As they are prepare for the second girls state basketball final-four appearance of their careers, Anthony Wayne High School twin sisters Elise and Brooke Bender highlight the list of Northwest Ohio area players named to the 2025 Ohio Prep Sports Media Association all-district teams released on Wednesday.
● The OPSMA’s All-Northwest District boys basketball teams and award winners will be announced March 12.
The Bender sisters — who have each signed to continue their careers together at Villanova University in the Big East Conference — were each named to the all-district Division II first team.
Elise, a 6-1 wing who was named first team Division I All-Ohio as a junior last season, has been chosen D-II district player of the year after earning that honor in D-I last year, when she was also a finalist for Ohio's Ms. Basketball award.
This season, Elise averaged 24.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists during the regular season in leading the Generals to a 19-2 pre-tournament record.
She has since increased her school-record career point total to 2,016 in helping AW (now 23-2) advance to a D-II state semifinal game Sunday against 2024 D-I state champion Olmsted Falls (22-5) at Mansfield Senior High School.
Both teams dropped from D-I to D-II this season under Ohio's new seven-division state tournament format.
Brooke Bender (16.5 points) and her sister are joined on the D-II all-district first team by junior Jade Latson (14.8 points, 8.6 rebounds) of Start (20-5), which won a City League title and advanced to a regional final this season, junior Grace Krahl (13.0 points) of Northview (19-4), and senior Lyndi Wolf (11.4 points) of Fremont Ross (10-13), which shared the NLL's Cardinal Division title with Napoleon.
Brooke and Elise Bender shared the Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division's player of the year honor, Latson was the CL player of the year, and Wolf was named co-player of the year in the NLL's Cardinal Division.
With only three Division I schools remaining in northwest Ohio under the Ohio High School Athletic Association's seven-division alignment, just four players received first team all-district honors — Perrysburg juniors Addy Byrne (10.7 points), Sophie Mitchell (9.4 points), and Hayden Siebenaler (7.9 points, 7.2 rebounds), and Findlay freshman standout Davinee Harris (17.1 points).
In Division III, included on the first team are Maumee senior Lucy Porter (18.9 points, 9.0 rebounds) and Notre Dame senior Nina Sims (12.5 points). Sims and the Eagles (21-6) will play three-time defending state champion Cincinnati Purcell Marian (21-6) in Saturday's D-III state semifinal at St. Marys Memorial.
Two players from the Northwest Ohio Athletic League were named to the Division IV first team — junior Josey Arnold (13.2 points) of Bryan, and senior Mackenzie Stasa (9.7 points) of Wauseon (21-5), which reached the D-IV regional semis.
In Division V, two other NWOAL players — 19-3 Delta freshman Anna Lohman (14.1 points) and Archbold junior Miley Gericke (12.7 points) — were picked to the first team, which also included Genoa sophomore Makenna Moritz (16.9 points, 9.5 rebounds), who led the Comets (18-6) to a share of the Northern Buckeye Conference title.
Sophmore Elly Evarts (22.8 points, 8.0 rebounds), who led Gibsonburg (19-6) to a repeat title in the Sandusky Bay Conference's River Division, shared Division VI player of the year honors with Columbus Grove senior Lauryn Auchmuty (24.1 points), who led the Bulldogs (25-2) to a 45-41 regional-final win last Saturday over NWOAL champion Patrick Henry (25-2).
Evarts has already surpassed 1,000 career points in two seasons.
Included with that POY duo on the D-VI all-district first team are Patrick Henry junior teammates Carys Crossland (17.3 points) and Ada Christman (11.7 points, 9.4 rebounds).
In Division VII, included on the all-district first team were sophomore Morgan Kern (17.0 points, 7.8 rebounds) of McComb (19-6), senior Emma Kelbley (15.6 points, 10.1 rebounds) of Fremont St. Joseph, and senior Maci Brown (8.0 points, 6.4 rebounds) of SBC River Division runner-up Danbury (23-4), which reached the D-VII regional finals before falling to Mogadore on Saturday.
Picking up top coaching honors in their respective divisions were Findlay's Brian Rosendale (D-I), Northview's Pat Sayre (D-II), Wauseon's Shelly Borton (D-IV), Delta's Kelsey Gillen (D-V), and Patrick Henry's Justin Sonnenberg (D-VI).
First Published March 6, 2025, 12:00 a.m.
