McCurdy: Who can challenge Shelby in MOAC girls basketball?
When it comes to girls basketball in the Mid Oho Athletic Conference, Shelby has set the standard.
The Whippets have won the last four MOAC titles and will be the favorites to earn a five-peat this season.
It's true they lost their top three players to graduation in Sophie Niese and Haylee and Olivia Baker, but they bring back eight players from a team that dominated the loop a year ago and went to the Division II regionals.
"All in all, it's anyone's game every night," Shelby coach Natalie Lantz told the Mansfield News Journal's Jake Furr. "If we come in respecting our opponents and playing smart basketball, we can put ourselves in a position to win another title."
Who is ready to challenge the Whippets in 2022-23?
"Clear Fork is on the rise with nice guard experience back," Lantz said. "River Valley is well-coached and is always in the running and has big talent back with Brooklyn Mosher. The Pleasant program is another that just keeps getting better after making a regional appearance last year, and Harding is always athletic and can challenge anyone."
Still, Shelby is the team to beat after going 22-0 in the regular season.
"Even though Shelby graduated some great players, they are reloading this year," RV coach Tom Chiles said. "With repeating so many times consecutively, they have the culture and talent to do it again."
Marion Harding coach Cory White sees it the same way.
"Shelby obviously lost a tremendous senior class. But, if you watched them play last year, they never missed a beat when they went to their bench," he said.
Shelby senior Demi Hipp has been waiting her whole career to be the starting point guard, and senior Audi Albert is the top returnee after averaging 11 points, four rebounds and two steals last season.
They will be joined on the roster by sophomores' Mallary Gundrum, Eve Schwemley, Trinity Baker, Sophia Long, Charlie Niese, Serena Ramsey and Alyssa Booker and juniors' Sarah Reiser and Alexis Booker.
"Shelby will be strong again, and they are always well-coached and physical," Pleasant coach Keriann Pratt said.
Still, the stalwarts at Shelby graduated and in their place are young players who will be new to starring roles. If things get sideways for the Whippets, who is poised to challenge?
Clear Fork gets mentioned by everyone as a contender. Sure, the Colts lost All-Ohio 6-foot-4 center Bekah Conrad to graduation, but they bring back seven letter winners from a team that won 21 games and played for a district championship.
"I also believe Clear Fork will be a challenge for everyone this season. Their style of play will be different than it was a year ago," Chiles said.
With Conrad gone, the Colts will use a five-guard lineup keyed by seniors' Pacey Chrastina and Lilly Wortman and juniors' Annika Labaki and Kylie Belcher.
"Clear Fork's program continues to build and get stronger every year," Pratt said.
Added White: "Coach (Scott) Sellers continues to excel at Clear Fork, and I look for them to be an extremely tough matchup."
Can anyone in Marion County challenge the Richland County squads for the title in MOAC girls hoops?
All three entries bring hope and solid credentials to the cause.
"We figure to be competing at the top of the league with many other teams," Chiles said. "We believe our league will prove to be very difficult again this year."
The Vikings aren't short on experience with Mosher and Halle Snyder inside and Lexie Hecker and Makyha Rodgers in the backcourt. They also aren't short on talented newcomers to the roster who enjoyed success as junior varsity players.
Like RV, Pleasant has experience with Emerson Williams and Avah Steele in the backcourt and Lexi Olt and Whitney Waddell working the wings and paint. The Spartans also gained a lot from last year's unexpected run to the regional tournament.
"Our coaching staff feels that we will be competitive and can finish toward the top of the standings," Pratt said.
With a relatively young and inexperienced group at Harding, the Presidents probably aren't ready to hoist a championship, but they definitely have enough talent to play a spoiler if a contender has an off night.
"We believe we can compete with each and every team in the MOAC, and we are hoping to build upon each game," White said.
How about the races outside the MOAC?
According to Elgin coach Bob Douds, the Northwest Central Conference is wide-open after graduation hit the league hard in 2022.
"I truly believe it is anyone's to claim this year," he said. "Our first and foremost goal is to compete/win a league championship. I believe we will be in the mix as long as we play to our abilities,"
Elgin features a very young roster and with making just one pass around the league instead of a double round robin there is little room for error when it comes to conference games in the NWCC.
In the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference, Cardington has won every championship. In fact, the Pirates have won eight in a row, dating back to its time in the MOAC.
But this is an entirely new squad at Cardington as Kevin Fitzpatrick moves up from assistant to head coach. That has to give everyone else in the league a renewed sense of hope that they can hang a banner in the gym.
Last year, North Union went 21-3 and won the Central Buckeye Conference's Mad River Division with a 10-0 mark. The Wildcats didn't lost contributors to graduation, and they didn't get worse in the offseason, so this could be another coronation of a season in the CBC for North Union.
"I would say we are one of the favorites in the league this year," NU coach Bre Jackson said. "I would also say Ben Logan and Urbana will be tough competitors."
Rob McCurdy is the sports writer at the Marion Star and can be reached at rmccurdy@gannett.com, 419-610-0998, Twitter @McMotorsport, Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star.
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: McCurdy: Who can challenge Shelby in MOAC girls basketball?
