2025-26 Basketball Preview: Hillsboro Lady Indians

The 2025-26 season for the Hillsboro Lady Indians sees them returning to the court with a team that is a bit different than the team a year ago which finished second in the Frontier Athletic Conference and had 19 wins. 

That said, the 2025-26 Lady Indians have three players who started last season, and they lost just one senior from a year ago to graduation and another starter to transfer. 

Led by head coach Heather Storer — who enters her fourth season at the helm of the Lady Indians — HHS still has a strong roster that can have success in the upcoming basketball season, as last year the Lady Indians finished 19-5 overall with an 8-2 record in the FAC. 

During last season’s FAC games, HHS averaged 55.6 ppg and allowed 37.1 ppg. In all games played the Lady Indians averaged 55.8 ppg and allowed 39.4 ppg. 

“They are ‘All-In,’” Storer said of her team this season. “Our girls come from all different places and have different individual goals and interests, but when we are in the gym, they are ‘all-in’ together as one group and could not be stronger. They have been tested with challenge after challenge and will be ready to take on this season together.”

Hillsboro will have a roster that has not only the three starters from a season ago, but three players who were lettermen as well, giving the Lady Indians experience on the court. Assistant coaches for Hillsboro this season are Ben Fouch and Jake Fouch.

Hillsboro’s roster consists of one senior, two juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen. Returning starters are senior Kobie Miles, junior Tylee Davis and sophomore Ella Jordan. 

Miles is the lone senior on the roster, coming off a junior year where she averaged 9.8 points per game (236 points in 24 games), along with 2.3 assists per game, 2.8 rebounds per game, 2.3 steals per game, and she shot 81 percent from the free-throw line. Miles’ totals from her junior season included 66 rebounds (31 offensive), 56 assists, 55 steals and two blocks. 

Miles was selected as an All-FAC honorable mention and OPSMA (Ohio Prep Sports Media Association) special mention player last season. Miles had two games last season where she scored a season-high 21 points.

“Our lone senior, Kobie Miles, will lead the team with her experience as a four-year impact player at the varsity level,” Storer said. “She has an unmatched quickness on both ends of the floor and is one of the most coachable kids you could ask for. She will take on the role of guarding other teams’ best threats while also being a scoring threat for us.”

The junior class for Hillsboro includes Davis and Annia Young, who also had varsity experience last season. As a sophomore in 2024-25, Davis collected numerous postseason honors, including first-team All-FAC, first-team District 14 Coaches All-District and first-team OPSMA. Davis began last season with eight consecutive games with a double-double. 

Davis last season totaled 336 points in 24 games, averaging 14.0 ppg., while also collecting 11.3 rpg for a double-double average for the season, plus she averaged 3.8 spg, 3.0 apg and totaled 18 double-doubles. Davis also totaled 271 rebounds (86 offensive), 72 assists, 91 steals, and she also had eight blocks. She has scored over 500 points in her first two seasons at Hillsboro (529 points). 

“Annia Young and Tylee Davis have both continued to improve their game during the offseason. Annia’s work ethic and size inside are both things that cannot be taught. She will be a huge presence for us in the post while also creating some havoc on defense with her ability to help inside,” Storer said of Young. “She will be looked at to have a good growth this season to last and become even more of a threat on both ends. 

“Tylee is a unique player with athleticism and an extremely high basketball IQ. She has a very high motor, paired with aggressiveness and an ability to see the floor and create for her teammates. Tylee will be looked at to lead her team on both ends of the floor and continue on her success from last season — where she achieved 18 double-doubles (points and rebounds).”

The sophomore class is a talented group that has Jordan, Piper Wilkin, Taylor-Ann Scruggs and Neveah Blair. 

Jordan last season averaged 6.4 ppg, along with 3.4 rpg, 1.3 apg and 2.0 spg. She finished her freshman season with 154 points, 81 rebounds, 32 assists, 49 steals and four blocks. 

“Sophomores Ella Jordan and Piper Wilkin both received good varsity minutes last season. Ella became a starter who surfaced quickly as an aggressive guard with a lot of basketball skill. She is quick with the ability to bring the ball up the floor and take the pressure off other guards,” Storer said. “She has worked hard this offseason to continue to develop her offense and her shot as well as her defensive quickness. 

