Columbus North’s Kaylie Harmon, right, attempts to dribble past Columbus East’s Kimberly Carothers Dec. 19, 2024 at Columbus East High School.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Columbus North has started off strong the past two girls basketball seasons, only to fall off the pace against a tough slate of games in the second halves of those seasons.
Last year, the Bull Dogs won their first eight games and were 12-1 at one point. They finished 17-8 and lost in the sectional final to an East Central team they had beaten by 15 points early in the season.
“One of our goals this year is consistency,” North coach Brett White said. “We’re trying to stay more consistent as the season goes along.”
Four starters return, led by 5-foot-7 junior point guard Kaylie Harmon, who led the Bull Dogs with 14.0 points and 3.2 assists per game. Avery Johnson, a 5-8 junior, averaged 9.4 points; 5-7 junior Ava Wilson scored 7.9 points and 5-9 senior Kenna Conrad added 6.5 points and a team-high 6-0 rebounds.
“We have girls that have played a lot of varsity the last couple years, and now, we’re hoping that experience from the last two or three years is going to transition into a veteran team, and will take the next step in our development,” White said. “I’m really happy with our progress. I feel like the girls put in a lot of time this summer. The girls that we had that weren’t in fall sports really worked hard in our fall workouts, and we’ve seen a lot of improvement even from the summer.”
North also figures to receive a big boost from the return of 6-0 senior Miley McClellan. McClellan started as a freshman and sophomore before missing all of last season with a torn ACL. She has committed to Gannon, which is ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Division II preseason poll.
“As unfortunate as the injury was last year, it helped her see the game better from the sidelines,” White said. “Just having her back helps with our rebounding with her length. Her experience is going to be a key for us.”
Sydni Schiefer, a 5-10 sophomore, and 5-7 junior Riley Sims also saw extensive varsity action last year. Moving up to the varsity are 5-7 sophomore Rion Streitelmeier, 5-4 sophomore Claire Finney and 5-5 senior Addy Wheatley. Two juniors — 5-9 Riley Hurt and 5-6 Ava Kerber — also hope to contribute.
“We’re really excited,” White said. “Especially on the offensive end, we have lots of people that can score. We feel like we’re pretty versatile. We can put different people in different spots and take advantage of mismatches. We feel like we’ve gotten more athletic, we’ve gotten stronger and we feel like we can push the pace.”
The Bull Dogs, who open the season Saturday at home against Franklin, again will face a rigorous January schedule. North will play powerhouses Bloomington South at home and Center Grove and Silver Creek on the road in back-to-back-to-back games.
“We have a pretty tough December, a lot of games in that stretch,” White said. “We play in the Scottsburg Tournament again this year, where we play Brownstown right off the bat, and there are some other good teams in that. That will be a challenge down there, and then our January has always been tough. But we feel like that will prepare us for the sectional.”
