PC looks to seniors to pick up scoring

PORT CLINTON — There's no denying what Da'Cariya Lanier did for Port Clinton in her career. She was the lone senior last year for the Redskins, who went 17-8 and finished runner-up in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division to Margaretta. Lanier averaged 20.4 points, 4.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game last year. She was the Most Outstanding Performer in the SBC Bay and a unanimous first-team selection. She led the league in scoring and assists per game, 2-pointers made (138), 3-pointers made (56) and free throws made (82). She was second in steals per game. "DC's career speaks for itself with 10 total school records, including all-time leading scorer, so really there is no replacing her," PC coach Kevin Belden said. "With that said, we do return six letterwinners with over 150 career starts. Each of these girls have worked hard to make improvements in their game." The cupboard is far from bare. Sure, girls will be thrust into bigger roles, but Belden has the weapons to do that. Five-foot-9 senior forward Olivia Spencer tallied 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while making 33 triples last year, good for second-team league honors. Six-foot senior center Erieyonna Buckley added 8.5 points and 7.5 rebounds (second-best in SBC Bay) a night. Buckley made 91 of 149 2-pointers, good for a team-best 61 percent from inside the arc. She also swatted half of Port Clinton's blocked shots, turning away 35 attempts. Buckley was third-team SBC Bay. Belden said 5-7 senior forward Olivia Emerson does a little bit of everything for the Redskins after putting up 5.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per night. Christiona Fenton, a 5-7 senior guard, returns after scoring 5.5 points a night and 5-4 senior guard Madelyn Cornell averaged 3.1 points per contest while being "a really good defender," Belden said. "Team strengths can be the way we can attack teams," Belden said. "We have a solid post player in Erie and we can surround her with shooters. We can have the ability for a different girl to step each night. We have players that can score inside and out." Sophomores Alana Zibert (5-3 guard) and Lillian Wagner (5-1 point guard) will get increased chances to play this year. The Redskins are excited to see what 5-2 freshman point guard Thea Wybensinger can do this season. "Alana played a bit late last year and lettered. Alana is a shooter who hit a few big shots for us in the tournament," Belden said. "Lillian will get her fair share of minutes and Lillian brings hustle and defense to the table. Thea will see a lot of time at point for us this year. Thea has played a lot of basketball in her life as she handles the ball well and shoots it well." The loss of Lanier brings an empty void when it comes to scoring. She scored more than 40 percent of Port Clinton's points last year as the Redskins tallied 50.2 points a night. "A weakness for us will be finding that consistency throughout the year with scoring," Belden said. Margaretta has become the standard in the SBC Bay for the past several seasons. Port Clinton wants to get its program up to that level after upsetting Mansfield Senior in a sectional final last year to get to the district round. Port Clinton was 8-14 in 2021-22 before winning 15 games two seasons ago. After another increase, the Redskins would like to keep that trend going this year. "The goals are to continue improving every day and hopefully compete for some kind of championship at the end of the year," Belden said. "This program has improved its win total each of the last five years and hopefully we can now stay consistent." Roster No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr.1 Christiona Fenton G 5-7 12 3 Lillian Wagner PG 5-1 10 4 Olivia Spencer F 5-9 12 10 Madelyn Cornell G 5-4 12 11 Thea Wybensinger PG 5-2 9 12 Erieyonna Buckley C 6-0 12 13 Alana Zibert G 5-3 10 20 Elizabeth Bubb F 5-7 10 25 Olivia Emerson F 5-7 12