Bethany made a push toward the end of last season, winning three of its last five, including a tournament victory against Franciscan.
The Bison gave PAC conference tourney runner-up Washington & Jefferson everything it wanted in a 66-62 quarterfinal loss.
Then freshman Makenzee Mason was named Freshman of the Year after averaging 15.7 and fellow frosh and high school teammate Nikki Bradbury was second in the conference in 3-point percentage and 3-pointers made.
Bethany lost two players from that team, and return all the key cogs, both in senior leadership and experience, plus the mass of talent from last season’s newcomers.
While the 2021 recruiting class is less numerous than 2020—head coach Brian Sansom signed on five recruits compared to nine a season ago—they are packed with talent and designed to bolster the Bison and, in some cases, have an immediate impact.
“With what we have returning and some of the success we had (last season), there are increased expectations, but we still have a way to go,” Sansom said. “But our expectations are starting to rise to the level I thought they would be. That’s not to put undue pressure on them, but I think that we have the talent now to put it together on the floor and be more successful in the wins and losses.
“But not only that, but we are doing a lot of good things right. They are good kids, good academically.”
This year’s class brings in five players, all from either Ohio or West Virginia: Shenandoah’s Ashleigh Wheeler, Grand Valley’s Alexis Mahaffey, and Fairfield Union’s Marissa Malone in Ohio will be joined by Wheeling Park’s Lindsey Garrison and Williamstown’s Jayla Wiseman from West Virginia.
Two of the Ohio Valley’s Best
The easiest place to start in examining the 2021 class is examining the local talent who soon will be donning the Bison Green & White.
For Wheeler, it’s almost fitting that she opted to join the family at Bethany, and no, not just because her alma mater and Bethany share the same color scheme.
Her coach, Sami Schott, is a former Bison player likely gave her the full lowdown on playing at Bethany and in the PAC.
Statistically, Wheeler’s scoring numbers dropped her final season from nearly 17 per game to 12.1. But Wheeler’s role shifted to distributor as she piloted a talented group of freshmen and turned in nearly double digits in assists per game.
She developed into the perfect floor general for Schott’s Zeps, yet still displayed an ability to score 20-plus on any given night thanks for her abilities as a multi-level scorer.
She’ll battle for a starting role right away with Lexi Reed at the point-guard position.
“Ashleigh and Lexi Reed will share those point duties,” “Sansom said. “Ashleigh can be a really good point guard for us.”
Wheeler can both hit from outside or drive the lane and attack the basket, as anyone that watched Shenandoah’s multi-overtime thriller against Shadyside can attest.
Garrison, meanwhile, was one of the top 3-point shooters in all of W.Va. the last two seasons and earned second-team all-W.Va., serving as captain her senior season.
Solid at the lane and capable of scoring off the dribble, Garrison will team with Bradbury and form a dangerous 1-2 combination from behind the arc.
“Having both Nikki and Lindsay as an option out on the wing will be nice,” Sansom said. “We’ll be able to spread the floor out a lot more as we’ve added a few more great shooters to the fold.
“We have a good mix of players who can shoot from the outside as well as attack the basket from the wing. I’m really excited.”
Wings and Posts
Bethany developed into a four-guard team last season, with Cameron’s Kelsie Meintel usually manning the lone post position. Meintel returns and will be a major fixture yet again.
But Sansom picked up some inside assistance in Grand Valley’s Mahaffey.
“She’s a true post with a 5-11, 6-foot frame,” Sansom said. “She’ll be a five for us.”
Mahaffey is a capable post scorer, but where she makes her biggest contributions is on the board. As a senior, the Ashtabula County Player of the Year averaged 8.6 points, but it’s the eye-popping 16.2 rebounds that stands out the most. For her career, she’s the GVHS rebounding leader with 870.
Also a capable post defender, she averaged 2.5 blocks per season.
Malone scored 9.8 as a 5-8 senior at Fairfield Union. She factors in as a 3/4 type player and give the Bison another quality defender to go with her offensive capabilities.
“We see her as a guard/forward type of player and can help us in either spot,” Sansom said.
Finally, Wiseman averaged around 11 and six as a senior at Williamstown, using her 5-9 frame to provide a nice punch both inside and from mid-range.
She earned honorable-mention all-W.Va. honors as a senior.
“She’ll settle nicely into a role at the four position,” Sansome said.
The diversity in recruits will continue to allow Bethany’s offensive philosophy to morph into the guard-oriented attack featured toward the end of last season that proved most successful.
“It’s become more of a continuity, ball-screen, flare-screen, down-screen type of offense,” Sansom said. “We will drive and kick and try to get to the basket, or kick out to our shooters.
“We plan to stick with that moving forward, using one post and four guards, along those lines. We’re going to spread the floor and make us hard to guard.”
