2018-19 Hillsboro Lady Indians Basketball Preview
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Having 10 players on their varsity roster for the 2018-19 season, the Hillsboro Lady Indians jump into the basketball campaign with seven of those players having varsity experience, as they are described by their ninth-year head coach JR Moberly as an athletic team who plays hard.
Last season was a year of learning for the Lady Indians, finishing 5-18 on the season. This year, they’ll add to that experience gained a season ago, but also remember they play in a tough Frontier Athletic Conference — as HHS was 2-8 in conference play a season ago — with some very strong teams who have a lot of tournament experience on their side.
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This year, the Lady Indians have three seniors (Kelsey Burns, Lana Grover and Mackenzie Cosby), six juniors (Kayden Watson, Kira Watson, Josie Hopkins, Karleigh Hopkins, Jordan Moberly and Christine Page) and one sophomore (Leah Hester).
“We have a fair amount of experience, but we’re still trying to get a ball in their hands and get as much more experience as possible,” Moberly said. “We don’t have a lot of size, so we’ll try to make use of our athletic ability and our speed.”
As for how they will play this season, don’t be surprised to see more of the same style of basketball from the Hillsboro squad, though there will be a few changes in their overall style of play.
“We’re going to kind of be a continuation of what we’ve done, but we’ve thrown some wrinkles in. It’s kind of changed our philosophy with our offense, so we’re looking to attack a little more, looking to get up and down the floor a little more,” Moberly said.
“That’ll be a real challenge against the better defensive teams that we play in our league and some of our non-league teams as well. That’s definitely going to be something that we’re going to have to continue to work at as we go. It definitely changes how we attack.”
The seniors of the Lady Indians will be looked at to be the leaders for the season, as Coach Moberly spoke about his senior class for the upcoming season.
“Lana Grover has been playing, starting games for us, since she was a freshman. She’s battled an injury over the last couple of years, and she’s slowly recovering from that. We look to have her at full speed and full health come the early part of the season,” he said. “Kelsey Burns, another senior with playing experience, is a good athlete. She’s been a good leader for us in practice, a strong kid and probably our defensive stopper.
“Our other senior, Mackenzie Cosby, did not play last year, but she brings our only size to us. We look to use her when we can in those situations where we can take advantage of that size and strength.”
Moberly also spoke about others who will be needed for success on the court this season.
“The two Hopkins girls, the two Watson girls – they have different areas of strengths, so we try to get those girls in places where they can use those strengths. Again, they’re still learning,” Moberly said. “They’re getting better, but they’ve still got learning to do.”
Last season, Karleigh Hopkins averaged 7.1 points per game in 22 regular-season games, scoring 155 points. Kayden Watson averaged 6.3 ppg. in 22 regular-season games, scoring 138 points. Grover during the full regular season finished with 119 points last season with a 5.4 ppg. average.
As the Lady Indians continue to learn and progress to start the season, Moberly spoke about how his team is full of good kids and how they do play as a team.
“I really like these kids. They come and work hard every day. They get along great. They’re a lot of fun to be around. Not that I’ve ever dreaded coming to practice, but I really look forward to coming in and working with these kids,” he said. “A lot of these kids – almost all of them – went to Mount Union with us over the summer, and we played up there. We played a lot of games over the summertime and had some good success.
“The fact that they get along so well together just makes it fun to come to practice. Even down through our JV squad, they all work hard. Again, I can’t stress how important it is that they get along. You’ll have those days where it’s not always going to be that way, but all in all, it’s just a really fun group to be with.”
Moberly also spoke about the improvements of his team compared to last year.
“I see their maturity level improving. I see an understanding of the game. It’s kind of an oddity for us – we have several kids who are basketball players only at the varsity level,” Moberly said. “We have a lot of younger kids who play a lot of multiple sports, and I’m a big fan of that. These kids at the varsity level who are basketball-only have spent a lot of time playing basketball over the summer, and so I see improvement from last year in them.”
As stated earlier, the conference played in by the Lady Indians is tough, especially with the Miami Trace Lady Panthers and Washington Lady Blue Lions expected to be the top two teams in the conference. Coach Moberly talked about the conference going into the season.
“Our league is tough, top to bottom, still,” Moberly said. “I know Miami Trace lost a lot from last year, but until somebody beats them, they’re the champs.
“[Washington] Court House brings everybody back from an excellent team – their top eight kids are back from a team that got beat in the district finals [last season]. They’re probably the preseason favorite, if you don’t give it to Trace out of default.
“Chillicothe’s got some really nice players,” Moberly continued. “(McClain) played a lot of young kids last year and is bringing most of them back. I think they’re going to be really strong.
“Jackson graduated their best player last year. I know their coach does a tremendous job down there, so I anticipate they’ll be pretty good as well.”
HHS has a strong non-conference schedule with games against Fayetteville, Batavia, Paint Valley, Goshen, Piketon, Milford, Lynchburg-Clay, Waverly, Clinton-Massie, Blanchester, Western Brown and Zane Trace.
“Our non-league schedule, we have Lynchburg and Goshen. Western Brown I think will be real strong this year. I know those guys are all going to be pretty good. We’ve got a nice, tough schedule to compete against,” Moberly said. “We play Milford this year. Milford will be strong. I think they’ve got everybody back but one.
“The first five games are on the road. We only play 10 on the road, and our first five are gone, so we’re going to spend a lot of time here [at Hillsboro] in January. I think that’ll help us as we’re starting to get in our groove. We’ve got a tough schedule, a tough row to hoe.”
