Girls basketball: Opening night features changes, challenges

It may not be quite as exciting as a Taylor Swift concert but there will many different eras being celebrated across Lorain County when the girls high school basketball season gets underway tonight. Keystone is hoping it's still in the midst of its championship era, coming off a 28-1 season and a state semifinal appearance last year. The three-time defending Lorain County League champion Wildcats will tip off the season at home against Western Reserve. With Brooklyn Barber out for the early part of the year while recovering from an ACL injury suffered at the end of last season, senior Vivian Cassell and sophomore Madison Sokolowski will be counted on to help the Wildcats extend their 22-game regular-season winning streak. "It's hard to believe it's my 22nd year of coaching and I still have that I can't wait for it feeling when the season is coming," said Wildcats coach Rocky Houston, who was a longtime assistant at Midview and Keystone before taking over the girls program six years ago. "Everyone talks about their favorite season and they say summer or fall but my favorite season is basketball season." League realignment has ushered in a new era of basketball at Elyria Catholic, where the Panthers will host Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy tonight in their inaugural North Coast Conference game. Scheduling logistics with the Ohio High School Athletic Association's move to a seven-division postseason forced this matchup of teams expected to compete for the NCC title to opening night. "You don't get the chance to scout a team," Elyria Catholic coach Eric Rothgery said of the challenges of starting the year with a conference foe. "It would have been nice to see them play two or three times. But the same things that are a disadvantage to us are going to be a disadvantage to them as well." The Panthers will be counting on veteran guards Mya Rivera and Camara Ogletree to win the battle against Royals All-Ohio guard Joi Williams. "I feel good about where we're at. We have good team speed, we have a lot of kids who can score," Rothgery said. "We feel good about where we're at but again to have a successful season peaking on Nov. 22 usually isn't part of it, you're trying to build towards the end of the year. We feel we're at a good point for the third week of November." Seven schools — Avon, Amherst, Brookside, Black River, Columbia, Oberlin and Open Door — are entering new eras as they begin the season with new coaches. The Division VI Raiders have a tough task to start the season as they travel just down the road to take on Division III Midview, the only opening weekend game featuring two Lorain County teams. "Having Midview the first game is a great challenge for us," said first-year Columbia coach Faith Williams. "I think it's going to be a good game. I'm really excited. I am glad we're starting with Midview. They have great players like Leah DiFranco and Hunter Crum. Facing that challenge early is going to set us up for the rest of the season." Columbia is coming off of a 19-4 season with a talented lineup led by senior guards Kaitlyn Miller and Sadie Schulke. Black River, under first-year coach Erin Jackson, is the only other local team to open at home tonight. The Pirates host Akron Springfield. Lorain starts its season at home Saturday afternoon when Sandusky comes to town. The Titans won six of their final eight games to wrap up last season. The Blue Streaks beat Lorain 84-67 when the teams played last January. Avon and new coach Adam Castrilla will have to wait until Sunday to get their season started. The Eagles will face Aurora at Hiram College as part of the 2nd Annual Ohio Tip-Off Classic. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.