Margaretta has all the pieces

CASTALIA — Margaretta's girls basketball team tied a program record with 25 wins last season, but head coach Ray Neill is concerned. Lilly Edwards, a talented point guard and defensive stopper, is now playing for Terra State Community College. "Basically we graduated one senior but she happened to be our point guard and best defensive player," Neill said. "We're trying to figure out the point guard position or rotation of point guards, and what do we do best defensively?" Neill, who is in his third season leading the program, knows he won't get any sympathy. The Polar Bears return seven letterwinners and four returning starters, including All-SBC Bay Division first-team pick Raegan Heck. "On paper, it reads well," Neill said. "But there's question marks of health, ball handling and defensive identity. We've got that length." The Bears didn't have the smoothest summer season due to injuries. Neill had his full compliment of players for the first time during a mid-November scrimmage. Heck, a 5-foot-10 senior who averaged 7.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3 assists per game, will move from forward to point guard. "She is our best passer," Neill said. "She's literally been a 2 through 5 for us in two years here and her freshman year at Perkins. Now we're asking her to go to the one position she hasn't played a lot of. "In the past her presence has been more positive as a slasher and on the block than it has been a ball handler and 3-point shooter." Cassidy Lane, a 6-0 junior, should be one of the best post players in northern Ohio. Lane, who already has some Division II college offers, averaged 9.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last season. "With Lane we have a really good post presence," Neill said. "People are going to have to defend her all the way to the 3-point line." Dani Grunden, a 5-10 senior who averaged 3 points per game, gives the Bears more height inside and athletic 5-10 junior Kenadie Saylor (4 ppg) has been impressive in the preseason. Ellyse Schaefer, a 5-7 junior who is returning from a knee injury, is Margaretta's top outside threat. Schaefer averaged 10.4 points per game and made 51 3-point shots last season. She shot 72 percent from the free throw line. "Ellyse Schaefer is an elite shooter and Kenadie Saylor is a freak athlete, which is all good stuff," Neill said. "We have one elite 3-point shooter. We need one or two other quality 3-point shooters." Senior Julia Berg, a 5-9 forward, missed volleyball season with an injury. She was a starter last season and averaged 4.1 points per game. Senior Grace Paseka, junior Lilly Belak and sophomore Ashlyn Kingsborough are others who could work into the rotation. Edwards and Eden Palomo, who played only five games before a season-ending injury, are the only graduation losses. Edwards, a first-team All-SBC Bay selection, led Margaretta to a regional final where it lost to eventual Division III runner-up Ottawa-Glandorf. "We've got some length, and with that length we've got athleticism," Neill said. "We're experienced. We have some quality players. We're trying to put them in the right places and figure some things out, which we haven't been able to do because of injuries." Margaretta has 20 girls in its program, including seven freshmen who will play a limited freshman schedule. The schedule, as usual, is challenging. The Polar Bears play in Division VI in the OHSAA's new seven-division format. New London is the only D-VI team on the Bears' schedule, which includes a home-and-home against Bellevue, a showcase game against powerful Toledo Notre Dame Academy and a matchup against Marietta at Classic in the Country on Jan. 19. "The schedule is status quo," Neill said. "Last year we went 25-3 and tied the record for most wins in a season. The year before that we lost six games in the regular season and went 22-7, but that seventh loss was in the state semifinals. We hope we're in that category at the end of the season." Roster No.&emsp;&emsp;Name&emsp;&emsp;Pos.&emsp;&emsp;Ht.&emsp;&emsp;Yr. 0&emsp;&emsp;Ashlyn Kingsborough&emsp;G&emsp;5-6&emsp;10 1&emsp;&emsp;Lilly Belak&emsp;&emsp;F&emsp;&emsp;5-9&emsp;&emsp;11 2&emsp;&emsp;Julia Berg&emsp;&emsp;F&emsp;&emsp;5-9&emsp;&emsp;12 3&emsp;&emsp;Grace Paseka&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;5-7&emsp;&emsp;12 4&emsp;&emsp;Mattie Kovalaske&emsp;G&emsp;5-6&emsp;12 10&emsp;&emsp;Cassidy Lane&emsp;C&emsp;6-0&emsp;11 13&emsp;&emsp;Elllyse Schaefer&emsp;G&emsp;5-7&emsp;11 14&emsp;Dani Gruden&emsp;C&emsp;5-10&emsp;12 15&emsp;Kenadie Saylor&emsp;F&emsp;5-10&emsp;11 20&emsp;Raegan Heck&emsp;G&emsp;5-10&emsp;12 21&emsp;Addyson Fitzhum&emsp;F&emsp;5-5&emsp;10 22&emsp;Tayler Sessler&emsp;F&emsp;5-7&emsp;10