The Daily Press Pass: Something new for high school athletics
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
After a few days away from in-game action, it is time for area high school teams to get back on the court for the next few days with teams from the Frontier Athletic Conference, Southern Hills Athletic Conference and other area teams from the southern part of the state doing their thing to close out the calendar year of 2018.
There have been some excellent moments already this season, as most recently Lynchburg-Clay senior Peyton Scott became the school’s all-time leading scorer in girls basketball, and on that day last Thursday at LCHS, she also scored 42 points to break the single-game scoring record as well.
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Watching Scott for the past four seasons and seeing the improvement in her overall game has been very exciting to watch, and the remainder of the season for the Miami University signee will continue to be exciting, too.
That is just one of the many moments that have stood out thus far this high school basketball season. As this column continues on a daily basis, it will be used to show not only my thoughts of what I’ve covered and what I see about high school athletics this season, but it will be used to preview games, give a daily schedule and have a few other surprises each day.
Here are a few thoughts from the season thus far:
• I’ve had the opportunity to watch all six Frontier Athletic Conference girls basketball teams, and from what I’ve seen the best team in the conference thus far is the Washington Lady Blue Lions. Next are the Miami Trace Lady Panthers and the McClain Lady Tigers, and that would be a whole different story if the Lady Tigers were at 100-percent. Next are the Chillicothe Lady Cavaliers, Hillsboro Lady Indians and the Jackson Ironladies.
The good thing is there is still a lot of basketball and many excellent rematches ahead in the second half of the season, especially in the FAC. Here is a look at the current FAC standings for girls basketball entering Thursday with overall record in parentheses:
- Washington 5-0 (6-2)
- McClain 4-1 (7-2)
- Miami Trace 3-2 (5-4)
- Chillicothe 2-3 (3-7)
- Jackson 1-4 (1-7)
- Hillsboro 0-5 (1-6)
• Another part of the girls basketball standings that is really setting up for a big-time meeting resides in Division I of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. The SHAC standings of the “big school division” has two teams who have yet to lose a conference game and two teams who have yet to face each other in the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs and the Eastern Brown Lady Warriors.
Both of these schools have a bit of recent history as Eastern has won the past handful of meetings between the two schools, but those games have been super competitive and the games always mean something either in the standings or in the postseason tournament.
Eastern’s SHAC results include the following:
- Nov. 26 at Ripley: 61-21
- Dec. 3 vs. West Union: 54-33
- Dec. 6 vs. Peebles: 52-41
- Dec. 10 vs. Fairfield: 48-32
- Dec. 13 at North Adams: 46-34
- Dec. 17: vs. Manchester: 68-38
As for Lynchburg-Clay, they are playing strong all season long as well, with the following results in their six conference wins this season:
- Nov. 26: vs. Fairfield: 51-27
- Nov. 29 at North Adams: 60-57 (OT)
- Dec. 3 vs. Manchester: 57-22
- Dec. 13: vs. Peebles: 68-42
- Dec. 17: at Ripley: 76-32
- Dec. 20 vs. West Union: 79-30
These two teams don’t meet until Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019 at Eastern Brown, so there is still a good amount of basketball to be played before the two teams meet, but how exciting will this matchup be as we all know the winner of the two meetings will most likely become the champions of Division I in the SHAC? Until then, though, both teams will most likely continue to impress with their overall play this season.
• SCHEDULE: Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018
FRONTIER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
BOYS BASKETBALL
- Greeneview at Miami Trace: This game is the start of the boys McDonald’s Holiday Classic held every year at Miami Trace. MTHS enters this game still looking for their first win of the season, as they are 0-7 overall. Greeneview has one win this season as they’ve defeated East Clinton, 66-49 on Dec. 8.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
- Hillsboro at Paint Valley: This non-conference game showcases the host Paint Valley team that is third in the Scioto Valley Conference at 5-1 in conference play and 5-5 overall. Hillsboro is 0-5 in FAC games this season and 1-6 overall. Hillsboro’s lone win this season was at Fayetteville by a 55-52 score on Nov. 28.
