Sports
Lady Buckeyes Hold Off Southern And More From TVC Girls Basketball Preview
By: Justin Holbrock, Nathan Wiseman
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Nelsonville-York v. Southern
After finishing second in the TVC-Ohio and winning their district championship last year, the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes girl’s squad came out in the TVC-Ohio Season Preview with a reputation to protect. And they did not disappoint at South Gallia High School, showing that they have not missed a beat from last year’s successful season.
The Lady Buckeyes were able to defeat the Southern Tornadoes 36-31 under the leadership of senior Madison Davis, who will likely be the go-to player all season long for this team, and will look to dethrone Athens from the top spot in the conference this season.
But in order to grab that first place position, Nelsonville-York must fill several perimeter positions after losing players like Angela Meade and Jennah Addis.
Luckily for the Buckeyes, freshman Jessie Addis filled her sister’s shoes neatly at the point guard position and is becoming a player who can be relied on for a strong offensive outing on any given day.
For this NY team, it will be interesting to see if they can overcome the always-dangerous Athens Bulldogs in the conference. But first the Buckeyes must focus on their first game coming on the road on Dec. 1 against the New Lexington Panthers.
Meigs v. Miller
The 2013-14 season wasn’t kind to the Lady Meigs Marauders as they failed to capture a conference win and finished the season with an overall 5-16 record. But a new season with a familiar star brings hope to Pomeroy this season
It’s apparent when she walks on the court that senior guard Kelsey Hudson leads this team. Hudson took over and scored almost every point in Meigs’ 31-19 victory over Miller at the 2014 Girls Basketball Preview but Maurauders' coach Amber Ridenour’s team shouldn’t solely rely on Hudson every game.
It seemed as though the Marauders improved defensively over the offseason but will need to relay that intensity to the offensive side of the ball in order to compete in the TVC.
The Marauders will travel to Federal Hocking for the first game of the regular season on November 29.
Eastern v. Alexander
Last season the Eastern Lady Eagles became the first team from the Tri-Valley area to ever win a girls’ basketball state championship. That championship, however, came with a lineup that included five senior starters and 2014-15 will be very different from last year’s Eastern team that won 27 of its 28 games.
But the new-look Lady Eagles were able to defeat the Alexander Spartans 29-22 at South Gallia High School in the Tri-Valley Conference Girls Basketball Preview.
Despite recording over ten turnovers in 16 minutes, the Lady Eagles played well for a team that only has two players who played a considerable amount of varsity basketball last season. One of those players includes sophomore Laura Pullins who received a significant amount of playing time her freshman year during the Lady Eagles’ state-title run.
What the Lady Eagles lack in experience they make up for with a well-conditioned and well-coached squad, which played in their favor tonight against the Lady Spartans, who are coming off a season in which they lost their district championship.
Eastern is not alone in losing a very productive senior class as Alexander also lost four seniors from last year’s team.
But the Lady Spartans do not face the same problem as Eastern, as Alexander returned several key contributors from last year’s team including sophomore Leah Richardson and senior Allyson Malone.
Experience alone will not be enough for Alexander to clinch the TVC-Ohio, as the Lady Spartans must take down Athens and Nelsonville-York, who finished atop the conference last season, if they want a chance at the TVC crown.
Tipoff for both teams is Sat., Nov. 29, with Eastern hosting River Valley while the Lady Spartans take on the Warren Warriors in Vincent, Ohio.