Franklin Monroe went 5-17 overall and 3-8 in the WOAC last year. The Lady Jets have suffered the last few years with low numbers and lack of height but not on effort as they play as hard as any team in the league. Zane Shellabarger after 4 years has stepped down as coach and taking over the reins in 2023-24 will be Tim Barga.
Barga coached the Mississinawa Boys basketball program for 8 years and is no stranger to coaching girls’ basketball having coached at Versailles and Yellow Springs. In fact, he has a career girls’ coaching record of 486 wins and 143 losses putting him in an elite class in the State of Ohio.
The Jets should be in good hands and given time coach Barga should be able to get the Jets flying high again.
Key Players for Franklin Monroe will be:
Lillie Shellabarger who is a 5-6 Sr., forward and has been an undersized big, but battles hard, she pulled down 5.2 rebounds and scored 4 points per game last year and will be asked to pick those number up this season.
Olivia Sease is a 5-5 Sr., guard who ran the point last year, she also grabbed 2.3 steals a game and averaged 5.4 points.
Presley Cox is a 5-7 Jr., center who returns to basketball after playing in Junior High, she is an athletic player who should give the Jets the ability to score in the paint.
Kyra Barnes is a 5-4 Jr., guard who is fast and athletic, she started 4 games last year and should figure to be a bigger part of the Jets attack this season.
Eva Shellabarger, is a 5-5 So., forward who also is undersized but has all the instincts and knowledge to be effective.
Caydance Nichols is a 5-2 So., guard who saw limited action as a freshman but will see increased minutes this year.
Expect the Jets to be defensive minded and to compete hard this season as they get used to a new system.
