SPENCERVILLE – Six returning letter winners will seek to lead the Bearcats back to the district round this season as the 2020-21 campaign kicks off.
Head coach Greg Ekis enters his sixth season with a a 71-67 career record and is coming off of a 15-9 year that saw his team fall to Fairview in the sectional finals.
Leading the way for the Bearcats this season is senior Emma Leis who recently signed to play college basketball at Division II Kentucky Wesleyan based in Owensboro, Kentucky.
The 5’9 Leis enters the season with 778 career points and holds the Spencerville records of points in a game (39), assists in a season (110), and career assists (239).
Joining Leis are returning letter winners and classmates Gillian Goecke (5’8) and Raigan Staup (5’6) who have combined to post a 48-23 record in their first three seasons.
Staup, a tenacious defender who garnered 1st team All-NWC honors in soccer will be looked upon to slow down opponent guards and provide energy for the squad to be successful.
On his assessment of the teams upcoming season Ekis remarked “This group of players will be a group that plays hard and fast. They will
have to share the ball well and play as a team to be successful. This is a group that has played a lot of Varsity basketball and they are looking
forward to this upcoming season.”
Returning underclassmen letter winners Lilyan Goecke (5’7 JR), Gabi Croft (5’7 Soph), and Kirsten Wurst (5’7 Soph) will be asked to take bigger roles this season as the Bearcats navigate their challenging schedule that begins by hosting Ottawa Glandorf in the night of girls basketball in the state of Ohio.
Perhaps the biggest addition for the Bearcats offense this season will be 5’6 freshman sharpshooter Heidi Keller who could provide an outside punch for the offense when teams double down on Leis. “She really understands the game and can really shoot” said Ekis of the potential of Keller to impact the game.
Asked about the aspirations the Bearcats have in search of winning their first ever Northwest Conference title the Spencerville boss stated “The NWC will be very competitive night in and night out. We want to come out and play hard, execute, and compete every night.”
Every game this season can be heard live on Zsports3 and can be found on www.zsportslive.com
2020/21 Schedule (Varsity 7:3o unless noted)
11/21 vs Ottawa Glandorf
11/24 vs New Knoxville
12/1 at Elida
12/3 at Crestview
12/8 at Van Wert
12/12 vs Paulding
12/15 vs Riverdale
12/17 at Lincolnview
12/19 at USV (JV 11 A.M.)
12/21 vs Fort Jennings
1/5/21 vs St. Marys
1/9 vs Shawnee (11 A.M. JV)
1/14 vs Columbus Grove
1/18 vs L.C.C.
1/21 at Bluffton
1/23 at Coldwater (1 P.M. JV)
1/26 at Kalida
1/28 vs Allen East
2/2 at New Bremen
2/4 vs Ada
2/9 at Parkway
2/11 at Delphos Jefferson