Two months later, the Tigers have done nothing but win. West Liberty-Salem (17-3, 14-0 Ohio Heritage Conference) has won 17 straight games, earning its fourth straight league championship and second consecutive OHC North Division title.
“It’s been a team effort the whole way,” Hollar said.
»RELATED: Monday’s high school roundup
»RELATED: Monday’s high school scoreboard
The Tigers have also won three huge non-conference games during that winning streak, including victories over three state-ranked opponents — Anna and Versailles in Division III and Fort Loramie in Division IV.
“We knew we had a few non-league games in there that were going to give us a challenge,” said Tigers coach Dennis McIntosh. “The girls have come in every night and been focused for the most part. They come out and do what we need to do.”
West Liberty-Salem played its first three games without leading scorer Kelsey Day, who was recovering from an injury. Day is averaging 10.3 points per game for the Tigers, who haven’t lost since her return.
“It’s gone really well,” Day said. “It’s a lot of fun. We’re all super close as a team, so I think that definitely helps us.”
Since Day’s return, the Tigers have taken better care of the basketball, McIntosh said. They’re averaging about 12 turnovers per game, he said.
They’re also successfully pushing the ball up the floor, McIntosh said, scoring 8 to 10 points per game in transition.
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Defensively, the Tigers are one of the best team’s in the area, allowing a league-best 29.8 points per game. They’ve held opponents to 19 points or less six times this season thanks to their physical defense, McIntosh said.
“(In the past) when we’ve been in physical games, we’ve not always matched the other team’s physicality,” McIntosh said. “The last four years, we’ve really stepped up that part. I credit a lot of that to Gabby. It’s just her soccer attitude out there. If she gets banged around, she’s not going to quit. She’s going to come right back at you. The other girls have picked up on that. That’s just kind of our mindset anymore that we’re not going to get banged around by anyone.”
Hollar, an All-American soccer player who will play collegiately at West Virginia University next season, is proud to be part of the Tigers’ tradition, but doesn’t want this season’s winning streak to end any time soon.
“We’ve had some great girls who have already graduated and we’ve some more good ones coming in, so hopefully they can continue it,” Hollar said.
They have two regular season games remaining at home against Mechanicsburg and West Jefferson before postseason play begins Feb. 11.
The Tigers have advanced to the district final four years in a row. They received the No. 2 seed in the D-III Covington sectional where they face a possible rematch against Miami East — the last team to beat them back on Dec. 1.
“Our goal is to get back to Springfield (for the regionals),” McIntosh said. “Hopefully, we can get there again.”
McIntosh and the Tigers have won 11 titles in the last 15 years, including seven straight from 2005 to 2011. McIntosh is in his 25th season as heach coach.
“It’s still fun and the girls are still fun to be around,” McIntosh said. “As long as they’re still fun to be around and want to work hard, who knows how much longer I’ll do it?”
Title races: With one more week remaining in the regular season, conference title races are heating up.
In the OHC South, three teams are still have a chance to bring home at least a share of the trophy. Greeneview (15-4, 12-2) leads Catholic Central (15-4, 10-3) by one game and Greenon (12-7, 10-4) by two games.
The Rams have two division games remaining against the Irish on Thursday and at Cedarville (14-6, 10-5) on Saturday.
The Irish have three division games remaining, including traveling to Greenon on Wednesday before its game at Greeneview on Thursday. Central finishes the season on Saturday afternoon against Madison Plains.
The Knights have two games remaining against Catholic Central on Wednesday and at Southeastern on Saturday.
In the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division, Tecumseh (11-7, 5-1) remains in first place behind both Kenton Ridge (16-3, 6-2) and Jonathan Alder (13-3, 4-2). The Arrows finish the season with four league games in the seven days — Bellefontaine on Wednesday, at Jonathan Alder on Saturday, at London on Monday and Shawnee on Wednesday, Feb. 13.
Kenton Ridge hosts London on Wednesday and Jonathan Alder on Friday.
Benjamin Logan has already clinched its fourth straight CBC Mad River Division title.
WEDNESDAY’S TOP 5 GIRLS GAMES
All at 7:30 p.m.
Catholic Central (15-4) at Greenon (12-7)
Fairmont (12-8) at Springfield (8-13)
London (14-5) at Kenton Ridge (16-3)
Mechanicsburg (12-7) at West Liberty-Salem (17-3)
Northwestern (9-9) at Ben Logan (13-8)
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