SBC LAKE GIRLS: Bellevue returns plenty from state title team

Bellevue and Norwalk split the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division girls basketball championship last year. The title was the 15th league championship in a row for the Lady Red, dating back to their days in the Northern Ohio League. Norwalk dealt Bellevue its only loss of the season before the Lady Red bounced the Truckers in the season finale to split the league title with identical 9-1 records. Plenty of talent returns around the area as the high school girls basketball season begins Friday. A look at the six Lake teams in alphabetical order: Bellevue The Lady Red were 28-1 overall last season, winning the Division IV state title. Bellevue must replace leading scorer Hailey Rees (15.6 points per game) and do-it-all guards Audrey Turner and Brooke Brown. The Lady Red return Division I Youngstown State signee Kaitlyn Turinsky, who averaged 12.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game last season. She will be joined by junior point guard Ellie Freitag (6 points, 2.6 assists, 2 rebounds per game) and junior CJ Savage (7 points per game, team-high 58 3-pointers). Freshman Ava Jakubcin-Theis, a transfer from New Riegel, is expected to make an immediate impact for Bellevue. Coach Kory Santoro, who is in his 12th season leading one of the state's top programs, sports a 242-43 career record. He has taken the same approach Ohio State football coach Ryan Day has about defending a championship. "On paper, people say we're good," Santoro said. "We haven't done anything yet to earn anything. It's a new team with new personnel. I like our makeup, but at the end of the day, we haven't done a darn thing yet." Clyde The Fliers have a new coach in Brian Heck, who is looking to improve off of Clyde's 11-13 overall mark and 1-9 record in the Lake. Good news for the Fliers and Heck is Clyde returns its top scorer in Taitum Jeffrey (16.5 PPG). Jeffrey also led the Fliers with 9.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per night. The Fliers are just 2-18 in league play the past two seasons. Clyde's second-leading scorer was Kenzlie Guhn (team-high 33 made 3s) at 8.9 points a contest, but she opted not to play this season. The Fliers' third-leading scorer was Katie Shiets at 7.8 points per game, but she played in just 15 games for the Fliers and graduated. "Our strengths will be our ability to move and share the ball," said Heck, who formerly was a head coach at Perkins and an assistant at Margaretta. "We have a really good understanding of making the extra pass. At times, that gets us in trouble by bypassing good shots, but their willingness to trust their teammates is very good. "Weakness currently will be depth. We're battling the injury bug right now and trying to get girls ramped up in such a short period of time to fill those roles." Norwalk SBC Lake Division Most Outstanding Performer Abby Koenig (15.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.5 steals per game) graduated after the Truckers went 22-3 overall last season. Kenzie Smith also graduated after a team-high 23 3-pointers. She averaged 4.4 points and 3.1 assists, handling the ball a vast majority of the time when Koenig wasn't. Norwalk will lean on junior Emmie Leber (13.9 points, 7.8 rebounds) and senior Trinity Lazzara (10.7 PPG) this season. After splitting the league title with Bellevue, the Truckers lost in a Division III district final to Ashland. "To be successful this year, we need to be locked in defensively on a more consistent level," Norwalk coach Kyle Brubaker said. "Our best is pretty good, but we have to bring it on every possession. We also need our confidence to match our talent level. We need to believe." Perkins The two leading scorers for Perkins last year, Camryn VanVlerah and Haylie Brunner, have graduated. VanVlerah averaged a league-high 19.5 points a contest and 7 rebounds while Brunner chipped in 8.3 PPG and connected on a team-high 31 3s for the Pirates, who finished 11-13 overall and 4-6 in league play. Back for coach Leia Lyden is shifty guard Jordyn Brunner and Mallorie Jones, who each scored 5.3 points per game. The Pirates made just 73 of 316 3-pointers as a team, a 23 percent mark. "In order to be successful this year, we need everybody to look to score and to have an offensively aggressive, attack mindset as well as communicating and boxing out on defense," Lyden said. "We need to also use our size, speed and stamina to our advantage to wear teams out over the course of the game to finish strong in the fourth quarter." Sandusky The Blue Streaks tallied a 9-13 overall mark that included a 2-8 record in league games last season. Sandusky graduated its two leading scorers in Mae Rameau (17.1 points, 4.7 steals per contest) and Ra'Kiya Collier (10.3 points, 8.3 rebounds). The Blue Streaks will rely more on senior Khiya Rameau, who put up 10.1 points and 6.6 rebounds. Sandusky looks to get more out of Shauntha Wilson, who tallied 5.7 points and 5.1 rebounds off the bench. The Blue Streaks played better at the back end of the season, going 5-1 over a six-game stretch before a nine-point loss to Norwalk in a district semifinal. "To be successful this year, we need to stay disciplined, play together and focus on the details," Sandusky coach John Winborn said. "That means communicating on defense, taking care of the basketball and executing our offensive sets with patience and purpose. "We also have to rebound effectively on both ends of the floor and maintain a positive, team-first attitude through challenges." Tiffin Columbian The Tornadoes' top three scorers from last season — Lexi Beaston (9.6 PPG), Marissa Allen (9.6) and Mia Zeis (8.9) — all return for Columbian. Former Heidelberg women's basketball coach Morgan Harrigan enters her second season at the helm of the Tornadoes. Columbian was 13-10 overall last year and 5-5 in league play, finishing third behind Bellevue and Norwalk. Abbie Felske led the Tornadoes with 9.1 rebounds per game, but graduated. Zeis added 7.7 rebounds a night while Allen grabbed 6.7 rebounds per contest. Returning All-SBC Lake selections First team Kaitlyn Turinsky, Bellevue; Emmie Leber, Norwalk Second team Taitum Jeffrey, Clyde; Trinity Lazzara, Norwalk Honorable mention CJ Savage, Bellevue; Marissa Allen, Columbian; Mia Zeis, Columbian; Ellie Freitag, Bellevue