As promised, following last week’s selection of a “dream team” of Greenville High School boys basketball players from 1997 to present, Ty House and Brian Stickel along with myself now introduce our Lady Wave version, this time encompassing the years since 2001. Ty and I, as mentioned before, are within a few games of completing our 28th and final year of broadcasting Green Wave and Lady Wave games locally. Brian, probably against his better judgment, decided to join us once again to debate the merits of former players as we compiled this list of notables.
Ty and I started doing girls games in the 2000-2001 season and were fortunate to watch Coach David Peltz’s teams reach the D-I district finals two consecutive years, telecasting games from first the Cintas Center at Xavier University and the next year from the University of Cincinnati Arena. Over the years we saw a few exceptional Lady Wave squads and several good ones, teams blessed with outstanding individuals who were enjoyable to watch in action.
With over 25 candidates who the three of us deemed worthy of consideration, we spent almost two hours comparing notes and thoughts. As with the boys picks from last week, we sought to form a group that included playmakers, shooters, defenders, rebounders, and all- around players, a team that could match up competitively with any similar lists of area schools of the same time frame.
With that said, here are our selections for the “Lady Wave Dream Team”—
Point guards—Justine Shilt (‘07) and Morgan Gilbert (‘20). Both led their teams with poise and determination, distributing the ball, handling pressure, and scoring when needed as well as playing solid defense.
Point guard/shooting guard—Rachel Fiely (‘05). The third leading scorer in Lady Wave history, accumulating over 1,200 career points, she could do it all on the court in addition to be one of the headiest players to don the Green and White.
Shooting guards—Ashley Brown (‘01) and Macie Blinn (‘08). Brown was an offensive threat any time she had the ball in her hands her junior and senior years. Blinn is the all-time leading scorer in school history with over 1,500 points and could light it up in a hurry from anywhere with an all-around offensive arsenal.
Wings—Carrie Jones (‘02), Nicole Harrison (‘03), Cassie Cromwell (‘18), and Haleigh Behnken (‘20). Jones was a tremendous threat offensively both outside and inside, with a quick first step and great body control. Harrison made big shots at clutch time and was a reliable scorer for the Lady Wave. Cromwell led her teams in scoring and rebounding each of her first three years before injuries caused her to miss almost half of her senior season. Behnken ranks fifth on the all-time scoring list and was an athlete who averaged 19.4 points per game as a senior.
Post players—Brittany Runner (‘03), Jena Studabaker (‘11), and the late Megan Galloway (‘13). Runner dominated the post position as few have, both offensively and defensively, scoring over 1,100 points for her career. Studabaker was a solid force in the middle for the Lady Wave at both ends of the court. Galloway averaged a double-double despite being injured for half of her junior season and 17.4 points per game as a senior. In addition to our twelve selections, we also gave honorable mention recognition to the following:
Heather Bowman, point guard (‘01)
Megan Miller, point guard (‘05)
Molly Jones, wing (‘06)
Lisa Brinley, wing (‘07)
Aireca Hetzler, wing (‘11)
Jenna Dowler, wing (‘12)
Karsyn Shaffer, point guard (‘18)
The girls version of Ty’s All-Madden Award for the player who did the little things that don’t appear in the box score yet helps their team win is shared by Stacey Foster (‘02) and Payton Brandenburg (‘18). Both were tough defenders and role players, each of whom made their teams better.
As with last week’s boys team, we are sure that there will be varying opinions on our selections, that we probably overlooked a player or two who we should have mentioned, and that our judgment will be brought into question many times!! Take the time to make your own list of your favorite school’s “Dream Team” from the last 25 years; you’ll find it both challenging and satisfying. As before, let’s get out and support our local teams as the regular season winds down and conference honors are up for grabs before the tournament trail begins!
