Clay cagers learn from varsity experience

Yes, Clay girls basketball managed just two wins in 15 games this season, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

For one thing, four of the five top standouts will be back next year — junior forwards Meah Przybylski and Kylee Tabler, junior point guard Lexi Huntermark and sophomore guard Camryn Reiter.

“We are very young,” said first-year Clay coach Julia Henneman-Dallapse. “We have good athletes and good basketball players. They are just young. We were unfortunate that we were not able to have a full freshman season due to numbers. So, our kids kind of got pushed up into teams they might not have been ready for but they could very well have been successful at a lower level. You have got to start somewhere.”

Clay welcomed the much-needed leadership of senior guard Lauren Mahler. Yet, Reiter was voted a team captain even though she has two years of eligibility remaining and Henneman-Dallape hopes she can play collegiately one day.

Reiter averaged seven points, six rebounds, three steals, two deflections and two assists on her way to being selected to the Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press third team and honorable mention All-Three Rivers Athletic Conference.

Reiter’s best game was in Clay’s win over Scott, scoring 20 points with nine rebounds and seven steals and she was instrumental in the Eagle’s 53-28 win over Rossford.

Reiter did dress varsity as a freshman with limited playing time, but she stepped up to the plate this year for Henneman-Dallape.

“So, this year it was quite a big step for her, coming out as a sophomore and starting on the varsity team. We actually expected quite a bit from her,” Henneman-Dallape said.

“We are a younger team and with not a lot of leadership history. So, she took that role on this year and stepped up and became one of our leaders on the floor and did a great job at it. She is hands-down the hardest working player I have ever coached. The kid is tough as nails. She is 5-5 and was one of our leading rebounders on the team. She had no fear. 

“At 5-5 and tough, we expected her sometimes to play down low because size was something that we didn’t have a lot of this year. She did it without blinking. She took it on and did a great job. By far Camyrn is one of the hardest working players I have ever coached,” Henneman-Dallape added.

Reiter, a three-sport athlete (volleyball, basketball, softball), was typically joined in the backcourt by Huntermark, who started varsity last year and this year.

“She grew up a lot and she and Camryn did very well this year growing together,” Henneman-Dallape said. “So, I think next year with the two of them having a year playing together, they are going to be a great pair to have.”

Przybylski was voted HM All-Press and HM all-league after leading the team in scoring at 8.5 points.

“Meah Przybylski stepped up this year and became a threat in the post. She played hard and we expected a lot from her,” Henneman-Dallape said. “She had played a little bit of varsity last year but was mainly a JV player. She came up and filled the role and I’m looking forward to having her as a senior next year. We can get her into the gym and maybe tweak a couple things.”

Tabler was on the varsity court for the first time, but she found her niche — shooting. 

“She came on strong this year taking on wanting to be a leader and did a great job at that,” Henneman-Dallape said. “We are going to get her into the gym, and I know she loves shooting from the perimeter, so that is something that we are going to focus on this summer and dial in on her shooting.”

Henneman-Dallape says now it’s important to get everybody on board with offseason workouts, although most of her athletes are playing other sports this spring.

“We are going to be very hands on. The first year coaching I’m starting to learn all the rules,” Henneman-Dallape said. “We will be very active this summer. I know the OHSAA was very lenient, and I’m very thankful that they opened up. We have unlimited coaching for the summer. So, we are going to use that, really get the kids into the gym and focus on the things that we really need to work on—the things that we were unable to do this year.”

Even though the varsity did not win any of their seven Three Rivers Athletic Conference games this season, the seventh grade class won a TRAC championship. Plus, Reiter has an eighth grade sister who Henneman-Dallape says is also “a phenomenal athlete.”

“Our eighth grade class next year plays good basketball, so we will again next year be young,” Henneman-Dallape said. “Plus, we were hit with COVID early on. We practiced maybe for three weeks, and then we could not, and it seemed like every day we were getting quarantined. We went something like 19 days straight, and then four days and had two games right away before Lucas County shut us down again.”