The experienced Springfield girls basketball team is primed to capture its first Northern Lakes League title in program history.
Five of the eight teams in the NLL have claimed at least one title in the past seven seasons, and Springfield is expected to become the sixth.
“The league is filled with great coaching and talent,” Springfield coach Clifton Hodges said. “The NLL has some of the most well-prepared coaches in the area. So this means a lot to the program, our school, and community. We have never been picked to win the NLL, so for our league to show us that much respect means a lot.”
The Blue Devils earned four first-place votes.
Defending champion Anthony Wayne captured the program's first title since 2007-08 last season. The Generals, who reached the Division I state semifinals, are expected to give Springfield a tight chase for the title. Anthony Wayne received three first-place votes.
Perrysburg is picked to finish third followed by Napoleon, Northview, Southview, Bowling Green, and Maumee.
“I’m expecting some major upsets,” Hodges said, “because the teams are very evenly matched with talented players.”
Here is a look at the teams in predicted order of finish.
SPRINGFIELD
■ Coach: Clifton Hodges, fourth year.
■ Last season: 20-6 overall, 11-3 NLL.
■ Top players: Seniors Kendall Carruthers. 5-6, PG/SG. Juniors Gretchen_Sigman, 5-11, SF/PF; A’Leah Hodges 5-5, PG/SG; Kalaia Taylor, 5-7, SF/SG; Jade Battle, 5-10, SF/PF.
■ Strengths: Creating pressure, scoring balance, ball-handling.
■ Weaknesses: Inside scoring, post defense, rebounding.
■ Outlook: Hodges has five returning letter-winners, including three seniors and four juniors. NLL player of the year Carruthers, who had averages of 15.1 ppg., 3.1 rpg., and 3.0 spg., was named the district player of the year, as well. All-NLL first-teamer Sigman (11.5ppg., 5.8rpg., 1.5 bpg.) was named to the all-district first team. Battle, who averaged 6.0 ppg. and 4.0 rpg., earned a spot on the All-NLL third team. Hodges (3.5 ppg., 3.0 rpg., and 3.0 spg.) also is back along with Taylor (2.5 ppg., 3.0 rpg., and 2.0 spg.)
“We will need to dictate tempo every night to have success in a very talented league,” Hodges said. “With all five starters returning, I’m expecting us to be very disciplined and competitive. With Carruthers, we can do some really good things on both ends of the floor this season. We will also need to become more consistent scoring. We must attack the basket.”
ANTHONY WAYNE
■ Coach: Jami Carter, fifth year.
■ Last season: 22-6, 12-2.
■ Top players: Seniors Mallori Pollock, 5-9, P. Junior Tatum Roder, 5-8, W/P. Sophomores Elise Bender, 6-0, G/W; Brooke Bender, 5-11, W/F; Sophie Smith, 5-4, G; Emily Szul, 5-6, W.
■ Strengths: Perimeter shooting, inside scoring, scoring balance.
■ Weaknesses: Handling pressure, perimeter defense, creating pressure.
■ Outlook: After guiding the Generals to the deepest playoff run in program history, Carter has two starters back among six returning letter-winners. Elise Bender, who had averages of 16.5 ppg., and 6.4 rpg., shot 47 percent from the field en route to earning All-Ohio third-team honors. Brooke Bender (8.2 ppg. 6.5 rpg.) earned All-NLL second-team honors and honorable mention all-district. Pollock averaged 1.6 points and 2.7 per game, while Roder (1.4 ppg., 1.3 rpg.), Smith (1.6 ppg., 1.0 apg.), and Szul also are back.
“We graduated a very competitive senior class, but return two very talented starters in sophomores, Elise and Brooke Bender,” Carter said. “While we will be extremely young, our collective basketball IQ and knowledge, coupled with an intense work ethic, is high. We will not deviate from the style of play that has proven to be successful.”
PERRYSBURG
■ Coach: Todd Sims, 14th year.
■ Last season: 11-12, 7-7.
■ Top players: Seniors Megan Gibbs, 5-9, F. Junior Wrigley Takats, 6-2, C. Sophomores Chloe Kilbride, 5-8, G; Haley Griggs, 5-6;, G Ayla Turk, 5-5, PG.
■ Strengths: Scoring balance, perimeter scoring, ball-handling.
■ Weaknesses: Perimeter defense, rebounding, post defense.
■ Outlook: Sims, who has a career record of 230-86, has four starters back with four seniors and six returning letter-winners. Gibbs averaged 7.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Kilbride, who earned all-league second-team honors, was the team's leading scorer (9.3) and had 2.2 assists per game. Takats (5.5 ppg. and 7.5 rpg.), Griggs (6.2 ppg., 2.7 apg.), and Turk (5.1 ppg., 3.1 apg.) also were key contributors.
“We are still a very young team, but we did gain some valuable experience,” Sims said. “We will have to work on building some depth. Hopefully, we can stay healthy and make a run at the league title.”
SOUTHVIEW
■ Coach: Kelly Heil, sixth year.
■ Last season: 8-15, 5-9.