- Adena at McClain: McClain should have the advantage entering this game as they have seven wins, compared to Adena, who is still looking for their first win of the season. In their most recent game, McClain defeated Hillsboro, 55-41, where Kyla Burchett led MHS with 19 points. Adena last played on Dec. 20, where they lost by a 65-46 score. Hannah Stark led AHS with 19 points (stat provided by svcsportszone.com).
- Chillicothe at Hilliard Darby: Chillicothe is fourth in the FAC, and they have an overall record of 3-7 this season. Being able to see them twice this season, they showed improvement from the first time I saw them to the second time, which is always good to see with a young team. Hilliard Darby is 7-2 overall, and in the Ohio Capital Conference (Cardinal Division) they are 5-0.
- Jackson at Unioto: The Jackson team is rebuilding their program, but they do have a win this season when they defeated Hillsboro, 36-31 on Dec. 5. Unioto leads the SVC with a 6-0 record in conference games and 6-1 record overall. UHS last played on Dec. 20 when they defeated Piketon, 54-25. In that game, Josie Fisher led UHS with 20 points (stat from svcsportszone.com).
Southern Hills Athletic Conference
GIRLS BASKETBALL
- Reading at Ripley: The Ripley Lady Blue Jays have two wins this season with a 2-9 overall record, and not only that, but one of the wins is from non-conference action. Ripley’s two wins have come against Felicity-Franklin (43-21) on Dec. 12 and Fayetteville (42-39) on Dec. 10. Reading this season is 0-7 overall, with an 0-5 mark in the Cincinnati Hills Conference.
• FINAL THOUGHTS BEFORE TIP-OFF
There are some nice matchups on the schedule for today. The games Thursday are a good way for teams to get back into the groove of things following a short break for the holidays. Many of the games listed are between teams who have similar overall records and have had similar outcomes, so that should bring to some close action on the court.
This column will be a daily look at not only high school basketball, but all high school athletics. Remember, as always, game stats, season stats and all information for high school athletics from Highland County and the surrounding area can be emailed to sforsha@gmail.com, and it will be featured either individually or in this daily look at high school sports.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @HCPSportsEditor.
There have been some excellent moments already this season, as most recently Lynchburg-Clay senior Peyton Scott became the school’s all-time leading scorer in girls basketball, and on that day last Thursday at LCHS, she also scored 42 points to break the single-game scoring record as well.
[[In-content Ad]]
Watching Scott for the past four seasons and seeing the improvement in her overall game has been very exciting to watch, and the remainder of the season for the Miami University signee will continue to be exciting, too.
That is just one of the many moments that have stood out thus far this high school basketball season. As this column continues on a daily basis, it will be used to show not only my thoughts of what I’ve covered and what I see about high school athletics this season, but it will be used to preview games, give a daily schedule and have a few other surprises each day.
Here are a few thoughts from the season thus far:
• I’ve had the opportunity to watch all six Frontier Athletic Conference girls basketball teams, and from what I’ve seen the best team in the conference thus far is the Washington Lady Blue Lions. Next are the Miami Trace Lady Panthers and the McClain Lady Tigers, and that would be a whole different story if the Lady Tigers were at 100-percent. Next are the Chillicothe Lady Cavaliers, Hillsboro Lady Indians and the Jackson Ironladies.
The good thing is there is still a lot of basketball and many excellent rematches ahead in the second half of the season, especially in the FAC. Here is a look at the current FAC standings for girls basketball entering Thursday with overall record in parentheses:
- Washington 5-0 (6-2)
- McClain 4-1 (7-2)
- Miami Trace 3-2 (5-4)
- Chillicothe 2-3 (3-7)
- Jackson 1-4 (1-7)
- Hillsboro 0-5 (1-6)
• Another part of the girls basketball standings that is really setting up for a big-time meeting resides in Division I of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. The SHAC standings of the “big school division” has two teams who have yet to lose a conference game and two teams who have yet to face each other in the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs and the Eastern Brown Lady Warriors.
