Shabazz ready for senior season at Northwest

The reigning Southwest Ohio Conference player of the year, Fatimah Shabazz, returns for her senior basketball season at Northwest under new head coach Anthony Johnson.

Along with Shabazz, the Knights have two other returning starters in seniors Brieunna Grant and Jaycie Russell from a 12-11 team a season ago.

Shabazz, who’s headed to North Carolina A&T for volleyball, led the SWOC with 23.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.3 steals and 2.0 blocks per game.

Johnson also said he expects sophomores Sante Williams and Britnie Grant to be valuable pieces of this year’s hoops puzzle.

The Knights have a close group, and they’ll need each other if they hope to climb the SWOC ranks after finishing fifth in the league last season.

“This team likes each other and plays for each other,” said Johnson, who coached previously at Princeton.

Northwest starts the season on the road at Badin Nov. 25, before its home-opener against Indian Hill Nov. 28.

For the second year in a row, Colerain’s girls basketball team has a new head coach. Bernard Caldwell takes over for the Cardinals, looking to rebuild from a rough patch in Colerain’s hoops history.

The Cardinals have gone 5-41 over the last two seasons. While three years ago, Colerain went 15-9 and had a winning record in the Greater Miami Conference. Caldwell is hoping that his current blend of youth and experience will translate into success this season.

Senior guard Makayla Robbins and senior post player Jane Eichelberger are the Cardinals’ only returning starters. Robbins scored 9.0 points per game last season, and Eichelberger averaged 6.0 points and 3.8 rebounds.

Junior guard Alyssa West started in 10 games last season and will take on a bigger role this year. Caldwell also said freshmen Ashley Davis and Darian Braddix will help out right away.

Caldwell said he likes the youth, new coaches, new culture and new era for his team.

Colerain gets a big challenge right out of the gate with a visit from Mason Nov. 29. Then the Cardinals travel to McAuley on Dec. 1.

In the last three seasons, McAuley’s basketball team has won a combined 56 games. The only Girls Greater Catholic League team to win more during that span is Mount Notre Dame, and the Cougars have been rewarded with three straight GGCL titles.

The Mohawks won a share of the GGCL two years ago, but this season McAuley’s at work for an outright title – something the Mohawks haven’t done since 2012.

Looking to improve from last season’s 18-7 record, third-year coach Dan Wallace has three returning starters, all of whom are talented and experienced.

“We are very excited about this upcoming season,” Wallace said. “Coming off a district finals appearance and returning most of our impact players, we are looking to improve on a 18-win season. We expect to be able to go deep into the bench this season with experienced players who know what it takes to win. The commitment this offseason and impressive team chemistry should help us work through a very tough schedule.”

Senior Lexi Chrisman, a 6-foot-2 post player who’s signed with Rice University, senior Caroline Taphorn, an unsigned guard, and junior Hallie Heidemann are all back in the starting lineup. Chrisman and Heidemann were both first-team All-GGCL last season and Taphorn was second-team.

Last season, Chrisman, the younger sister of Ohio State punter Drue Chrisman, averaged 11.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. Heidemann averaged 10.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 2.0 assists per game, while Taphorn posted 8.9 points, 2.7 boards and 2.6 assists a game.

The Mohawks will also rely on junior forward Bri Kelhoffer, sophomore guard Sydney Benning and freshman guard Lexi Fleming, the daughter of longtime La Salle coach Dan Fleming.

“Graduating some senior leadership from the 2015-2016 team means we need to find out who is going to take on that role for us off the court,” said Wallace. “A couple young but talented kids will need to be caught up quickly but I feel we have very smart basketball-IQ kids who play extremely hard.”

McAuley opens the season with two on the road, at Lakota East Nov. 26 and at Alter Nov. 29. McAuley’s home-opener is Dec. 1 against Colerain.

Jacob Cheesman was a Roger Bacon boys basketball assistant coach last season, but this year he’s transitioned over as the new head coach of the girls team at Roger Bacon.

The Spartans went 11-12 last season. It was the eighth consecutive losing season, said Cheesman. But there was a bright side, he said, “The last three years, the number of wins has increased each year; we’re looking to get over that hump.”

Roger Bacon has three returning starters from last season, but Cheesman said the bench will run about eight-deep with players who can contribute. Senior center Aliyah Huff returns, along with sophomore guard Jalyn Jackson and junior guard Kaylee Sunders. Huff averaged 7.8 points and 5.7 rebounds last year. Sunders posted 7.6 points, 5.1 assists and 3.1 steals per game. Sunders has led the Greater Catholic League Co-ed Central in assists each of the last two seasons. Jackson, as a freshman, averaged 9.0 points per game.

Cheesman said the plan is to take Jackson off the ball in order to get her more quality shots. So with Sunders running the point and Jackson getting more opportunities to score, there should be a balance to the Spartans.

Freshman Kelly Brenner is going to play right away, said Cheesman. Also look for senior Olivia Stark, junior Ava Caldwell and sophomores Shanaya Figg and Destinee Byrd to be instrumental.

“Everything’s brand new,” Cheesman said. “The coaching staff, new offensive philosophy, new defensive philosophy … we have high goals, high aspirations and we want to be successful. Three weeks in and we’re very proud of how hard they’ve worked.”

Roger Bacon starts the season on the road Nov. 26 at Mount Healthy, with its home-opener Nov. 30 against Aiken.

In Gregory Moore’s third season as the head girls basketball coach at Mount Healthy, he has an experienced lineup taking the floor.

The Owls return three starters from a team that finished 7-15 last season, good for sixth place in the Southwest Ohio Conference.

Senior Shauna McKenzie, juniors Gabrielle Barnett and Taylor Dickerson all return to the starting rotation. McKenzie averaged 5.7 points and 5.7 rebounds a game last season, while Barnett posted 8.5 points and 6.7 boards. Dickerson averaged 8.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, so the Owls have a productive group back.

Senior Kiara Moore and junior Natya Kaiser will both be pivotal parts this season for the Owls, said Moore.

Moore said his starting five and his first girl off the bench are what he likes most about his team. “They know the system and have played together for two years,” he said.

Mount Healthy opens with a pair of home games against Roger Bacon Nov. 26 and Taft on Nov. 30.