The Georgetown Lady G-Men return two Southern Buckeye Athletic/Academic Conference National Division First Team all stars, coming off a 2018-19 season in which they tied for second place in league play with the Bethel-Tate Lady Tigers at 9-3.
Sophomore guard Torie Utter is back on the court for the Lady G-Men after leading the varsity team in scoring and ranking fifth overall in the SBAAC in scoring as a freshman, averaging 14 points per game. She was one of the two Lady G-Men named to the 2018-19 SBAAC National Division First Team. Utter shot 78.8 percent from the foul line last year (63-80).
Junior guard Maddi Benjamin is the second SBAAC National Division First Team all star on the return for the Lady G-Men, but an injury left her sidelined for much of the preseason. Her coaches and teammates are hoping for her quick recovery, a player who averaged 10.6 points per game last season, as well as 4.8 steals, four rebounds, and 2.4 assists per contest. Benjamin shot over 70 percent from the foul line last season (91-128).
Back on the court as Lady G-Men seniors are twin sister guards Hannah and Hailey Gregory. Expect both to play significant roles in the Lady G-Men’s success this winter as both bring a great deal of varsity experience and leadership to the court.
Another senior with varsity experience on the return for the Lady G-Men is 5’5” guard Allyson McHenry, a skilled three-point shooter.
Grace Burrows, 5’5” guard, is a skilled three-pointer shooter who returns to the court for the Lady G-Men.
Another player back with varsity experience is 5’2” senior guard Kati Colwell.
Regan Gable (5’5” guard) takes the court for her senior season with the Lady G-Men, while 5’6” freshman guard Anistin Fender is looking to earn some varsity playing time.
Nancy Hastings is a 5’7” sophomore forward who appears on the Georgetown varsity roster this season, as well as 5’8” junior forward Emily Ring.
Rounding out the Georgetown varsity roster is 5’7” sophomore forward Caitlyn Sweet.
While they lack size, expect the Lady G-Men to be aggressive on defense and looking to utilize their speed on offense.
“We may be 5’4” and 5’5” but we play a lot bigger at times,” said second-year Georgetown varsity girls head basketball coach, Andrew Gill.
According to Gill, the effort on defense and aggressive play should help to make up for the Lady G-Men’s lack of size. But once again the path to a SBAAC National Division Title will be no walk in the park.
Last year’s league champion Williamsburg Lady Wildcats that finished perfect in the SBAAC National Division at 10-0 lost one SBAAC National Division First Team all star and the league’s Player of the Year to graduation (Jessica Chase), but they return two National Division First Team players (Paige Fisher and Madi Ogden), as well as one who received 2018-19 National Division Second Team honors (Emily Hart, senior).
Bethel-Tate head coach Bernie Cropper returns a very talented crew with two seniors who earned SBAAC National Division First Team honors as juniors last year (Taylor Bee and Grace White).
“Our side of the league is going to be very competitive,” said Gill. “You can’t come in and take a day off. I think there are going to be a lot of competitive games.”
With only three returners to varsity who saw significant minutes last season, expect the Lady G-Men to improve as some of the younger players gather some additional varsity time this winter.
“The only three full-time varsity players I have returning are Torie (Utter), Maddi (Benjamin), and Hailey (Gregory),” said Gill. “The rest of them played minutes here and there at the varsity level last year but not full-time, and we all know that’s a huge step. There’s a huge difference in the speed, the strength, and decision making.”
“We’re not big, so we need to use our speed and our quickness,” said Gill. “We know we’re undersized. We know that every game we play they are going to be bigger than us, but we take the philosophy that ‘let’s be quicker than them’ and ‘let’s be smarter than them.’”
The Lady G-Men were scheduled to host the Clermont Northeastern Lady Rockets on Nov. 25, and they will face the Eastern Lady Warriors in a non-league road game Nov. 27.
