“We sat down at the beginning of every year the last two years and kind of developed our goals as a team, and I really invite the girls into that process of what they think a successful season would look like,” said second-year coach Brooks Russell. “We didn’t shy away from the fact that we have all this returning talent, all these returning players and so we’ve set our goals and our expectations pretty high for the year.”
They return a strong nucleus of five seniors and four juniors, as well as continuity in the coaching staff — a first for the Wildcats senior class.
Russell returns for his second season as head coach, marking the first time that’s happened in the last four seasons.
“They’ve had a new coach every year up until this year, so there’s been a lot of continuity and consistency this year in terms of our terminology and some of the stuff that we’re trying to do,” Russell said. “We’ve seen a lot of benefits from that, in terms of being able to refine more of what we do and really focus on hitting the ground running with our identity, instead of trying to unpack what we’re keeping and what we’re getting rid of, and layering new things in that we didn’t have last year. That’s been a big help for us as we’ve hit the ground running.”
The Wildcats return senior guard Milly Portis, a first team All-Greater Western Ohio Conference selection who averaged 14.2 points and 3.0 steals per game.
Senior forward Day’veonna Boynton was a second team All-GWOC selection and ranked among the league leaders in both scoring (12.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.1 per game).
Senior center Kleighonna Grable averaged 5.0 rebounds and .8 blocks per game and senior guard Jada Cochran averaged 4.6 assists and 2.6 steals per game last winter.
A year ago, the Wildcats played multiple teams who advanced to a regional final game, as
well as a nonconference game against Brooklyn Nazareth Regional, which won a state championship in New York.
Springfield begins the season with eight of its first 10 games on the road or at neutral sites.
They open the season on Sunday, Nov. 30 against North Canton Hoover in a showcase at Wooster High School. They’ll also compete in the Holiday Hoopla on Dec. 21 and 22 with games scheduled against Massillon Washington and Canal Winchester Harvest Prep. The Wildcats will play Tecumseh in the annual Clark County Basketball Showcase.
Springfield also wants to compete in the uber-tough GWOC, which includes several powerhouse programs in Springboro and Fairmont. The Wildcats beat tradition-rich Beavercreek and Centerville last season.
No one will take the Wildcats lightly when they take the floor this winter, Russell said.
“We just have to make sure we’re not taking anything for granted and understand that we’ve taken a step up and people are aware that we are going to be competing and that we have those goals,” Russell said. “We’re going to get a lot of teams’ best shots. We’re not just a blip on the radar for teams anymore. We’re going to have scouting reports, and we’re going to have girls who are going to be game planned and schemed against. We have to be ready for all that comes with that as we move into this year and build off that success from last year.
“I think the biggest thing for us is we’re just trying to take it day by day and get better. We talk a lot about developing championship practices and championship culture with accountability and competition and playing to a standard, and so we’re just trying to, every single day, get close to that as much as we can.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Lilly Bushey, Northwestern: The sophomore averaged 14.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game last season.
Cassidy Faust, Greenon: The junior averaged 10.2 points and 2.0 steals per game last winter.
Macey Hudson, Emmanuel Christian: The sophomore averaged 8.1 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game, earning the Metro Buckeye Conference Defensive Player of the Year award.
Milly Portis, Springfield: The senior guard and Saint Leo University commit averaged 14.2 points and 3.0 steals per game last winter.
Sammy Russell, Tecumseh: The senior, the returning Clark County Miss Basketball and Gannon University commit, averaged 21.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 4.1 steals last season.
About the Author
