2025-26 Basketball Preview: McClain Lady Tigers

Having to fill in three starting spots left vacant from last season's Frontier Athletic Conference championship team, the McClain Lady Tigers are prepared to take on all challengers as they get set to start the 2025-26 basketball season. 

Led by head coach Shania Massie — who is starting her third season at the helm of the McClain program — the Lady Tigers are returning from a season a year ago that saw them finish 10-0 in the FAC standings, winning their first FAC championship since joining the conference. Massie was voted the District 14 Division IV Coach of the Year by the District 14 Coaches Association for 2024-25 and was the Southeast District’s Div. IV Co-Coach of the Year as selected by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association (OPSMA).

Last season, the Lady Tigers averaged 48.6 points per game in FAC games, while allowing 30.2 ppg. Overall, in all games played last season, McClain averaged 49.1 ppg and allowed 35.3 ppg. 

McClain has two starters back from that team and six players overall returning from that highly successful team that finished with a 22-2 overall record, including a 22-game winning streak, as their two losses came in their first game and their 24th game of the 2024-25 season. 

Seniors are Karlee McGlone, Becca Bergstrom, Brie Cummins and Leah Lovett.

Juniors include Larah Henson, Paisley Pryor and Allie Burgess. The sophomores are Brooklyn Bolender and Emma Posey. 

Assistant coaches are Shawna Conger and Drew Hamilton.

Pryor last season averaged 18.5 points per game, with 6.0 rebounds per game and 4.0 steals per game. She also made 118 3-pointers. As a sophomore, Pryor was named the Frontier Athletic Conference Girls Basketball Player of the Year, plus she was first-team Coaches All-District, first-team OPSMA All-District and special mention All-Ohio.

Henson a season ago averaged 12 ppg, with 6.0 rpg, 2.0 spg and she made 75 3-pointers. Henson was an All-FAC honoree, honorable mention Coaches All-District, second-team OPSMA All-District and honorable mention All-Ohio.

“I’m excited to see what this entire group can accomplish together this year,” Massie said. “We lost a huge part of our team from last season, and those roles will be tough to fill, but I truly believe it’s doable with the players we have.

“Leah Lovett is a post player whose strength is unreal. She can be a huge factor for us inside. Paisley works on her game constantly and is an all-around player who impacts every part of the floor. Larah is another player I’m excited about; she’s growing each day and has a chance to take a big step forward. Overall, I’m confident in the way this group will compete and complement each other.”

In preparation for the 2025-26 season, McClain has been working this offseason on fundamentals, conditioning and getting stronger, according to Coach Massie. 

“Our offseason has been productive. The girls have been committed, showing up, putting in the work and building chemistry. We focused on fundamentals, conditioning and getting stronger, and I’ve been proud of how they’ve approached everything,” she said. “The biggest positives have been their effort, their togetherness and their willingness to be coached. This group communicates well, works hard and genuinely wants to get better. They push each other, and that competitive energy has been great to see early on.”

Coach Massie also talked about what she wants her team to improve on this season. 

“I want to see improvement in our decision-making, especially in transition and late-game situations,” Massie said. “We also need to focus on consistency, doing the small things right every possession. Defense and rebounding will be big points of emphasis early in the season.”

Describing her players as “tough, driven, coachable and team-oriented,” Coach Massie has expectations for more success on the court this season, but she wants her team to do so by "competing with confidence. 

“Our expectations are to grow every day, play hard, compete with confidence and represent our program the right way. We want to be playing our best basketball by the end of the season,” she said. “If we stay disciplined and bought in, we can put ourselves in a great position in the league and tournament.”

The Lady Tigers are the team with the target on their backs this season as they are the reigning champions of the FAC, but even in losing three key starters from a year ago, McClain has the team to compete for the championship once again as they’ll face Jackson, Chillicothe, Hillsboro, Miami Trace and Washington twice each this season. 

“The FAC will be a tough league this year. There’s a lot of talent returning across the conference, and every night will be a challenge. We’ll have to show up ready to compete,” Massie said. 

The non-conference schedule is strong as well, with the Lady Tigers playing the following games: vs. Paint Valley, at Logan Elm, at Lynchburg-Clay, vs. Zane Trace, at Whiteoak, at Adena, vs. Clinton-Massie, at Waverly, vs. Piketon, vs. TBA (Eastern Brown Shootout), vs. Fairfield and vs. Fayetteville. 

“We play a lot of great non-conference games this year. Our schedule is designed to challenge us early and prepare us for league play,” Massie said. “We’ll face teams with different styles, which will help us improve and see where we need to grow.

“I’m proud of this group already. If they continue to work hard, stay connected and trust each other, this season could be something special. I’m excited to get started.”

McClain begins the 2025-26 season on Friday, Nov. 21 at home with a non-conference game against the Paint Valley Lady Bearcats. 

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