There are plenty of familiar faces returning for teams in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference. But they re more than just familiar faces: five of the seven players selected to the All-TAAC first team last season return.
The best news for league basketball fans is that those five players are spread amongst five different schools, resulting in a wide-open race for the league title.
Ottawa Hills was picked to win the conference crown in a preseason vote of league coaches, in large part because they return eight players from a squad that went 10-2 in league play and eventually reached the Division IV regional semifinals.
What s more, the Green Bears returning all-league pick, Megan Jamieson, is complemented by the return of second-team selection Kelsey Netter. That gives Ottawa Hills one more returning all-TAAC choice than any other school.
But no one is handing the Green Bears the title in November. Toledo Christian is expected to give Ottawa Hills a challenge, while Cardinal Stritch and defending champ Danbury also will present obstacles to the title.
I wasn t surprised [to be picked to win], but we did lose four seniors who were pretty key members of our team, Ottawa Hills coach Sean Mercer said. Toledo Christian brings back a lot, and Cardinal Stritch has a lot of depth.
Mercer said the team that wins the TAAC probably will be the one that is most successful on the road.
Toledo Christian is difficult to play on the road because they have such a great atmosphere, he said. Cardinal Stritch is a difficult place for us to play. And it s a long drive to Danbury who is a good team so you never know how your kids will respond to that.
You re supposed to win at home. You have to be able to win on the road [to win the TAAC].
Here s a look at all seven TAAC schools, presented in predicted order of finish.
OTTAWA HILLS
Coach: Sean Mercer (sixth year)
Last season: 18-7, 10-2 in TAAC
Top players: Seniors Sudipa Biswas, 5-7, G/F; Jessie Figy, 5-10, F/P; Megan Jamieson, 5-10, F/G; Annie Keener, 5-6, G; Betsy Lewis, 5-10, P; Kelsey Netter, 5-10, F/P. Juniors Libby Overley, 5-5, G; Kirsten Swonger, 5-10, G/F.
Outlook: While the Green Bears lost four seniors from last season, they also return eight players with extensive experience from last year s regional semifinalists. They are led by Jamieson, who garnered first-team all-league honors last winter, and Netter, who was voted to the second team.
They ve been the players we ve looked to the last several years, Mercer said. Kelsey has great feet and hands, especially for a girl her size. Megan does whatever we ask her run the point, serve as shooting guard, and when we re in dire straights we put her in the post.
Last year the Green Bears may have surprised some people, since they were a preseason pick to finish in the middle of the pack. They won t have that luxury this season.
How are we going to handle that pressure this year? Mercer said. People are going to be more prepared for us than ever, so we have to be better than we were last year.
TOLEDO CHRISTIAN
Coach: Scott Gibson (first year)
Last season: 15-8, 8-4 in TAAC
Top players: Senior Joanna Beauch, 5-11, P; Emily Cellier, 5-8, G; Juniors Tami Duvall, 6-1, P; Shannon Longenecker, 5-9, G.
Outlook: While the Eagles did lose all-league performer Jacki Emmenecker, they do return the rest of the starting lineup from last year s title contender. The biggest change is at coach, where Gibson said his focus is on sharpening a quick and aggressive defense.
Cellier averaged 16.2 points per game to earn a berth on the all-TAAC first team last season. Beauch, Duvall, and Longenecker each averaged more than six points a game, while Duvall added six boards per contest.
We have four of the top 20 scorers in school history coming back, Gibson said. This is a veteran team that I think is quicker and better defensively than last year s team, which made it to the district semifinals.
CARDINAL STRITCH
Coach: Gary Lemle (fourth year)
Last season: 6-14, 4-8 in TAAC
Top players: Seniors Katie Bochi, 5-3, G; Brittney Bradner, 6-0, P; Junior Erin Mitchell, 5-9, F.
Outlook: The Cardinals return six letter winners from a team that lost eight straight at one point before rebounding to win five of its last eight games. Among the returnees is Bochi, a senior point guard who was named first-team all-TAAC a year ago.
Lemle said Stritch has retooled its offensive and its defensive schemes, and it will rely on applying more pressure to create offensive opportunities and to shut down opponents.
I think our strengths will be our team speed and our perimeter play, Lemle said. Katie Bochi is our foundation, but we ll also rely on Erin Mitchell for scoring and Brittney Bradner, who was our leading rebounder last year, for both points and rebounds.
DANBURY
Coach: Ryan Beam (fourth year)
Last season: 19-3, 12-0 in TAAC
Top players: Senior Megan Twarek, 5-10, P.
Outlook: The Lakers lost eight seniors from their undefeated league championship squad. But the lone returnee, Twarek, averaged 11.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in earning first-team all-league honors.
Beam feels he has an athletic group of players who have proven to be hard-working, but there s still no substitute for varsity experience. And that s something the graduation of eight seniors has stripped away.
As long as we stay patient and focus on improving every day, we hope to be competitive, Beam said. I am excited to see what this team could become as the year progresses.
MAUMEE VALLEY
Coach: Wendy Sunderman (second year)
Last season: 7-14, 3-9 in TAAC
Top players: Seniors Samantha Geiger, 5-8, G; Alexis Holman, 6-0, G; Juniors Izzy Durham, 5-8, G; Hannah Spengler, 5-10, F.
Outlook: The Hawks didn t have many players available for practice this month because the school s Winterim program scattered much of the team around the globe.
But when everyone returns the team will have at least one building block in senior point guard Alexis Holman, a first-team all-league choice last year. Holman led the TAAC in scoring last year, but Sunderman also praised her unselfish play.
Alexis is a four-year starter who also is a great all-around team player, Sunderman said. As a team we ll be young, and we probably don t have a deep bench, but I really like this team s work ethic.
NORTHWOOD
Coach: Geoff Milewski (first year)
Last season: 8-13, 5-7 in TAAC
Top players: Seniors Maddie Clark, 5-8, F; Andrea Kamilaris, 5-10, G; Lauren Porter, 5-8, G; Lisa Ziegler, 5-8, F; Juniors Michelle Klenke, 5-9, F; Marissa Reighard, 5-9, F.
Outlook: One of the Rangers first practices probably saw a new coach, Milewski, hand out name tags to a new batch of players. Northwood lost three seniors from last season, including co-player of the year Brittany Bogart and second-team all-league performer Laryn Ziegler.
Reighard, who averaged 6.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, is the team s top returning player in both categories. But two starters do return, and North Baltimore transfer Clark also was added to the mix.
We have a first-year coach teaching a new system to an inexperienced group of players, so expectations from outside the program are low, Milewski said. But we will be well-conditioned, we ll give good effort, and even if we start slowly I expect us to finish the season strong.
EMMANUEL CHRISTIAN
Coach: Jo Daniels (second year)
Last season: 3-17, 0-12 in TAAC
Top players: Seniors Summer Anagnostu, 5-5, G; Nicole Mundy, 5-7, F; Sophomores Lacey Anagnostu, 5-4, G; Madison Filmore, 5-5, G; Emily Loomis, 5-9, F.
Outlook: The Warriors will rely heavily on seniors Mundy and Summer Anagnostu, the only returning starters from last season.
But Daniels said the team will benefit from the enthusiasm of younger players such as the three sophomores who will see extensive action: Summer Anagnostu s younger sister, Lacey, and Filmore and Loomis. The Anagnostu sisters and Filmore are expected to sharpen the Warriors ball-handling skills, while Loomis will help on the boards and in the low post.
At this point we re trying to gel as a team and working to become better, Daniels said.
First Published November 24, 2006, 5:41 a.m.