Both of these schools have a bit of recent history as Eastern has won the past handful of meetings between the two schools, but those games have been super competitive and the games always mean something either in the standings or in the postseason tournament.
Eastern’s SHAC results include the following:
- Nov. 26 at Ripley: 61-21
- Dec. 3 vs. West Union: 54-33
- Dec. 6 vs. Peebles: 52-41
- Dec. 10 vs. Fairfield: 48-32
- Dec. 13 at North Adams: 46-34
- Dec. 17: vs. Manchester: 68-38
As for Lynchburg-Clay, they are playing strong all season long as well, with the following results in their six conference wins this season:
- Nov. 26: vs. Fairfield: 51-27
- Nov. 29 at North Adams: 60-57 (OT)
- Dec. 3 vs. Manchester: 57-22
- Dec. 13: vs. Peebles: 68-42
- Dec. 17: at Ripley: 76-32
- Dec. 20 vs. West Union: 79-30
These two teams don’t meet until Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019 at Eastern Brown, so there is still a good amount of basketball to be played before the two teams meet, but how exciting will this matchup be as we all know the winner of the two meetings will most likely become the champions of Division I in the SHAC? Until then, though, both teams will most likely continue to impress with their overall play this season.
• SCHEDULE: Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018
FRONTIER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
BOYS BASKETBALL
- Greeneview at Miami Trace: This game is the start of the boys McDonald’s Holiday Classic held every year at Miami Trace. MTHS enters this game still looking for their first win of the season, as they are 0-7 overall. Greeneview has one win this season as they’ve defeated East Clinton, 66-49 on Dec. 8.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
- Hillsboro at Paint Valley: This non-conference game showcases the host Paint Valley team that is third in the Scioto Valley Conference at 5-1 in conference play and 5-5 overall. Hillsboro is 0-5 in FAC games this season and 1-6 overall. Hillsboro’s lone win this season was at Fayetteville by a 55-52 score on Nov. 28.
- Adena at McClain: McClain should have the advantage entering this game as they have seven wins, compared to Adena, who is still looking for their first win of the season. In their most recent game, McClain defeated Hillsboro, 55-41, where Kyla Burchett led MHS with 19 points. Adena last played on Dec. 20, where they lost by a 65-46 score. Hannah Stark led AHS with 19 points (stat provided by svcsportszone.com).
- Chillicothe at Hilliard Darby: Chillicothe is fourth in the FAC, and they have an overall record of 3-7 this season. Being able to see them twice this season, they showed improvement from the first time I saw them to the second time, which is always good to see with a young team. Hilliard Darby is 7-2 overall, and in the Ohio Capital Conference (Cardinal Division) they are 5-0.
- Jackson at Unioto: The Jackson team is rebuilding their program, but they do have a win this season when they defeated Hillsboro, 36-31 on Dec. 5. Unioto leads the SVC with a 6-0 record in conference games and 6-1 record overall. UHS last played on Dec. 20 when they defeated Piketon, 54-25. In that game, Josie Fisher led UHS with 20 points (stat from svcsportszone.com).
Southern Hills Athletic Conference
GIRLS BASKETBALL
- Reading at Ripley: The Ripley Lady Blue Jays have two wins this season with a 2-9 overall record, and not only that, but one of the wins is from non-conference action. Ripley’s two wins have come against Felicity-Franklin (43-21) on Dec. 12 and Fayetteville (42-39) on Dec. 10. Reading this season is 0-7 overall, with an 0-5 mark in the Cincinnati Hills Conference.
• FINAL THOUGHTS BEFORE TIP-OFF
There are some nice matchups on the schedule for today. The games Thursday are a good way for teams to get back into the groove of things following a short break for the holidays. Many of the games listed are between teams who have similar overall records and have had similar outcomes, so that should bring to some close action on the court.
This column will be a daily look at not only high school basketball, but all high school athletics. Remember, as always, game stats, season stats and all information for high school athletics from Highland County and the surrounding area can be emailed to sforsha@gmail.com, and it will be featured either individually or in this daily look at high school sports.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @HCPSportsEditor.