watch with Dede Carter-Hartley returning as a 6-0 2023, a strong and agile post. 5-6 2023 La’Sonja Hill also avergaed nearly double figures last season and throw in some good young kids, this team will open your eyes. Mason will look a bit different this season. Back is 6-5 2022 Kyra Oldacre <em>(feature photo above) </em>who is among the top pure posts in the country in her class, and is a tough physical presence in the post with good footwork and can score around the rim or step out. A big loss will be the departure of [player_tooltip player_id="157688" first="Margo" last="Mattes"], who moved out to the east coast with her family and was ranked as high as #2 in the PGH Class of 2023 rankings. I believe Lakota East could be one of the teams that makes some big strides this season after finishing under .500 last year. Everyone knows about French, a next-level recruit, but a couple more to watch are 5-8 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="329534" first="Ashley" last="Fohl"] who is a solid perimeter threat along with 5-10 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="329474" first="Olivia" last="Hines"], who had a good summer and performed well at the PGH Top 250 Expo this fall. Watch for an improved season. Middletown has nowhere to go but up after struggling the past several seasons. I like the intensity that I saw in their mega scrimmage last weekend and they have some things in place to make positive strides as well. They were 5-37 the last two seasons including 0-19 last year. They will be more competitive this season. <span style="font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">3 Fun Facts about the GMC</span></strong></span> I talked about Middletown, they have a couple of newcomers that will be effective this season. Trinity Ballard is a 5-10 2022 who comes over from Middletown Christian. She is a powerful force around the rim with good hands, moves well without the ball and can defend. Allie Stueve also comes in from Valley View, and once she gets back on the court from her injury in the next couple of weeks, she will make an immediate impact with her long-range scoring ability. It was noted [player_tooltip player_id="157688" first="Margo" last="Mattes"] moved out of state, another player who is gone is [player_tooltip player_id="32606" first="Chance" last="Gray"], a senior from Lakota West who followed her dad Carlton to Winton Woods after he took over that program. Sycamore will not only be a competitive team, they will be hosting the annual Journey to the Tourney on November 27-28 with several area teams competing in the OGBR-hosted event. <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong>2 Games to Watch</strong></span> Princeton at Mount Notre Dame- Dec. 14 Lakota East at Lakota West- Dec. 4 <span style="font-family: ’arial black’, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Keep an eye on.....</span></strong></span> Other key players to watch this season includes Breyel Kidd a 5-4 2023 from Fairfield, Amara Flores, 5-5 2022 Lakota West; [player_tooltip player_id="269830" first="Leah" last="Riley"], 508 2022 Sycamore. &nbsp;