Top of the Crop
GIRLS BASKETBALL
1: Olmsted Falls (25-4 in 2022)
2: Midview (23-5)
3: Avon Lake (15-10)
4: North Ridgeville (15-9)
5: Elyria Catholic (21-5)
6: Rocky River (19-6)
7: Avon (14-12)
8: Amherst (11-12)
9: Keystone (20-4)
10: Columbia (20-4)
Watch list: Firelands 17-7, Clearview 7-15, Westlake 13-11
Crop comments: New faces jump onto the scene for elite teams. However, key cogs for their success last year have returned for an encore. Olmsted Falls has won 45 straight Southwestern Conference games, dating to a 2020 Division I district semifinal loss to Amherst. Olmsted Falls will be at the Crop until an area team knocks it off the pedestal. … Midview graduated Lorain Miss Basketball Mary Meng, but will return Olivia and Leah DiFranco to build around. Both teams made it to the Division I final four. … Avon Lake might not have a go-to scoring option, but it plays great team basketball with versatile and overachieving role players. Each player brings something unique to the table. … North Ridgeville’s one-two punch of Grace Kingery and Brooke Lime will be a handful for defenses to cover and should contend in the SWC. Elyria Catholic, the defending two-time Great Lakes Conference champs will be a team to watch in conference play and the Division II postseason. … Rocky River could be the Panthers’ biggest competitor in the GLC West, with forward Ava Patti and the length in its front court. It will be a change of pace without the guards it had last year. … Avon’s controlled chaos will be in its second year under Maggie Ferando. It will be interesting to see who will pick up the scoring load. … Amherst will also look to contend in the SWC with Kristen Kelley and Kayla Ferancy. … The Lorain County League appears to be a two-team race between Columbia and Keystone. Both teams brought back key players and Keystone also included freshman starter Madyson Sokolowski. Columbia may run into height problems with the loss of Mallory Hottell and Emily Beck in the post.
