20-21 League Preview – Ohio Valley Athletic Conference (5A)
The Ohio Valley Athletic Conference’s Class 5A division figures to be loaded yet again this season, despite defending champion Indian Creek dropping a classification. Runner-up Wheeling Park returns a boatload of talent, Morgantown has its entire starting unit, led by…
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Continue ReadingThe Ohio Valley Athletic Conference’s Class 5A division figures to be loaded yet again this season, despite defending champion Indian Creek dropping a classification. Runner-up Wheeling Park returns a boatload of talent, Morgantown has its entire starting unit, led by one of the top post players in all of West Virginia, and a couple of other traditionally strong programs should be back to their winning ways. It should translate to a wide-open and exciting conference tournament come February.
5 Players to Watch:
Makayla Abram Makayla Abram 5'11" | C Steubenville | 2021 OH , 5-10 2021, Steubenville
Abbie Smith Abbie Smith 6'0" | SF Vincent Warren | 2022 State OH , 6-0, 2022, Warren
Bella Abernathy Bella Abernathy 5'10" | C Wheeling Park | 2021 State WV , 5-11, 2021, Wheeling Park
Kaitlyn Ammons Kaitlyn Ammons 6'3" | PF Morgantown | 2021 State WV , 6-2, 2021, Morgantown
Lindsay Garrison, 5-6, 2021, Wheeling Park
4 Sleepers to Watch
Catherine Hunnell, 5-7, 2022, John Marshall
Rylee Harner, 5-6, 2021, Parkersburg South
Elexis Martin Elexis Martin 5'10" | SF Steubenville | 2022 OH , 5-9, 2022, Steubenville
Tori Jones Tori Jones 5'8" | SG Dover | 2022 OH , 5-8, 2022, Dover
4 Thoughts:
Wheeling Park was ranked No. 1 in West Virginia Class AAA for most of last season before making an early postseason exit at the hands of Morgantown. The Mohigans lost to Park twice during the regular season before pulling off the 50-49 regional stunner.
Steubenville’s Makayla Abram Makayla Abram 5'11" | C Steubenville | 2021 OH missed all of last season with an injury after being named third-team all-Ohio after a sophomore season in which she averaged 16.4 per game. Her absence allowed for the development of quality weapons like Elexis Martin Elexis Martin 5'10" | SF Steubenville | 2022 OH and Kylie Maxwell. Now healthy, Big Red should field a formidable team.
No seasons are canceled yet, but COVID is already wreaking havoc for one team. It was recently announced that all basketball and winter sports practices at Brooke High School will cease until at least November 23. With the regular season rapidly approaching soon after, that’s not ideal for a team trying to bounce back from a tough 2019-20.
Historically Parkesburg South is the premier girls’ basketball program in Wood County but rival Parkersburg has taken that crown the last few seasons. South hasn’t been to Charleston since 2017-18 when it lost to the eventual state champion Big Reds in the semifinal round. The Patriots are coming off a rare sub-.500 season and have a number of underclassmen who had strong summers who should help lead the resurgence.
3 Big Games:
Indian Creek at Steubenville – December 14
Wheeling Park @ Morgantown – December 22
Warren vs Union Local – January 2
2 Fun Facts:
Only once since the conference split to five classifications in 2012 has a 5A team repeated as tournament champion when Morgantown did so during the 2015-2016 seasons. It won’t happen again this season as 2020 champion Indian Creek dropped down to 4A.
Ammons, the lone Division I signee thus far in this group, verbaled to DePaul out of the Big East during her junior year back in April.
1 League Champion Prediction:
Wheeling Park