Season Preview: Porter, Panthers focused on NBC title chase
- Jeremy Schneider
- Nov 22, 2024
- 3 min read
By JEREMY SCHNEIDER
IMA SPORTS
Lucy Porter has spent plenty of time in the Maumee High School gymnasium over the last four years. One thing has stood out to her, and it’s a date — 1993, the last time Maumee has won a girls basketball conference title.
Porter and her teammates are determined to see that change this year.
“I look up at that banner every day in practice,” she said. “It’s been 31 years since we’ve won a league title. I’ve tried to push that on the girls, this is what we’re working for.
“I think we can do it. Not only a league championship, but a better record than last year.”
The Panthers are coming into their season with plenty of momentum, having posted a 13-9 overall record for their first winning season in more than a decade, along with an 8-6 mark in the Northern Buckeye Conference, good for fourth place.
According to Panthers coach Rafael Soler, last year’s winning record has seeped into the players personalities.
“It’s just who they are right now,” Soler said. “We’ve learned how to win, what it takes to win, all that kind of stuff, and it’s bleeding over into this season. … We have a lot of confidence heading into this season.”
Last year, Maumee finished behind Oak Harbor, Genoa and Eastwood in the league standings. The Panthers went 2-4 in those matchups, including wins over the Comets and Eagles, but those four losses came by a total of 45 points.
While he didn’t want to sound arrogant, Soler said a NBC title is on the table for Maumee this season.
“We have a team that’s bought in, works hard and wants that,” Soler said. “Any time you put that in your mind that this is the goal, that’s the first step. We’re always going to have lofty goals, we’re always going to shoot for the stars, but I think that is something that’s attainable this year.”
Porter comes into her fourth and final varsity season looking to put the finishing touches on one of the best girls basketball careers in school history. She’s 202 points shy of joining the 1,000-point scorers club after averaging 14.5 points per game as a junior.
She’s not just a scorer, though, averaging a team-high 8.3 rebounds last year, along with 2.1 steals and 1.9 assists.
“In a few months, February or March, I’ll never put that jersey on again,” Porter said. “It’s surreal, not just the basketball part, but the people part. I’ve grown up with these girls. We’ve been playing basketball since the fifth grade. This is my second family.”
One player alone doesn’t win a conference title, though, and both Porter and Soler acknowledged the skill of her teammates. Soler said Porter has always been a team player but she’s learned how to make others around her better.
Junior Taylor Smith will once again run the point guard spot after putting up nine points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.4 steals a year ago. Junior Izzy Yancy averaged four points and four rebounds last season.
The Panthers can go at least eight players deep — adding in returner Reign Hurt and Charley Bischoff with newcomers Maya Jordan and Taryn Pyle — and all of them can run. It’ll be an advantage the Panthers will lean on this season.
“We’re not a very tall team,” Soler said. “Coach (Brad) Kuron has brought in this press … and it’s starting to look good. That’s our mindset, we want to try to push (the tempo), we want to try to get easy buckets.
“We’ve got a lot of kids who can run. We tell them, if you’re tired, we’ll get you out, but we want to see everybody pushing the ball all the time.”
The Panthers open the season with a home game against Otsego on Friday, November 29.
Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers
Reach IMA at insidemaumeeathletics@gmail.com
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