2022-23 Whiteoak Lady Wildcats Basketball Preview
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
(Publisher’s note: The Highland County Press apologizes for omitting the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats preview in the Nov. 26 edition. The preview will appear in the Dec. 3 edition.)
The Whiteoak Lady Wildcats are coming off a third-place finish in Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference as they earned five conference wins, and this season, they return nearly the same roster as they look to keep climbing the ladder of continued improvement and success for the 2022-23 season under second-year head coach Ron Harris.
Last season, the Lady ’Cats were 7-15 overall with an SHAC record of 5-8, as they earned wins over Sciotoville East, Glenwood New Boston, Manchester (twice), Fayetteville and Ripley (twice).
The lone senior on the roster is forward Brooke Campbell, who averaged 2.9 points per game last season with 2.2 rebounds per game.
Juniors for the team are guard Lydia Carr (7.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg), guard Bri Hill (5.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg), guard Kelsey Monteith (2.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg), guard/forward Molly McMullen (3.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg), guard Jaylie Parr (12.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and forward Madison Thompson.
Last season, as a sophomore, Parr was an honorable mention All-Ohio honoree, along with being an All-SHAC selection and a second-team All-District selection.
Sophomores this season are center/forward Darby Yeager (6.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg), guard Addison Roberts (2.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg), guard Kylee Hamm, guard Elly McMullen and guard Lexi Kennedy.
As a freshman, Yeager was named to both the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association and Coaches All-District teams.
Harris spoke highly of the sophomore Yeager and other returning players.
“Darby Yeager is the biggest player in the conference, still young as a sophomore, but should shine this year,” he said. “Guards Addison Roberts, Bri Hill, Kelsey Monteith and new addition of Kylee Hamm should speed us up.”
This offseason was of great importance for the Lady ’Cats, as their time on the court and getting prepared for this winter began during the summer with exhibition games that will pay dividends this season.
“We had a great summer,” Harris said. “We played mostly D-I and D-II schools in June. I also took over two girls AAU teams so we could get more of our girls on the court. We had seven total girls play AAU at some point over the summer.”
This are also always positives and improvements needed that stand out for every coach, and Harris is no different when talking about his team.
“We have heart and experience now. I’m a tough coach to play for at times, and they have grown so much since I took over the program last year,” Harris said. “(As for improvements), everything. We want to get one-percent better each day.”
There is also the expectations aspect of every preseason, and Harris said his team is at a “tipping point.”
“It is hard to say. We are at a tipping point from being an OK team or a great team,” he said. “We are a family. We truly are. We love each other. The bond the girls have is amazing.”
The SHAC girls basketball division always produces top-quality play as the teams force each other to play at a high level, and this upcoming season will have a challenging conference slate ahead.
“I'd put this conference up against any in the surrounding areas. Put us in the SBAAC, and we are the second- or third-best team,” Harris said. “Peebles, North Adams or Lynchburg-Clay would win that league. There are more 1,000-point scorers [in the SHAC] than I’ve seen in a league in a long time.”
As for the non-conference schedule of Whiteoak, they don’t have it easy either, with teams like Portsmouth, East Clinton, Paint Valley, Felicity, Hillsboro (at the Hoosier Gym), Bethel-Tate, McDermott Northwest, Zane Trace and St. Patrick (Kentucky).
“We probably have one of the top five hardest schedules in D-IV in Ohio,” Harris said. “We start with Portsmouth (they will surprise people this year), then it gets really tough as we go to East Clinton (D-III Elite Eight last year). We have Paint Valley at home for our first home game after a five-game road start. Hillsboro, Northwest and St. Patrick won't be easy, either.”
Harris said his team is still building a program, as he knows the journey will be one of a lot of work as his team is improving step by step.
“We are building. The program was at the bottom of the league for about 15 years,” Harris said. “We won't jump to the top overnight, but we are climbing the hill.”
