Healthy Fliers look to make jump

CLYDE — Just three girls played in every game last season for Clyde. The Fliers were 8-15 and the season took a turn when Katie Shiets was injured midway through the year. She averaged a team-high 14.6 points per game and made a team-high 21 3-pointers. Despite playing in just 13 games, she ranked third in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division in scoring and was a second-team league selection. Shiets, a 5-foot-6 senior guard, will be flanked by 5-9 sophomore guard/forward Taitum Jeffrey and 5-8 sophomore guard Kenzlie Guhn, a trio that hopes to help end Bellevue's run of conference championships. "We're looking for them to elevate their game both on and off the court," Clyde coach Blayze Behney said. "For us to be successful, we need to have players buy into roles that will best serve the team and we need to be more effort-focused rather than outcome-focused. These three will have a great impact on our ability to handle tough stretches in games." Jeffrey averaged 9.5 points per game last year for the Fliers, knocking down 97 free throws, second best in the league. She was a honorable mention league pick. Guhn contributed 6.7 points per night. Clyde had five girls average between 4.5 and 5.1 rebounds per game with Cora Liskai leading the way. She, along with Aubrey Sengstock, graduated. Liskai tallied 4.4 points per night while Sengstock averaged 4.4 points and 4.9 rebounds. "Their experience, leading by example and skill will be missed, but we're focusing on developing our younger players to step into these roles," Behney said. "The biggest key to replacing them is fostering leadership among our returning players and bringing along some new faces as well." Clyde struggled shooting the 3-ball last year. The Fliers made 91 3s, which is almost four makes per game, but shot just 25 percent. Guhn made 19 3-pointers while Jeffrey (11), Brooklynn Root (10) and Reese Daniel (10) each made double-digit triples. "This year's team is still learning where our strengths and weaknesses are," Behney said. "Currently, our biggest strength is the players' energy and work ethic. Our practices have been competitive and we continue to get better with each practice." With just two players graduating, open spots and roles may be hard to come by. That's not to say someone won't show how much their game has improved. "We're excited about many newcomers. We are going to be a young team and we are looking forward to growing with game experience as the season progresses," Behney said. "We have Kelsey Ray who came on strong at the end of last year for us to have a much larger role with the ball in her hands often. We have some freshmen stepping up to the plate who have proven they can play in the rotation on the varsity level." Clyde averaged 45 points per game while allowing 52.3 points a night. The Fliers made just 61 percent of their free throws, but that was better than their opponents knocking in 55 percent of their freebies. "The biggest challenge we are facing is consistency on all aspects of our team," Behney said. "We work our tails off but we need more consistency in offensive and defensive execution." Clyde's lone win in the SBC Lake Division came in the second meeting against Tiffin Columbian. After losing to the Tornadoes early in the season, Clyde dominated the second meeting, 46-23. The Fliers lost their first tournament game to Port Clinton. With hopes of a healthy team and a lot of experience back, Clyde is set on making sure it has a say in who wins the SBC Lake while picking up some postseason wins. "We want to be playing our best ball at the end of the season to make a postseason run," Behney said. "We aim to achieve this through consistent hard work, team unity and a commitment to continuous improvement." Roster No.&emsp;Name&emsp;Pos.&emsp;Ht.&emsp;Yr.1&emsp;Abbie Rogish&emsp;G&emsp;5-7&emsp;12 5&emsp;Ann Marie Davis&emsp;F&emsp;5-11&emsp;10 10&emsp;Tatum Jeffrey&emsp;G-F&emsp;5-9&emsp;10 11&emsp;Kelsey Ray&emsp;G&emsp;5-7&emsp;10 12&emsp;Reese Daniel&emsp;F&emsp;5-10&emsp;11 13&emsp;Ariah Farrar&emsp;G&emsp;5-6&emsp;9 14&emsp;Katie Shiets&emsp;G&emsp;5-6&emsp;12 15&emsp;Kenzlie Guhn&emsp;G&emsp;5-8&emsp;10 20&emsp;Ember Andres&emsp;G&emsp;5-6&emsp;9 24&emsp;Marissa Frische&emsp;F&emsp;5-7&emsp;10 25&emsp;Kennedi Long&emsp;F&emsp;5-10&emsp;12