By Cort Reynolds

ADA – Ada High School junior post Anna Conley was voted third team All-Blanchard Valley Conference in girls basketball by the league coaches recently.

The 6-0 Conley led the Bulldog team in scoring (11.7 ppg), rebounds (9.4 avg.) and blocked shots in their first BVC season.

Senior guard Lexi Poling was named honorable mention all-league. She topped Ada in three-point field goals.

Sophomore guard Kenley Poling also earned honorable mention all-conference notice. The quick guard was second on the Bulldogs in three-pointers, and played scrappy defense.

McComb’s Morgan Kern was named BVC Player of the Year. The 5-9 guard led the league in scoring at 17 points per game, and was among the leaders in rebounding (7.8 rpg), steals (2.5 spg), foul shooting (74 percent) and three-point accuracy (.330).

Fourteen of the 18 BVC first, second and third team selections will be back next season.

Liberty-Benton’s Chad Lieb was named BVC Coach of the Year despite having its 90-game league win streak snapped by a Jan. 2 upset loss to Van Buren. 

But the Eagles bounced back to beat McComb and Riverdale (the two teams who eventually shared second, a game back of L-B in the standings) to earn an outright league title.

Liberty-Benton won the 11-team league crown with a 9-1 record. McComb and Riverdale tied for second at 8-2. Arcadia and Pandora-Gilboa tied for fourth with identical 7-3 records.

Elmwood finished sixth (5-5), followed by Van Buren in seventh (4-6). Arlington and Leipsic are tied at 2-7, while Vanlue was 10th at 2-8. Ada was last at 0-10 in league play.

2024-25 All-BVC Girls Basketball teams:
1ST TEAM
Morgan Kern (McC) 5-9, soph., 17 ppg; Marissa Bonham (Riv), 5-9, soph., 10.4 ppg; Megan Gerken (L-B) 5-11, soph., 12.7 ppg.; Mariah Bonham (Riv) 5-9 sr., 13.7 ppg; Cora Dehart (L-B) 6-3, soph., 12.7 ppg; Brooklyn Wilkin (VB) 6-0, soph., 14.4 ppg.
 

2ND TEAM
Ava Huffman (P-G) 5-7, jr., 11.9 ppg; Addy Colman (Arc) 5-5, jr., 10.7 ppg; Kacey Like (McC) 5-8, sr., 10.2 ppg; Jada Smith (Arl) 5-9, jr., 11.8 ppg; Selina Deal (Elm) 13.4 ppg; Savannah Knueven (P-G) 5-10, jr., 12.5 ppg.
 

3RD TEAM
Liberty Voges (Arc) 5-8, soph., 11.3 ppg; Olivia Secord (Van), 5-4, sr., 11.9 ppg; Molly Barringer (Elm) 5-10, soph., 10.6 ppg; Anna Conley (Ada), 6-0, jr., 11.7 ppg; Avery Knepper (L-B) 5-9, sr.; Annalese Woodruff (Riv).

HONORABLE MENTION:
ADA – Lexi Poling, Kenley Poling.