The Bulldog girls basketball home opener is at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, November 18 vs. McComb.
By Cort Reynolds
The Ada High School girls basketball team returns one of the better backcourts in the area to lead a potential resurgence under new varsity head coach Zack Ricker.
The AHS girls basketball team has not had a winning season since 2015-16, when they went 15-8 overall and 5-3 in the league. This season's core is probably the most talented since that edition, although depth is thin.
A Delphos Jefferson graduate, Ricker served as the freshman boys coach at Ada last season.
"We have a solid first six," said Ricker. "With our speed and lack of size, we will look to push the ball up the court."
Thirteen players comprise the girls high school program, with the junior varsity squad expected to play two-quarter games.
Five letter winners and three starters return from a team that went 8-15 overall (0-8 in Northwest Conference) last season. Ada played perhaps its best game in a 45-39 season-ending sectional loss to higher-seeded Parkway - after leading much of the game.
If the Bulldogs can replicate that sort of effort this season, they could be a surprise team.
Athletic 5-5 senior guard Courtney Sumner is the top returning scorer and steals leader. The explosive second team All-NWC pick averaged 16 points a game last year and topped the squad in three-pointers.
A streak shooter, she can score in bunches and is a good penetrator who has a nose for steals and scoring in transition. A slick ballhandler and creative driver, Sumner might be the most exciting player in the league.
Ricker is looking for more intangibles such as increased leadership from Sumner this season. "She is our only senior, so the big thing we are doing is challenging her to be a leader and find ways to impact the game outside of scoring," he said.
"She is doing a good job of trusting and utilizing her teammates," he added.
Sumner surpassed the 1,000-point mark late last season and has a chance to finish as the program's all-time leading scorer. Her coach of the last three seasons, Morgan (Dumbaugh) Bass, holds the Ada girls career points mark.
Athletic junior guard Olivia Burkhart returns to comprise one of the best backcourts in the area. The duo lacks size but make sup for it in athleticism and skill. A heady player, Burkhart handled most of the point guard duties last season, and Ricker expects the tandem to share the ballhandling again.
Burkhart is a good shooter and unselfish passer. She jumps well and is quick, and is the team's second-leading scorer back. "The big thing with Olivia is we want her to be more aggressive scoring," Ricker noted.
"She has shown a lot of growth," he continued. "We want her to force teams to focus on her offense more to take some of the pressure off of Courtney."
Burkhart was an honorable mention all-league selection in 2022. Her patented move is an effective one-footed pull-up shot.
Lanky junior southpaw wing Mariah King showed a lot of improvement last season. She hits the offensive boards hard and uses the backboard well from the left side.
"She will play the four and three," said Ricker. "Mariah has a lot of athletic ability, she can sprint the floor and get easy baskets. She will be a huge help if we can get her to be consistent and play to her strengths."
Sophomore 5-4 guard Lexi Poling has "quickness and gives us another good ballhandler," said the coach. "She provides us with a third perimeter player who can shoot."
Hustling junior Katie Sizemore, a 5-7 forward, is expected to round out the starting lineup. She is very feisty, scrappy and energetic on defense. The "glue girl" is hard-nosed and willing to put her body on the line and do the proverbial dirty work that does not show up in statistics.
"We will rely on Katie to be a tough defender down low for us," said Ricker.
Promising junior Autumn Andreasen might be the x factor for the team. She hasn't played the last few seasons due to a torn ACL, and then competing on the swim team last winter.
"Autumn will be our sixth man to start out," said Ricker. "She is smart, skilled and can play down low. She will get a lot of minutes and could be a huge help. Autumn is a promising post player who can play outside, too."
Freshman Anna Conley, a 6-0 freshman, is the team's tallest player. "She will be our seventh woman coming off the bench," said Ricker. "She has some athleticism and can shoot around the basket some."
Completing the roster are sophomore Jillian Allison, and freshmen Addyson Kin, Ashley Hevlin, Abbey Johnston, Alex Gibson and Karlie Rockhill.
Ricker says the team wants to play up an up-tempo style on offense to take advantage of their guards and overall speed. At the other end, Ada will mix up man and zone defenses.
The NWC race looks to be balanced and unpredictable this winter.
"Conference-wise, the big thing is for us to compete," Ricker said. "I know we are capable, but we have to win close games. We have to find a way to get out of the bottom two of the league."
Ada has finished in the bottom two of the league standings in each of the past six seasons.
"Delphos has the NWC Player of the Year back (junior Alyvia Lindeman), while Crestview and Grove should be good," he offered. "Allen East and Leipsic should be decent."
Delphos Jefferson won the 2021-22 league title at 8-0. Crestview and Columbus Grove tied for second at 6-2. Spencerville came in fourth at 5-3.
Bluffton and Leipsic tied for fifth at 4-4, followed by talented but young Allen East (2-6), Lincolnview (1-7) and Ada.
"I think we are fully capable of 10-12 wins if we stay healthy and keep growing," Ricker said. "We want to improve our league standing, and ultimately our overall goal is to finish .500 or above.
"Leadership is key," he noted. "Our top six will play a ton of minutes. We are athletic and have speed. Staying healthy and out of foul trouble will be keys since we lack size and depth."
Former Bulldog guard Kyle Poling returns as the JV coach, as does assistant Meagan Zoladz.
Ada tips off its campaign at home Friday, November 18 vs. non-conference foe McComb.
The Lady Bulldogs host Lincolnview in the league lidlifter December 1. Before that, they also visit Cory-Rawson and host county foe Hardin Northern.
All four games are winnable, and a strong start would go a long way toward boosting confidence and propelling the Bulldogs girl cagers to a good season.
The Ada girls face host Waynesfield in the fifth annual Border Battle tournament semifinals December 28 at W-G. Ada lost the title game last year to Allen East in Harrod after beating the Tigers in the semis.
"I think a lot of our success will come down to what the other four of our top six - Lexi, Katie, Autumn and Mariah - can contribute," Ricker summed up. "They have to give us some points to support Courtney and Olivia."
If they do, Ada should be very competitive and fun to watch.
TOP PHOTO
The Ada varsity girls basketball team, left to right, front row:
Olivia Burkhart, Courtney Sumner.
Row 2: Autumn Andreasen, Mariah King, Katie Sizemore, Lexi Poling,
Jillian Allison.
Row 3: Alex Gibson, Karlie Rockhill, Anna Conley, Ashley Hevlin,
Addyson Kin, Abbey Johnston.
Back: JV coach Kyle Poling, head coach Zack Ricker, assistant Meagan Zoladz.
RETURNING LETTER WINNERS
The Ada girls basketball returning letter winners, left to right:
Mariah King, Olivia Burkhart, Courtney Sumner, Katie Sizemore, Lexi
Poling.
COACHING STAFF
The Ada girls basketball coaching staff, from left: assistant coach
Meagan Zoladz, head coach Zach Ricker, JV coach Kyle Poling.