WHS begins this season with four straight road games, starting against Portsmouth (at Manchester High School’s Tip-Off Classic) on Saturday, Nov. 19 in non-conference play with a start time of 6:15 p.m.
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The Whiteoak Lady Wildcats are coming off a third-place finish in Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference as they earned five conference wins, and this season, they return nearly the same roster as they look to keep climbing the ladder of continued improvement and success for the 2022-23 season under second-year head coach Ron Harris.
Last season, the Lady ’Cats were 7-15 overall with an SHAC record of 5-8, as they earned wins over Sciotoville East, Glenwood New Boston, Manchester (twice), Fayetteville and Ripley (twice).
The lone senior on the roster is forward Brooke Campbell, who averaged 2.9 points per game last season with 2.2 rebounds per game.
Juniors for the team are guard Lydia Carr (7.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg), guard Bri Hill (5.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg), guard Kelsey Monteith (2.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg), guard/forward Molly McMullen (3.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg), guard Jaylie Parr (12.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and forward Madison Thompson.
Last season, as a sophomore, Parr was an honorable mention All-Ohio honoree, along with being an All-SHAC selection and a second-team All-District selection.
Sophomores this season are center/forward Darby Yeager (6.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg), guard Addison Roberts (2.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg), guard Kylee Hamm, guard Elly McMullen and guard Lexi Kennedy.
As a freshman, Yeager was named to both the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association and Coaches All-District teams.
Harris spoke highly of the sophomore Yeager and other returning players.
“Darby Yeager is the biggest player in the conference, still young as a sophomore, but should shine this year,” he said. “Guards Addison Roberts, Bri Hill, Kelsey Monteith and new addition of Kylee Hamm should speed us up.”
This offseason was of great importance for the Lady ’Cats, as their time on the court and getting prepared for this winter began during the summer with exhibition games that will pay dividends this season.
“We had a great summer,” Harris said. “We played mostly D-I and D-II schools in June. I also took over two girls AAU teams so we could get more of our girls on the court. We had seven total girls play AAU at some point over the summer.”
This are also always positives and improvements needed that stand out for every coach, and Harris is no different when talking about his team.
“We have heart and experience now. I’m a tough coach to play for at times, and they have grown so much since I took over the program last year,” Harris said. “(As for improvements), everything. We want to get one-percent better each day.”
There is also the expectations aspect of every preseason, and Harris said his team is at a “tipping point.”
“It is hard to say. We are at a tipping point from being an OK team or a great team,” he said. “We are a family. We truly are. We love each other. The bond the girls have is amazing.”
The SHAC girls basketball division always produces top-quality play as the teams force each other to play at a high level, and this upcoming season will have a challenging conference slate ahead.
“I'd put this conference up against any in the surrounding areas. Put us in the SBAAC, and we are the second- or third-best team,” Harris said. “Peebles, North Adams or Lynchburg-Clay would win that league. There are more 1,000-point scorers [in the SHAC] than I’ve seen in a league in a long time.”
As for the non-conference schedule of Whiteoak, they don’t have it easy either, with teams like Portsmouth, East Clinton, Paint Valley, Felicity, Hillsboro (at the Hoosier Gym), Bethel-Tate, McDermott Northwest, Zane Trace and St. Patrick (Kentucky).
“We probably have one of the top five hardest schedules in D-IV in Ohio,” Harris said. “We start with Portsmouth (they will surprise people this year), then it gets really tough as we go to East Clinton (D-III Elite Eight last year). We have Paint Valley at home for our first home game after a five-game road start. Hillsboro, Northwest and St. Patrick won't be easy, either.”
Harris said his team is still building a program, as he knows the journey will be one of a lot of work as his team is improving step by step.
“We are building. The program was at the bottom of the league for about 15 years,” Harris said. “We won't jump to the top overnight, but we are climbing the hill.”
WHS begins this season with four straight road games, starting against Portsmouth (at Manchester High School’s Tip-Off Classic) on Saturday, Nov. 19 in non-conference play with a start time of 6:15 p.m.
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