Mansfield Christian has a proven, veteran girls basketball group eager to win
MANSFIELD — Since joining the program, the 2022-23 senior class of Mansfield Christian girls basketball players have been building for this very moment.
It is their year to put a cap on a career that included many ups and downs over the last four seasons. It went from single-digit win seasons and not being very competitive to the last three years of completely changing the culture surrounding the girls basketball program.
And, now, their focus is on making sure the expectations remain high for years to come, long after they depart.
That final step is to put together a successful 2022-23 season. After going 17-5 overall and 5-3 in the Mid-Buckeye Conference last season, the Flames return seven letter winners and three starters. They lost Aubrynn Maiyer and Courtney Kissinger to graduation and ultra-athletic Anna Sparks, who moved to Georgia with her family.
Mansfield Christian coach Megan Young, who is 54-35 entering her fifth season, knows the group well as she coached them all through middle school before taking over the varsity program.
"Our senior class is a special group of athletes," Young said. "They’re top-notch students, first of all, and their athletic abilities are equally as impressive. They are missing their classmate Anna Sparks, who moved to Georgia this summer, so they’ll need to find their way without the consistency they were used to from her. Still, there is no doubt they’ve got the skill, court awareness, and desire to make some noise in our conference, division, and beyond. I feel like a broken record, but when you’re living in the Division IV world, your numbers are consistently tight, so we can’t afford injury issues to reach our potential. Thankfully many of our athletes are coming in strong from soccer, and those that didn’t play a fall sport have been working hard throughout the fall to be ready.
"Additionally, for the first time in nine years, there won’t be a Maiyer bringing the ball down the court with the graduation of Aubrynn Maiyer and the subsequent graduations of her sisters Ashley and Allie. We’ll go with a point guard by committee as we have a few players that can handle pressure and set up our offense. These different ball handlers will allow us to throw other offensive packages at our opponents, which should be to our advantage. Our greatest X-factor may come down to our defensive abilities. We had some quarters last year we nearly held teams scoreless, including in the tournaments. I’d like to see us play like that for four quarters and then consistently game in and game out. I think we can get there and I’ll be coaching to that goal."
It will help that Young has some very talented players on the roster, starting with senior Alexis Ripple, who averaged 11.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.4 steals as a junior last season. She earned first-team All-District 6, third-team All-Northwest District, first-team All-Mid-Buckeye Conference and first-team All-Mansfield News Journal honors for her all-around efforts. She will undoubtedly be the leader of the Flames this season.
Senior Abby Little is also back after scoring 7.7 points and adding two rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game a season ago when she was the most improved player in Richland County as a junior.
Senior Noelle Beare brings back a ton of athleticism after scoring three points and adding 2.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals a game. Junior Kyleah Jones will also be back after scoring seven points and grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game on her way to honorable mention All-MBC and All-MNJ honors last season.
Junior Raegan Standridge will start at center after scoring 4.3 points and grabbing four rebounds and 1.1 steals a game last season. She is coming off a very successful volleyball season and can carry that momentum into hoops.
Freshmen Riley Patrick, Adelle Cramer and Z'yair Davis will join senior Calah Rader and junior Rebecca Kapustar as the players who will add depth and athleticism off the bench.
"Since she was in the sixth grade, I’ve had the pleasure of coaching Alexis Rippel," Young said. "She’s athletic, comes from a great family that pushes her to greatness, she’s smart and leads our team well. We will need everything she has this year, and I think she’s motivated to take this team on her back after losing her best friend on and off the court.
"She’ll have plenty of excellent help. Two talented athletes in her class will help carry the load, Noelle Beare and Abby Little. Abby Little is a name that everyone knows because she is a top-tier soccer talent in Northern Ohio but, in the last few years, has started to make a name for herself on the court, and she is fun to watch. She has relentless defensive intensity and anticipates on defense better than anyone I’ve ever seen. Noelle Beare was named the District Player of the Year in soccer and can have the same impact on the basketball court. She will change a game without putting the ball in the net with her defensive intensity and ability to pass on a dime.
"Kyleah Jones is a junior forward who played her first year of AAU this spring, and it shows. The ball is coming out of her hands with confidence, and we’re continuing to improve her footwork down low. As an upperclassman now, I know she has the confidence to help lead our team. Raegan Standridge will most likely break the starting lineup this year. She has the ability to get a double-double every night with her rebounding and put-back abilities. As her footwork improves, she will be an unstoppable and immovable force in the paint."
Young is also very excited about the core of young players coming in and hopes they can learn from the upperclassmen with the goal of keeping expectations for the program high.
"Freshman Riley Patrick, she has already set school records in junior high for track and field," Young said. "She’s strong and already has the confidence of our upperclassmen with her work ethic and the fact that she has put so much work in this summer. She is very coachable and, like many freshmen, is raw in some skill areas, but as those improve throughout the season, I’m sure her minutes will increase, and fans will get to love her style."
Young has been used to developing young, talented players over the last few years, so teaching the youngsters the ways of the program will be easier than normal, but this year she won't have to do a ton of fundamental teaching with the veteran group. She can now spend more time game planning and strategizing, which will be a nice change of pace.
"For the first time in my tenure at Mansfield Christian, we will have a starting lineup of all upperclassmen," Young said. "We’ll play smart and avoid the silly mistakes you see with underclassmen. Our point guard situation is fluid without Aubrynn Maiyer, so I’m excited to see how we adapt to that change. In years past, we have such strong offensive players that we’ve been able to post big numbers offensively; however, I would argue with this team that our most significant strength might be our ability to defend and press the ball."
The Flames will try to compete for the Mid-Buckeye Conference championship. Loudonville has ruled the league for years and looks like it will be the case again this year, but if the Flames can pull off an upset or two they could be right in the mix for the league championship.
"The Mid-Buckeye Conference has been led by the Lucas Cubs and the Redbirds of Loudonville, both of whom have excellent long-tenured coaching staffs," Young said. "Thankfully the last three years, Mansfield Christian has been in the mix. I imagine those three schools will continue to play each other tough until the end, providing MBC fans and schools with a fun year with competitive games."
The Flames begin their season on Nov. 18 at home against New London.
jfurr@gannett.com
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Twitter: @JakeFurr11
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mansfield Christian girls basketball team ready for success
