The Lady Panther varsity girls hoop squad is pictured from left, front row, assistant coach Monica Phillips, Dani Headings, Molly Olson, Bella Rowland, Emma Bookwalter, Carley Lehman, Ellee Bouic and assistant coach Lyndsey Mangen; second row, assistant coach Tyler Alexander, Gracie Pyers, Elaina Lahmers, Lillian Miller, Emma Kugel, Macy Miller, Megan Rausch, head coach Landon Fraker and assistant coach Chris Lydy. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
There is no real place to go for Fairbanks’ girls basketball team but up after last year’s campaign.
The Lady Panthers limped to a 2-21 season under first-year head coach Landon Fraker.
They finished with a 2-14 mark in the Ohio Heritage Conference North Division, two games ahead of 0-16 Northeastern.
Fairbanks is led by returning lettermen Bella Rowland, Emma Kugel, Megan Rausch and Molly Olson.
Olson, however, will miss the season as far as playing time due to a knee injury that she suffered during the 2019 soccer season.
Rowland averaged 3.6 points per game, along with a pair of rebounds per outing during the 2018-19 season.
Kugel averaged 1.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest.
Rausch averaged 2.3 points per game.
A pair of newcomers to the varsity are Carley Lehman (who is averaging 7.5 points per game) and Elaina Lahmers (6.5).
Rausch is also averaging five points per outing after the first two contests.
Fairbanks’ girls averaged 28.7 points per game a year ago.
After the first two contests this season, that number had slightly improved to 31.0.
The Lady Panthers dropped their first two games of the 2019-20 campaign.
Rounding out the 2019-20 roster are Macy Miller, Emma Bookwalter (who saw brief varsity action a year ago), Lillian Miller and Gracie Pyers.
“We hope to improve on our record from last year,” said Fraker. “We are still in the learning stages for the program as we continue to rebuild.
“We are very young on varsity, but we are quicker and have more of a scoring mentality.”
Fraker said that Mechanicsburg and West Liberty-Salem will be the favorites to contend for the OHC North Division championship this season.
Members of the Fairbanks junior varsity girls basketball team are from left, from row, Kate Ruff, Ellie Carter, Anna Poling, Avery Groves, Jaden Mapes and Addie Thrush; back row, Lindsey Smith, Gracie Pyers, Cayde Meddles, Amber DeRe, Katelyn Vollrath, Metea Duncan and coach Lyndsey Mangen. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Fairbanks’ freshman girls basketball team is pictured from left, front row, Mathilde Schmidt, Addie Thrush, Lindsey Smith, Kate Coy, Jaden Mapes and Ellie Carter; back row, Metea Duncan, Amber DeRe, Marit Gasvatn, Cayde Meddles, Elizabeth Reinhard and coach Chris Lydy. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)