This year’s Western Brown High School varsity girls’ basketball team may lack senior leadership, but don’t be quick to count the young Lady Broncos out of the running for this year’s Southern Buckeye Athletic/Academic Conference American Division Title.
There’s not a single senior on this year’s Lady Bronco varsity basketball roster, but there are some players with skills and basketball knowledge well beyond their years.
In Tim Chadwell’s second year as head coach of the Western Brown varsity girls’ basketball squad, he’s excited about what this year’s Lady Broncos bring to the court.
Chadwell has a number of players on the return with varsity experience who have worked hard to improve on their game during the off-season. Among those players is sophomore guard Baylee Jones. Jones gained a great deal of varsity experience as a freshman last year, and she has made significant strides heading into her sophomore season, according to Chadwell. Her play as a freshman last year earned her SBAAC American Division Second Team honors.
“Baylee Jones had a tremendous summer,” said Chadwell. “She’s put in time every day to get better. She’s just a sophomore, but she’s ready to step up and be a leader.”
Another key player on the return for the Lady Broncos is junior guard Gracie Fischer, a third-year varsity player and starter from last season.
“Nobody out-works Gracie,” Chadwell said of the junior guard.
The Lady Broncos also return their 5’11” junior center Emma Sams, a skilled player who has worked hard to improve on her game.
Providing the Lady Broncos with some additional size in the paint are two six-footers, freshman Olivia Young and sophomore Megan West.
Other talented juniors looking forward to aiding in the Lady Broncos’ success are forward Kaylee Loudon, Allie Buttree, and Erin Morgan.
According to Chadwell, Buttree anchored last year’s junior varsity team that went 21-1.
Unfortunately, junior guard Cailyn Kohus will appear on the Lady Broncos’ injured list this season.
In addition to West and Jones, the Lady Broncos are equipped with five more very skilled sophomores – Bre Large (5’6” guard), Rylee Jones (5’6” guard), McKenna Conley (5’6” guard), Maddie Flischel (5’3” guard), and Lanie Clark (5’7” forward).
There will once again be some excellent teams going to war for this year’s SBAAC American Division Title, including last year’s champion team of Wilmington that finished 10-0 and has the league’s Player of the Year back as a senior, Mya Jackson.
Goshen returns some excellent players from last year’s SBAAC American Division runner-up team that finished with a league record of 6-4.
The Lady Broncos come off a 2017-18 season in which they finished in a tie with New Richmond for third place in the SBAAC big school division with a league record of 5-5.
“I think we’ll be competitive,” Chadwell said of this year’s Lady Broncos. “We have really good balance inside and out. We have a lot of the elements that make good teams.”
