UNION CITY – Mississinawa Valley won their first conference title in girls basketball something they aspired to do since Taylee Woodbury and Syenna Purdin were in Jr. High. The Blackhawks went on to win a District Title, the first in school history. They advanced to the elite 8 before falling to Ft. Loramie in the Regional Championship game.
Woodbury, who is the school’s all-time leading scorer, is now playing at Georgetown College and already is making an impact at 7.1 ppg, 1.5 ast., and 3.4 reb. Purdin is currently on the IU East basketball team in Richmond, Indiana, where she is teamed up with fellow WOAC athletes, Alexis Gibbons of Arcanum and Rilee Terry of Tri-County North.
Coach Michael Paige, who has led the Lady Blackhawks over the last few years, is now coaching at Northmont, making way for Kirk Comer, who will now be leading Mississinawa this year.
Comer has plenty of experience coaching, having been a head girls basketball coach for 30 years in Indiana. He spent the majority of his career at Jay County and most recently a year at Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger. Mackenzie Brubaker will be the varsity assistant, and Lindsay Mackey and Terry Comer will be volunteer assistants. Keith Fields will be the junior varsity coach.
While the Blackhawks lost a couple of talented players, they have plenty of talent returning that will be led by five seniors: Cora and Makenna Hoggatt, Paige Emrick, Brooklynn Seubert, and Trinity Reichard. The Hoggatt’s are dynamic athletes that make plays, Emrick is a pure scorer who can shoot from the outside and get to the rim. Seubert has good instincts for the ball, both rebounding and scoring, and will be a handful in the paint. The last senior is Trinity Reichard who will be a solid teammate, and all will contribute to this year’s team.
Returning Lettermen
Brooklynn Seubert* 12, 5’10, F – 13.5 PPG, 8.7 RPG
Paige Emrick* 12, 5’6, G – 12.4 PPG
Cora Hoggatt* 12, 5’10, F
Makenna Hoggatt* 12, 5’10, F
Tenlee Woodbury* 10, 5’4, G
Gretchen Rodeheffer* 11, 5’10, F
Key Contributors/Newcomers
Cassidy Seubert 9, 5’8, F
Lilly Geesaman 11, 5’8, G
Strengths/Keys To Success
The goal is to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season. Our strengths is we are versatile, can score inside or out, as well as in transition. We have good team depth, and we have a lot of experience returning.
Pre-Season Top Teams
1. Mississinawa Valley
2.Tri-Village
3.Arcanum
4.Ansonia
