Gibsonburg's Evarts reaches 1,000-point milestone as a sophomore

Gibsonburg point guard Elly Evarts has established herself as not just one of the area’s top players, but as one of the best players in the state.
 
The sophomore, who has plenty of colleges looking at acquiring her basketball services after she graduates from high school, recently reached 1,000 career points in the Lady Bears’ win over St. Joseph Central Catholic at home.       
 
For the season, Evarts is averaging 22.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and five steals. Not bad for someone who is just 5-8.
 
But she is happy to deflect credit and praise her teammates and coaches.
 
“(Getting to 1,000 points) was obviously one of my goals going into this year, but it was also a big moment for my family and my dad. And I really couldn’t get there without my teammates,” said Evarts. “To be there in that moment was amazing. I just want to give a shoutout to my teammates.”
 
Her father, Bo, is the coach of the team.
 
“It’s crazy –– it was a special moment at home,” he said. “The points are great and come natural to her. It was a nice reward for her to get 1,000 points. Her overall goal is to win the league and a district title.”
 
Bo Evarts notes that Elly has made 179 3-pointers in her career — adding that MaxPreps has the Ohio record at 401.
 
At 17-5 and 17-1 in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division, Gibsonburg has won its second consecutive league title and is primed to make another run at a district championship.
 
If the Bears, seeded second in a Division VI Bowling Green District, beat (6) Van Buren, they’ll face (4) Toledo Christian or (5) Lakota in a district semifinal on Thursday.
 
“I think we could make a deep playoff run. I think we have some of the best shooters around,” said Evarts. “If we play well, I think it’s going to be hard for anyone to stop us.”
 
Joining Evarts in the starting lineup are guards, 5-3 Ansley Fleming and 5-1 Emma Jividen, and post players, 5-7 Alayna Molter and 5-10 Emily Henderson.
 
Fleming averages 8.8 points, followed by Jividen (6.0) and Ava Dawson (5.0). Henderson is pulling down 5.8 rebounds per game and Molter averages 4.6 rebounds. Bo Evarts notes that Fleming is averaging double digits in the second half of the season.
 
“She stepped up,” he said of Fleming. “That was another part of our success right there.”
 
Bree Gamble, Alivia Wauford, Taylor Rapp, Mackenzie Muntz and Camryn Donnell round out the roster.
 
Gibsonburg’s lone loss in the conference was to Danbury. The Bears avenged that loss with a 36-34 win over the Lakers on Jan. 28, when they rallied from a 15-point deficit.
 
The Bears beat Tiffin Calvert twice, the latter victory coming after Gibsonburg, led by Elly Evarts, rallied from a 12-point deficit with five minutes to go to eke out the win. She scored 12 points in the final minutes.
 
The Bears played four good teams in the non-conference slate that helped prepare them for the River Division — Norwalk, Ottawa Hills, Port Clinton and Notre Dame Academy.
 
Gibsonburg lost every one of those games, but the team was better for it, Bo Evarts said.
 
“In some of our games that we lost, we were competitive,” he said. “It prepared us for some tougher league games, and we went 17-1.”
 
He talked about Molter being one of the unsung heroes on the team.
 
“Elly and Ansley get the most attention, (but) we have 14 girls on our roster. I think that’s because of our overall talent, going against one another in practice makes us good,” Bo Evarts said. “Alayna Molter won’t score a lot of points, but she’s done a nice job. She usually guards one of the toughest players on each team, and she can shut down opposing teams’ best players. She does a lot of rebounding and defense. She’s a player that people don’t see a lot.”    
 
Leah Hall could return if Gibsonburg makes a run in the tournament. She tore her ACL and could be cleared to return in the next few weeks.
 
“We don’t want to take any chances,” said Bo Evarts. “If we go far in the tournament, we might get her back.”          
 
Elly Evarts, who is being pursued by plenty of Division I colleges, has worked diligently to get to this point.            
 
“I started off at a young age. Then I started playing some AAU, and that really helped me,” she said. “In middle school, I started working on my game. I just wanted to focus on being a point guard. I shoot in the offseason. It took a lot of practice that got me here.”
 
One of the highlights of the season came in a 57-54 victory over Old Fort that saw Elly Evarts make a half-court shot to beat the Stockaders, which had rallied from an 18-point deficit to get back into the game.
 
“That made national news,” said Bo Evarts. “It was Hudl’s No. 1 play of the season.”
 
Last year, the Bears went 23-3, won a district title and a league championship. The team lost two key players –Jazmyne Morant and Sophia Paul – but it has been able to replace their production, for the most part.
 
Elly Evarts earned the River Division’s Most Outstanding Player award last year and was an all-Ohioan in Division IV.
 
When she was younger, she went up against boys in the Punt, Pass & Kick football competition and baseball’s Pitch, Hit & Run baseball competition.
 
It is Bo Evarts’ sixth year heading up the program, and he has done a stellar job, leading it to new heights while establishing the program as one of the area’s finest.
 
A teacher at Rossford High School, he was a member of the 1989 basketball team that advanced to the Division II regional finals. His wife, Jamie, is a Gibsonburg alum who played volleyball and ran track.