By Cort Reynolds
An Ada freshman received All-Northwest Conference girls basketball honors from league coaches in voting conducted at their annual selection meeting last Monday night.
Freshman point guard Courtney Sumner led the Lady Bulldogs in scoring, assists and three-pointers to earn honorable mention all-league notice.
"Courtney was a huge help not only because she is good and she is a true point guard, but because she allowed others to be put in positions where they can be most successful," said Ada head coach Morgan Bass.
The Lady Bulldogs finished 7-16 overall and 0-8 in the NWC. They won six more games than last season and were generally much more competitive with the addition of frosh newcomer Sumner to the lineup.
Sumner was the only freshman in the NWC to earn some sort of all-league honors this season.
"I think getting experience helped, and our entire team's mentality improved," said Bass. "We still have a ways to go, but I am excited for the upcoming eighth grade class next year to hopefully make practices more competitive.
"That was a big issue for us (with injuries and low roster numbers) to have a drop-off in practice," not to mention in games, she added.
Paulding senior Chelsi Giesige was selected the 2019-20 NWC Player of the Year in voting by the league coaches. Giesige averaged 16.8 points, three steals and three assists per game in leading the Panthers to an 18-4 regular season record. Paulding ended up tied for third place in the NWC at 5-3.
Joining Giesige on the NWC first team were junior passing ace guard Emma Leis (Spencerville), senior Alexis Gregory (Crestview), sophomore Makenzie King (Columbus Grove), senior post Tori Newland (Allen East), senior Angel Schneider (Columbus Grove) and senior Nelaya Burden (Spencerville).
Gregory is a three-time first team selection, while Leis and King are two-time members of the first team. Newland surpassed the 1,000-point career mark this season for the Mustang girls.
Brian Schroeder, who guided Columbus Grove (18-3) to its fifth straight championship with an 8-0 league record, was selected the NWC Coach of the Year by his peers.
Spencerville finished second in the nine-team NWC race with a 6-2 record. Bluffton, Crestview and Paulding all tied for third at 5-3. Delphos Jefferson came in sixth (4-4), followed by Lincolnview (2-6), AE (1-7) and Ada.
FIRST TEAM ALL-NWC
Chelsie Giesige - Paulding - 12
Emma Leis - Spencerville - 11
Alexis Gregory - Crestview - 12
Kenzie King - Columbus Grove - 10
Tori Newland - Allen East - 12
Angel Schneider - Columbus Grove - 12
Nelaya Burden - Spencerville - 12
SECOND TEAM
Laykin Garmatter Bluffton - 11
Alycia Lindeman Delphos Jefferson -10
Libby Schaadt - Bluffton - 12
Bailey Gregory - Crestview - 11
Abby Gladwell - Columbus Grove - 12
HONORABLE MENTION
Olivia Cunningham - Crestview - 11
Kendall Bollenbacher - Lincolnview - 10
Addy Stewart - Delphos Jefferson - 12
Sydney McCullough - Paulding - 12
Courtney Sumner - Ada - 9
Kayla White - Bluffton - 12
Gillian Goecke - Spencerville - 11
Savanah Ridenour - Columbus Grove - 10
Brianna Ebel - Lincolnview - 11
Janae Pease - Paulding - 10
