Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
The Oak Harbor girls basketball team is off to an undefeated start to Northern Buckeye Conference play, which includes a 51-40 win over Genoa on the road Dec. 13.
The Rockets are 11-4 overall and 7-0 in NBC play. Three of the team’s losses are by a combined seven points, which includes a triple overtime defeat to Margaretta, a four-overtime heartbreaker to Central Catholic, and a one-point road loss to Norwalk. The other loss was against undefeated, defending state champion Bellevue.
Head coach Dick Heller loves his team’s intensity and desire to get after it.
“They play hard the whole time and work together as a team,” he said. “We've really felt strong that we needed that good team chemistry and to play hard-nosed defense, and that’s been happening.”
The Rockets offensive punch is led by a trio of guards in seniors Karder Haas and Reghan Markley, as well as junior Brooke Tabbert. Haas was integral in the team’s initial win over Genoa, producing a game-high 20 points.
“They’re playing well together,” Heller said. “We're scoring more, which makes it nice. They're learning to distribute the ball better with each game, seeing each other better, and hitting the open person better. That's really been a nice plus for us.”
One area of focus for the team going forward is to have more consistent performances. For example, in the team’s win over Eastwood on Jan. 6, Oak Harbor had just 15 points in the first half before exploding for 27 points in the third quarter, which included 14 from Haas.
“It's not that they're not playing hard,” Heller said. “We just sort of get in a rut a little bit, and we have to work our way out of it. We're trying to get our kids to recognize that, learn to play through it, and learn to come out relaxed but confident. Sometimes we come out a little nervous. We still haven’t quite accepted the total fact of how good we are right now.”
Between press time and the team’s Jan. 24 rematch with Genoa, which will take place in Oak Harbor, the Rockets were slated to face Otsego on the road Jan. 15 and Woodmore at home on Jan. 17.
“We have to get through those games, but as far as getting ready for Genoa, we just need to stay focused and continue to work on the skills we need to continue to sharpen. We can’t go overboard building it up too much, just keep an even keel going, and be prepared to play a really tough team.”
Genoa, meanwhile, has head coach Glenn Black excited and wishing that time could slow down.
“This is just going so incredibly fast, and I think it's going so fast because it's been so much fun,” he said. “This is one of the most fun seasons I've ever had, and it's because of these kids. I'm just really proud. I wish we could slow time down, so we can spend more time together, honestly.”
After earning a hard-fought road win over a much-improved Eastwood squad on Dec. 9, Genoa suffered its lone league loss to Oak Harbor. Following that, they reeled off eight straight victories, including tough non-league wins over Bryan, Toledo Christian, Perrysburg, Gibsonburg, and Start.
Black said the biggest thing he’s seen that’s worked in favor of his team’s success is the unselfishness of his players.
“They've just totally bought in,” he said. “Our kids have really believed in one another, and that's really helped them. This is a tight-knit group, and I think they're just confident in themselves. They're confident in each other, and they believe in each other.”
The Comets are 11-4 overall, including a 5-1 record in NBC play as of press time. They have a pair of tough matchups before the rematch against Oak Harbor, including a road tilt against Maumee on Jan. 15 and a home game against Eastwood on Jan. 20.
“Maumee is a really good team, and so is Eastwood,” Black said. “We're going to have two really tough teams here coming up, and then to have to go to Oak Harbor, it's tough. We're in the meat of the schedule right now.”
Genoa has a strong group of veterans with seven upperclassmen, which includes seniors Keira Combs, Addi Moritz, and Adrianna Williams along with juniors Makenna Moritz, Kylie Pennington, Lucy Schlageter, and Stella Rethman.
“It’s really helped having juniors and seniors that have been in the program since their freshman year,” Black said. “A lot of these kids have played since their freshman year. When they were freshmen, they took their lumps. It's helped with our leadership. It's helped coach these young kids up, and it's really just helped our program. I can't say enough about these seniors and what they've done for our program.”
Oak Harbor and Genoa are slated to meet at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 24. The two teams split last year’s NBC regular season title, and Oak Harbor is searching for a third consecutive league title overall. Genoa’s shared title last year was their first NBC crown since 2015-16.