“Piper, while receiving smaller minutes last season, took a large step in the right direction last year as well and this offseason. She will be looked at to continue to allow us to push the pace offensively and be a presence on the defensive end. Piper’s ability to see the floor and create by making the right decisions make us excited for her this season. We also have sophomores Taylor-Ann Scruggs and Neveah Blair, who we are excited to have.”

Freshmen this season are Parker Wilkin, Kylee-Ann Scruggs and Zoey Page. 

“We also bring in a new sophomore in Neveah Blair as well as three freshmen, Parker Wilkin, Kylee-Ann Scruggs and Zoey Page, all of whom will be given opportunities as we look to fill additional roles this preseason,” Storer said.

During the offseason, Hillsboro competed in some summer shootouts and focused on themselves as a team. 

“This offseason we traveled to the Cedar Point Midwest Shootout, where we were able to compete against some of the best teams in the Midwest,” Storer said. “We also traveled to Ashland, where we spent the weekend challenging ourselves against bigger schools. This offseason gives us time to really connect as a team as we spend two weekends
focusing on ourselves and enjoying our time together.”

Though Hillsboro has only 10 players on their roster, that doesn’t mean they can’t have success, as Coach Storer says her team has “grit and toughness” that isn’t equaled. 

“We may be small in numbers, but the grit and toughness that our girls have is truly unmatched,” she said. “We have a tenured staff that all share one common goal of developing a truly successful basketball program and making it exciting to play girls basketball in a time where that seems to be in question. The players that are with us want to be here, and they want to work hard to be sure that we are ready for the season.”

Though Hillsboro is coming off a 19-win season, things are different, and as Storer said, there were goals that weren’t achieved. The Lady Indians want to keep improving on their overall game. 

“After a 19-5 season last year, we have big goals set for this season. To achieve those, we are going to have to be in great shape and continue to stay focused on our goals. We never want to be happy with where we are and continue to get better each day,” Storer said. “While our record last season reflects a good year, we fell short of a few things we wanted to accomplish. 

“The girls are back with a vengeance in order to achieve our goals within the league and the district. We will come out every night with the goal of being the aggressor and control the game from the tip-off by pushing the tempo and never lying down.”

The Frontier Athletic Conference will be a strong conference once again this season, with the reigning champion being Hillsboro’s rival, the McClain Lady Tigers. Last season, the two teams played classic games with MHS winning both games by two points each, as HHS finished 8-2 in conference play a season ago. 

“Last season brought in a few new coaches to the league, bringing in some new styles of play and systems,” Storer said. “These teams will all be hitting their strides this season, and the FAC will be competitive each night. There is not a team in the FAC that will not bring their best punches to each league game and work hard to achieve a win. We should be extremely competitive in the league and are striving to set the pace from game one.” 

The non-conference slate for the Lady Indians will be tougher than a season ago, with HHS playing the following non-conference opponents: vs. Athens, at Goshen, vs. Wilmington, at North Union, vs. Circleville, vs. Western Brown, at Lynchburg-Clay, vs. TBA at Holiday Hoops Classic (at Eastern High School), vs. North Adams, at Waynesville, at Portsmouth West and at Unioto. 

“After learning a bit more of the RPI system from last season, we have increased our schedule exponentially in hopes of playing more competitive teams and challenging ourselves each night to prepare for league play and tournaments,” Storer said. “I would like to see a schedule in the district that appears more challenging than ours, and we know that this will set us up for success and put us in a position to meet our goals. We picked up Athens, Circleville, Waynesville, Battle in the 614 (North Union) and Unioto, while keeping Goshen, Western Brown, North Adams and Portsmouth West on the schedule.”

As the season gets closer, Storer said she and her team are excited to get the season started.

“We are now headed into year four – running our first player through all four of her seasons and really getting the program going. We are very excited to kick off this season and see where all our hard work allows us to land,” she said. 

Hillsboro starts the 2025-26 season on Saturday, Nov. 22 at home against the Athens Lady Bulldogs at 1:30 p.m. 

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