Licking Heights girls taking work in classroom to court

Kurt Snyder
Newark Advocate
Licking Heights junior Emily Swisher fights to the basket during a game earlier this season against Licking Valley. The Hornets begin the second half of their Licking County League schedule later this week.

PATASKALA - Leading into the second half of the Licking County League-Buckeye Division season, the Licking Heights girls basketball team has been doing a lot of studying.

The program's first league title is within the Hornets' reach, and coach Rebecca Bailey does not leave any bases uncovered.

"We watch a lot of film together, and it's not only me pointing things out to the girls but also asking them what they saw," Bailey said. "Not that they give the girls homework by any means, but I get them involved so it's not just me telling them. I want them watching it and analyzing it themselves and then me getting their feedback and buy-in."

Heights was supposed to begin the second half this past Friday against Licking Valley, but a winter storm wiped out that game and one the following day against DeSales. The Hornets now will finish the regular season against Valley on Feb. 16, and between now and then, the Hornets will pack 10 games into a short period of time.

The Hornets were scheduled to visit Westerville Central on Tuesday and Johnstown on Wednesday. They open next with a trip to Marion Harding on Monday.

"Before the storm, we were going to have five games in nine days," Bailey said. "We have a lot of back-to-backs coming up. We still have 11 games between now and (Feb. 16). There is still a lot of basketball to be played, and our goal is to keep improving."

The postponements delayed the Hornets' return to the court after a disappointing 37-35 loss to rival Watkins Memorial, dropping the Hornets a game behind the Warriors for the Buckeye Division lead.

Heights did everything but win the game. The Hornets had a rebounding advantage and a strong defensive effort, but they were just 7-of-13 from the foul line and missed several shots around the basket.

"I told the girls in the locker you think about the last minute of the game and all of the things that went wrong, but we also have to remember there were 31 minutes before that," Bailey said. "If you look at our shot chart, the majority of our shots were two feet from the basket. The girls executed our offense, but we just didn't convert when we got there."

Nashala Coffman is averaging 13 points and eight rebounds, among the LCL leaders in both categories, shooting over 50 percent from the field. Emily Swisher and Kaitlin Thompson have been consistent secondary scorers with Swisher also filling the stat sheet and Thompson one of the top 3-point shooters in the LCL.

The story of Heights' season is yet to be written. The Hornets will play Lakewood, Newark Catholic, Granville and Watkins Memorial over a two-week stretch beginning later this month, and any of those games could decide the Buckeye title.

"They are really resilient," said Bailey, whose team is 3-4 in games decided by single digits. "We have talked a lot about situational basketball. We have talked about how we can grow from those close losses and what we need to do in those situations to really seal the deal moving forward."

ksnyder@gannett.com

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Twitter: @newarkurt