Two rival teams, a shared championship, and many similarities

Two Highland County girls basketball rivals finished as the very best in the Frontier Athletic Conference 2025-26 season, as the co-champions were the McClain Lady Tigers and the Hillsboro Lady Indians, two rivals of Highland County.  

These two teams gave us some of the best games in the FAC this season (and last season), and since the two teams each won against each other on their own home courts this year, plus won against the rest of the competition in the conference, they tied with 9-1 records to share the FAC title. 

It's OK to share a championship with a rival, right?

McClain with their 9-1 FAC record clinched a second consecutive crown, while Hillsboro won their first FAC title ever, as it was also their first conference championship of any kind since 2001, ending the 25-year drought.

Both teams are coached by women who played their basketball in Highland County, who are both mothers, and they are two coaches who know how to coach high-quality basketball. 

Not only can they coach at a high level, but during their playing days each held their own on the basketball court, as both were 1,000-plus point scorers at McClain and Fairfield, respectively.

McClain head coach Shania Massie and Hillsboro head coach Heather Storer both have done some amazing things at the helm of their teams in a short period of time since becoming varsity head coaches for the first time with their current teams.

Both Massie (2024-25) and Storer (2025-26) have been selected Division IV SE District Coach of the Year as voted by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association. 

Massie has been the coach for McClain for three seasons, winning two FAC championships as her teams are 19-1 in conference games the past two years. 

Overall, at the helm of the Lady Tigers, Massie’s teams — she’s had three consecutive winning seasons — are 53-18 in three seasons, with a conference mark of 24-4 in that span. 

McClain clinched their share of the FAC title on Monday, Feb. 2 on the road at Miami Trace. 

Following a game late in the regular season, Massie spoke about winning the FAC for the past two seasons. 

“It is pretty remarkable, and it is a memory that I’ll forever cherish,” she said. “Our players definitely put in the work, and they wanted it as much as I did. Collectively, they play well together. They are best friends on and off the court, so I feel that has a big part in it. It is something I’ll always cherish.”

Storer completed her fourth season as Hillsboro’s head coach, building the program from the ground up since taking over and keeping nearly her entire coaching staff intact during that span. 

Hillsboro in this FAC season not only won nine of 10 games, but in the past two seasons of FAC play, HHS is 17-3 with those losses all being against McClain by a combined nine points. As mentioned earlier, they've played some high-quality games against each other. 

In those four games the past two seasons, McClain and Hillsboro have not had more than a five-point differential in the final score, showing just how competitive and entertaining these two teams have been when facing each other on the court, as one game came down to a shot with time expiring. 

Hillsboro clinched their share of the FAC championship in the final game of the regular season at Jackson Feb. 12, a 39-27 victory, which is another similarity for the two schools as both teams clinched their share of the conference title on the road. 

Storer spoke about what it meant for her team to win the FAC championship and to snap the 25-year streak of not winning a conference championship. 

“I’m not a Hillsboro alum, and I came here not knowing anybody, and knew this program was down,” Storer said. “We came in with a lot of energy and excitement, and a staff that was ready to come in to build a program.

“We wanted to come in and prove to people we could build a winning program. It has taken the right kids to do that, and we were talking about after 90-plus game coaching together, we have more wins than losses as a program, and these kids have fought hard for that.

“Every senior that has graduated out of here has contributed to that. Winning the league, going down to Jackson, that was a huge win. It was a super fun night. We came back home and cut down the nets. I am proud of the girls.”

As for this season, the Lady Tigers and Lady Indians each had a tournament win and played in the district semifinals, with both teams playing their final game this season against a team from Pickaway County at Southeastern High School on the same night. 

Now for the players, and the similarities are there as well. In fact, these two teams utilized many players on their roster all season, whether it be in games or away from the crowds and fans in practices. The work was put in by all of the players on their respective rosters. 

The two teams each had three players named to the OPSMA All-District team, with McClain and Hillsboro both having first-team, second-team and honorable mention honorees. 

The first-team members for Hillsboro and McClain are both juniors, and they were the top two scorers in Highland County. McClain junior Paisley Pryor surpassed the 1,000-career point milestone this season (1,155 points in three seasons), scoring 450 points in 24 games this season.

Hillsboro junior Tylee Davis is nearing the 1,000-point milestone too, as she averaged a double-double her junior season with 18.4 ppg and 11.7 rebounds per game. Davis scored 442 points in 24 games and had 281 rebounds. 

The second-team selections were senior Kobie Miles (HHS) and junior Larah Henson (MHS), and the honorable mention selections were senior Leah Lovett (MHS) and sophomore Ella Jordan (HHS). 

Both teams also had others who made an impact on the court, like McClain’s Brie Cummins and Allie Burgess, while Hillsboro had Annia Young and Piper Wilkin as members of the starting lineup too. 

There were others who made big contributions for each team too, as McClain’s roster also includes: Karlee McGlone, Brooklyn Bolender, Becca Bergstrom, McKenzie West, Emma Posey and Brylee Douglas.

Hillsboro’s roster includes: Kylee-Ann Scruggs, Zoey Page, Parker Wilkin, Taylor-Ann Scruggs and Nevaeh Blair. 

Winning a conference championship is special — shared or not — because it is a season-long goal that teams have to work for against a common opponent, as FAC teams faced each other twice a season. 

A basketball championship is tough to win as it is a season where you must grind it out from late November through February in the middle of winter travel, chaotic schedules and never knowing if a game will be played on the day it is listed. 

Seeing these two teams each be champions of the FAC this winter seems right because it could have happened last season too.

Watching this rivalry hit a stride the past two seasons — and hopefully with even more to come next winter — has been fun to witness. 

All involved deserve high praise for their accomplishments and accolades for 2025-26. McClain and Hillsboro represented Highland County well, and next season could be just as, or even more, competitive than this past season.

Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com.