■ Top players: Seniors Paige Brown, 5-9, P; Carys Bourbeau, 5-5, PG; Julia Williams, 5-6, G; Kayla Johnson, 5-6, G. Junior Mariam Kassem, 5-7, P.
■ Strengths: Scoring balance, perimeter defense, creating pressure.
■ Weaknesses: Inside scoring, post defense, rebounding.
■ Outlook: Heil, who has a 74-34 record at her alma mater, has six seniors, with four starters back among nine letter-winners. Brown, who tallied team-highs in points (11.7) and rebounds (10.1), earned All-NLL first-team honors. Bourbeau averaged 7.1 points and 3.0 assists per game. Kassem (4.6 ppg. 3.2 rpg.) and Williams (6.9 ppg. 3.7 rpg.) also were key contributors.
“We have a competitive, hard-working group of athletes,” Heil said. “They work together well and strive to be the best they can be daily. They are resilient and determined.”
NAPOLEON
■ Coach: Corey Kreinbrink, eighth year.
■ Last season: 19-6, 10-4.
■ Top players: Seniors Sophie Chipps, 5-6, G; Jenna Oberhaus, 5-6, G/F. Junior Ella Tassler, 6-1, C. Sophomore Makayla Kruse, 5-7, G.
■ Strengths: Creating pressure, depth, post defense.
■ Weaknesses: Scoring balance, perimeter shooting, rebounding.
■ Outlook: Kreinbrink, who has a career record of 136-43, has just one starter back, but four letter-winners and five seniors are on the roster. Chipps earned All-NLL second-team honors after averaging 10.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Kruse (3.6 ppg and 1.5 rpg.), Tassler (2.0 ppg. and 2.3 rpg.), and Oberhaus (1.3 ppg. and 1.0 rpg.) also were contributors.
“We have a very young roster with 17 freshmen and sophomores out of 25 total players,” Kreinbrink said. “Our ability to learn from mistakes, early in the season, will dictate our progress in the second half of the schedule and tournament.”
NORTHVIEW
■ Coach: Pat Sayre, eighth year.
■ Last season: 17-7, 9-5.
■ Top players: Seniors Maddy Greene, 6-1, F; Maddie Morgan, 5-7, G. Sophomores Sara Cannon, 6-0, F; Ally Bigs, 5-10, G. Freshmen Jenna Clausius, 5-8, G; Grace Krahl, 5-7, G.
■ Strengths: Perimeter shooting, scoring balance, ball-handling.
■ Weaknesses: Depth, inside scoring, rebounding.
■ Outlook: Sayre, who has a career record of 110-60, lost three all-league players to graduation. He has just one starter back, but has four returning letter-winners and two seniors. Greene, who has committed to play at Hillsdale College, is the top returning producer (5.5 ppg. 3.5 rpg.), while Morgan chipped in with 5.0 ppg. Cannon and Bigs each averaged 7.0 points on the junior varsity. Sayre said after graduating 12 contributing seniors the past two seasons the Wildcats will have a lot of young players in big roles.
“Our young group is talented and will be future cornerstone pieces — but they will have to learn on the fly this year,” he said. “We are led by Greene, who will step into our go-to player role. Overall, we should shoot the ball at all five positions well and will become increasingly competitive as we gain experience.”
BOWLING GREEN
■ Coach: Jake Vanneman, first year.
■ Last season: 5-17, 2-11.
■ Top players: Seniors Jamie Sayen, 5-9, P; Sydney Maas, 5-7, PG/G; Shayle Greiner, 5-8, P/G; Londyn Thompson, 5-5, G. Juniors Lola Thompson, 5-7, PG/G; Macyn Dean-Scheele, 5-5, G; Allison Fry, 5-8, P.
■ Strengths: Perimeter defense, scoring balance, creating pressure.
■ Weaknesses: Depth, rebounding, inside scoring.
■ Outlook: Vanneman inherits four seniors, four juniors, and one sophomore. Three of five starters are among seven returning letter-winners.
“Our success will be predicated on our ability to work with and work for each other,” Vanneman said. “There is some great competition in our league, and we look forward to the opportunity to go compete.”
MAUMEE
■ Coach: Rafael Soler, third year.
■ Last season: 3-20, 0-14.
■ Top players: Seniors Evelynn Schneider, 5-10, C; Haley Hughes, 5-7, G. Juniors Hannah Binkowski, 5-7, F; Sky Janes, 5-6, G. Sophomores Lucy Porter, 5-7, G.
■ Strengths: Depth, rebounding, scoring balance.
■ Weaknesses: Ball-handling, post defense, handling pressure.
■ Outlook: Soler has two starters back among six returning letter-winners with four seniors, three juniors, and seven sophomores. Porter earned All-NLL second-team honors. Binkowski is an all-around standout on offense and defense, while Schneider is a great communicator and rebounder, according to Soler. Hughes started as a sophomore and Janes is the team's best on-ball defender.
“This team is very close and love playing with each other,” Soler said. “We still have a lot to work on, but are getting so much better defensively and taking care of the ball on offense. They are really starting to understand the game and what it takes to be successful. I have high expectations. We will work as hard as we can to get better.”
First Published November 19, 2022, 3:30 p.m.
