Story Matters

Story Matters

THE Official HHS Football Site

Friday, November 16, 2012

Hoops Preview: Ladybirds aim for up-tempo attack


Submitted Photo. The Highlands Ladybirds basketball team has six seniors this year. They are, from left, Kelsey Clark, Emilie Parton, Jesse Daley, Leah Schaefer, Ava Abner and Vanessa Fisse. On Thursday, Schaefer signed to play at Xavier University in Cincinnati and Daley signed with NCAA Division III Thomas More College.


By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

On paper, this could be a special winter for the Highlands Ladybirds basketball team.

Highlands returns a wealth of talent and experience from last year’s squad, including four starters. That has the Ladybirds listed as a contender in the 9th Region. The Northern Kentucky Girls Basketball Coaches ranked Highlands second in the region behind the Notre Dame Pandas in their annual preseason poll.

While Highlands and Notre Dame did not suffer huge losses to graduation, the Ladybirds know the rest of the region will not bow down. They will have to prove themselves on a daily basis.

No one knows that better than Highlands head coach Jaime Walz-Richey. As a player, Walz-Richey guided Highlands to three consecutive 9th Region crowns between 1994 and 1996 before going on to Western Kentucky University, including a state runner-up finish in 1994. The 1996 Gatorade National Player of the Year finished her career as the state’s all-time leading scorer with 4,948 career points.

Richey took over as head coach in 2002. The Ladybirds are 175-117 after 10 seasons under Richey. During that time, Highlands has District 36 championships in 2007 and 2008 in addition to 9th Region semifinal appearances in 2004, 2007 and 2009.

The Ladybirds finished 17-16 overall a year ago. They lost to Newport Central Catholic, 59-27 in the 36th District title game and Notre Dame, 13-8 in the 9th Region quarterfinals.

“We have high standards here at Highlands,” Richey said. “As a former player, I’m really thinking about the little things. I think the girls are finally realizing that little things win games. It just takes a lot of players willing to put in the hard work. Not necessarily just basketball players, but two to three-sport athletes willing to put in their time during basketball season to get better. We have a good group of girls in the program now that are dedicated to basketball and do anything to make the team better.”

By the little things, Richey means ball fakes, getting the ball into the post, boxing out and teamwork among other things. That starts with the senior “Twin Towers” in 6-foot-0-inch forward Leah Schaefer and 5-11 center Jesse Daley. The two just signed to play college basketball Thursday. Schaefer signed to play at nearby Xavier University and Daley signed at nearby NCAA Division III Thomas More College.

Schaefer has been called “the most versatile player in the 9th Region” for good reason. She can play any of the five positions on the court. She brought the ball up the court some last year when 5-7 point guard Ava Abner went out with right torn anterior cruciated ligament, medial collateral ligament and Meniscus injuries when Boone County’s Sydney Moss undercut her going for a loose ball in December.

Schaefer averaged 14.9 points and 8.55 rebounds a game last year. Schaefer enters the season 14 points short of the 1,000-point mark for her career with 986.

Daley is expected to control the paint. She averaged 10 points and 5.61 rebounds a game last year.

Schaefer and Daley are two of six seniors on the team. The other four seniors are guards in Abner, 5-8 Emilie Parton, 5-7 Vanessa Fisse and 5-5 Kelsey Clark. Daley said the team chemistry has been good so far.

“We just have to keep it up throughout the year,” Daley said. “We’ve all been around for a really long time so we have to take leadership and show the young girls how it’s done.”

The Highlands roster lists 15 players overall. That gives the Ladybirds the depth they hope to use to pressure the entire game and wear down opponents.

The down side to that is that roster lists 10 guards so Highlands is not deep at the forward and center positions so staying out of foul trouble could be key. After Schaefer and Daley, the other forwards are sophomore 5-6 Alex Combs and 6-0 freshman McKenzie Leigh. The other listed center is 5-11 sophomore Kristyn Lukjan.

“We’ve been telling the girls that other teams may have the best one through five players,” Richey said. “But as a coaching staff, we feel that we have the best one through eleven on our roster. We’re going to push it so that when we sub, we’re not going to lose anything like other teams sometimes do.”

Richey said Highlands did not have anyone to pick up the intensity Abner brought to the court when she went down last year. Abner is able to play despite missing most of the soccer season in the fall because of surgery to repair more damage done to her right Meniscus.

“We’re trying to make it so that we don’t fall apart like last year,” Parton said. “We were trying to rebuild and rebuild and it wasn’t working. We’re trying to make sure that if she’s not there, the guards can take over her spot.”

But Richey said Abner’s injury may become a blessing in disguise for this year in some ways. Two freshmen guards in 5-7 Brianna Adler and 5-4 Haley Coffey earned some time at the point guard along with Fisse.

“When Ava is back playing, she does not have to play point guard,” Richey said. “We can put her at a three (small forward) or two (shooting guard). I can switch lineups around.”

Three other guards give the Ladybirds some depth. They are 5-8 junior Tomi Blanton and three other sophomores in 5-7 Whitney Quillen, 5-4 Katelyn Helton and 5-8 Lydia Graves.

Aside from the up-tempo, full-court attack, Richey said Highlands has been working on defense. The Ladybirds want to deny penetration and keep the ball out of the paint. Last year, Highlands outscored opponents, 1,719-1,591 for an average of about 52-48.

“They’re understanding the good things they do on the court,” Richey said. “They don’t put themselves in positions where they’re going to fail. They’re helping each other out so that’s huge.”

Highlands opens the season at home on Nov. 27 against Dixie Heights coached by former Highlands standout and assistant Tara Boothe-Smith. Game time is 7:30 p.m.


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