Hillsboro will begin their season with a conference game at Washington Nov. 26 at 7 p.m.
Last season was a year of learning for the Lady Indians, finishing 5-18 on the season. This year, they’ll add to that experience gained a season ago, but also remember they play in a tough Frontier Athletic Conference — as HHS was 2-8 in conference play a season ago — with some very strong teams who have a lot of tournament experience on their side.
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This year, the Lady Indians have three seniors (Kelsey Burns, Lana Grover and Mackenzie Cosby), six juniors (Kayden Watson, Kira Watson, Josie Hopkins, Karleigh Hopkins, Jordan Moberly and Christine Page) and one sophomore (Leah Hester).
“We have a fair amount of experience, but we’re still trying to get a ball in their hands and get as much more experience as possible,” Moberly said. “We don’t have a lot of size, so we’ll try to make use of our athletic ability and our speed.”
As for how they will play this season, don’t be surprised to see more of the same style of basketball from the Hillsboro squad, though there will be a few changes in their overall style of play.
“We’re going to kind of be a continuation of what we’ve done, but we’ve thrown some wrinkles in. It’s kind of changed our philosophy with our offense, so we’re looking to attack a little more, looking to get up and down the floor a little more,” Moberly said.
“That’ll be a real challenge against the better defensive teams that we play in our league and some of our non-league teams as well. That’s definitely going to be something that we’re going to have to continue to work at as we go. It definitely changes how we attack.”
The seniors of the Lady Indians will be looked at to be the leaders for the season, as Coach Moberly spoke about his senior class for the upcoming season.
“Lana Grover has been playing, starting games for us, since she was a freshman. She’s battled an injury over the last couple of years, and she’s slowly recovering from that. We look to have her at full speed and full health come the early part of the season,” he said. “Kelsey Burns, another senior with playing experience, is a good athlete. She’s been a good leader for us in practice, a strong kid and probably our defensive stopper.
“Our other senior, Mackenzie Cosby, did not play last year, but she brings our only size to us. We look to use her when we can in those situations where we can take advantage of that size and strength.”
Moberly also spoke about others who will be needed for success on the court this season.
“The two Hopkins girls, the two Watson girls – they have different areas of strengths, so we try to get those girls in places where they can use those strengths. Again, they’re still learning,” Moberly said. “They’re getting better, but they’ve still got learning to do.”
Last season, Karleigh Hopkins averaged 7.1 points per game in 22 regular-season games, scoring 155 points. Kayden Watson averaged 6.3 ppg. in 22 regular-season games, scoring 138 points. Grover during the full regular season finished with 119 points last season with a 5.4 ppg. average.
As the Lady Indians continue to learn and progress to start the season, Moberly spoke about how his team is full of good kids and how they do play as a team.
“I really like these kids. They come and work hard every day. They get along great. They’re a lot of fun to be around. Not that I’ve ever dreaded coming to practice, but I really look forward to coming in and working with these kids,” he said. “A lot of these kids – almost all of them – went to Mount Union with us over the summer, and we played up there. We played a lot of games over the summertime and had some good success.
“The fact that they get along so well together just makes it fun to come to practice. Even down through our JV squad, they all work hard. Again, I can’t stress how important it is that they get along. You’ll have those days where it’s not always going to be that way, but all in all, it’s just a really fun group to be with.”
Moberly also spoke about the improvements of his team compared to last year.
“I see their maturity level improving. I see an understanding of the game. It’s kind of an oddity for us – we have several kids who are basketball players only at the varsity level,” Moberly said. “We have a lot of younger kids who play a lot of multiple sports, and I’m a big fan of that. These kids at the varsity level who are basketball-only have spent a lot of time playing basketball over the summer, and so I see improvement from last year in them.”
As stated earlier, the conference played in by the Lady Indians is tough, especially with the Miami Trace Lady Panthers and Washington Lady Blue Lions expected to be the top two teams in the conference. Coach Moberly talked about the conference going into the season.
“Our league is tough, top to bottom, still,” Moberly said. “I know Miami Trace lost a lot from last year, but until somebody beats them, they’re the champs.
“[Washington] Court House brings everybody back from an excellent team – their top eight kids are back from a team that got beat in the district finals [last season]. They’re probably the preseason favorite, if you don’t give it to Trace out of default.
“Chillicothe’s got some really nice players,” Moberly continued. “(McClain) played a lot of young kids last year and is bringing most of them back. I think they’re going to be really strong.
“Jackson graduated their best player last year. I know their coach does a tremendous job down there, so I anticipate they’ll be pretty good as well.”
HHS has a strong non-conference schedule with games against Fayetteville, Batavia, Paint Valley, Goshen, Piketon, Milford, Lynchburg-Clay, Waverly, Clinton-Massie, Blanchester, Western Brown and Zane Trace.
“Our non-league schedule, we have Lynchburg and Goshen. Western Brown I think will be real strong this year. I know those guys are all going to be pretty good. We’ve got a nice, tough schedule to compete against,” Moberly said. “We play Milford this year. Milford will be strong. I think they’ve got everybody back but one.
“The first five games are on the road. We only play 10 on the road, and our first five are gone, so we’re going to spend a lot of time here [at Hillsboro] in January. I think that’ll help us as we’re starting to get in our groove. We’ve got a tough schedule, a tough row to hoe.”
Hillsboro will begin their season with a conference game at Washington Nov. 26 at 7 p.m.