By Brad Morris
SportingPumpkin.com
Logan Elm coach Jennifer Blue has a unique blend of players suiting up this season for the Braves.
Out of the eight players in the high school program, the Braves return a pair of starters and will look to utilize five freshmen that won the regular and postseason Mid-State League Buckeye Division championship in seventh grade and the regular-season title in eighth grade.
“The girls are learning to work together and to play off of each every day in practice,” said Blue, who enters her second season at the helm of the program. “Every practice, every scrimmage and every game are about getting a little better as a team, starting with working on our communication.”
The Braves (0-23, 0-14 in 2021-22) return a pair of starters in junior Enaja Fischer and sophomore Hannah Rhoads.
“Enaja is our leader on and off the court,” Blue praised. “She is our most vocal player, is very outgoing and can keep practices a little lighter and entertaining when you need those moments.
“We’re also going to look to Hannah for some leadership, as well. Hannah has a nice three-point shot and has grown her game since last season.”
The Braves have one senior in Maddie Merritt.
“Maddie came out after not playing for the last couple of seasons, and she will help us out inside,” Blue said.
Logan Elm will heavily utilize its freshman class that includes Kimberly Petty, Kiannah Ingram, Kennedy Groff, Claire King and Hannah Gooley.
“Kiannah has a nice outside shot, she sees the lane and is a good passer. She’ll be at the point for us,” Blue said. “Kimberly is going to be our defensive stopper that is going to annoy the heck out of people, and she also can shoot the three and can get to the basket.
“Hannah Gooley is going to play some inside and some outside for us. She has good ability we can utilize in both areas. Kennedy can shoot the three and can also help handle the ball some. Claire is coming off a fantastic volleyball season and she has the capability to also be pretty good at basketball with being six-feet tall. She has the potential to block some shots, rebound and score the basketball.”
The Braves open the season on Nov. 18 when they host Pickaway County rival Westfall for a 6 p.m. tip.
Blue hopes to mold this young team over the course of the season and set a foundation that the Braves can build on moving into the future.
“We want to grow together and work off of our strengths to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season,” she said. “This is a very young team, so we want to continue to grow, continue to build and have a foundation to use going forward.”
2022-23 Roster
No. Player Grade
1 Kimberly Petty 9
2 Hannah Rhoads 10
3 Enaja Fischer 11
4 Kiannah Ingram 9
5 Claire King 9
11 Kennedy Groff 9
25 Maddie Merritt 12
31 Hannah Gooley 9
Coach: Jennifer Blue
Assistant coaches: Paige Swaggerty and Julie Rine
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