DON McCORMACK
Taking the shutters off the variety store windows for a day...
Proud PV papa
It’s been a great winter — again — for the Pymatuning Valley Lakers girls basketball program.
Fresh off a 20-0 regular season a year ago, coach Jeff Compan’s Lakers are leading the Northeastern Athletic Conference with a 7-0 mark — 11-2 overall — headed into tonight’s conference clash against visiting Maplewood.
On top of that, Compan’s Crew was ranked 15th in Division III by the Associated Press in its weekly poll, released Tuesday night. The Laker girls are the only area team to show up in either the girls or boys state poll so far this season.
But the Lakers have winners off the floor, too.
Compan and his wife, Emily, welcomed a son into the world back on Dec. 18.
Rylan Thomas Compan was born 8 pounds, 12 ounces and 20.5 inches long, perhaps setting up a future as a small forward.
Passing fancy
While we’re on the subject of PV girls hoops, a tip of our cap goes out to Laker star Olivia Holt.
The PV senior — the area’s leader in assists per game at 7.8, the best mark by any area girls or boys player to this point in the season — didn’t recently pass the school record for assists in a single game — she annihilated it.
Holt, a first-team Star Beacon All-Ashtabula County performer and a Division III honorable-mention All-Ohio selection a year ago as a junior, doled out 14 times in a recent NAC victory at Brookfield.
That crushed PV’s former record of 10 — which Holt and former Laker standout Marisa Jenkins had shared. Holt had matched Jenkins’ 10-assist standard five times before piling up 14 in the triumph at Brookfield.
Terrific trio
Geneva, Jefferson and Conneaut finished 1-2-3, respectively, in the 2008-09 Northeastern Conference girls basketball title chase — the final season for NEC girls hoops.
Coach Nancy Barbo’s Eagles have picked up where they left off after winning the final two NEC titles, leading the Premier Athletic Conference with a 7-1 league record and stand at 9-3 overall.
Coach Rod Holmes’ Jefferson Falcons sit at 9-5 after last night’s win against visiting Riverside at the new Falcon Gym and coach Tony Pasanen’s Conneaut Spartans stand at 9-4 headed into Friday night’s game against visiting SS. John and Paul at Garcia Gymnasium.
That means the top three teams in the NEC from last season — Geneva now leading the PAC and Jefferson and Conneaut living the lonely life of independents — are a collective 27-12 (.692) headed into the weekend.
McCormack is the sports editor of the Star Beacon. Reach him at donmac@suite224.net.
