New London goes from hunter to hunted in FC

New London went from one win two seasons ago to a 17-7 overall mark last year. The Wildcats were runners-up to Western Reserve in the Firelands Conference, but return a plethora of young talent that is ready to make a run at New London's first league title since the 2001-2002 season. The Wildcats won a district title in 2015-2016, but not a league championship. New London was extremely close to ending that drought in 2022-23. New London lost by two points to Western Reserve in the first meeting at home, and by four points in the rematch at Western Reserve. Despite starting three freshmen, the Wildcats were that close to winning a league title, finishing 12-2 in conference play. Now, with Western graduating seven of its top eight players, and the remaining six teams coming off losing seasons, all eyes are on the Wildcats in 2023-24. "We want to compete every game," said New London coach Eric Mitchell, now in his 11th season. "If we can do things with minimal mistakes, we give ourselves a good chance to be in every game this season. "Where we finish is up to the girls. We will play one game at a time." The second-place finish was the best since being runners-up to Crestview in the district title season in 2016. Despite the improved success, New London failed to reach a district semifinal after it suffered a 33-30 loss to Mansfield Christian in a sectional championship game. "We are still fairly young, but we are a more veteran team this season," Mitchell said. "The speed of the game is something we understand this season and know how to play with." New London will look to a pair of seniors for the most experience. Post Emilee Rowland led the team – and was second in the FC – at 11.4 points per game. She added 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks a contest. Also for the Wildcats, Alyssa Henry is a senior and will be a wing. Rowland earned All-FC first team honors, while Henry earned a spot on the second team. After that, junior wing Madison Rowland is back, but then it's a lot of sophomores for New London. "Our stats from last season were pretty even, which I think is a good thing for us because it showed balance," Mitchell said. "We were led by Emilee Rowland. This was expected as she was a three-year starter for us and is going into her final season." Point guard Raeann Mitchell, post Gracie Thomas, post Pailee Wilson, post Valery Henry, and wing Olivia Yetter are all back for the Wildcats. "We had eight different girls lead us in scoring last season," coach Mitchell said. "Raeann Mitchell and Alyssa Henry were our leaders in assists, both dishing out a little over two a game, at 2.5 and 2.3 assists per game respectively. That is a stat I want to see improve with girls finishing at the rim on good passes." "Offensively, we will be able to play with pace and/or patience this season," he added. "It was something new for us last season and we really have improved on it." Mitchell said he expects junior wing Madison Smith to factor into the team's lineup this season. "Defensively, we are big, long, and have some speed," Mitchell said. "We will be a physical team again this season." Last season was a stark turnaround for New London. The Wildcats won just 18 total games the previous four seasons combined. "Our biggest key this year is starting each game fast and ending strong. We realize that we have a lot returning from last season, but we will go out and earn everything we get this season," Mitchell said. "Last season, we let teams speed us up more than we wanted and it caused too many turnovers. Raeann Mitchell did a nice job running the offense as a freshman, but had to transition to the pace of varsity quickly and we saw it at times." Mitchell said the freshmen really grew up last season and adjusted quicker than he thought they would. "We have to keep Raeann on the floor," he said. "Our offense runs better with her at the point and it keeps Alyssa at the wing, where she succeeds more. It is going to take a complete team effort from all nine girls this season if we want to accomplish the goals we have set. "We want to control the pace of the game and make teams try and play to our strengths," he added. "If we defend the way we are capable of playing and take care of the ball night in and night out, we can put ourselves in a good position every game. One possession at a time, one game at a time." The improvement was great last year, but how New London does this year could be even bigger and better. "I truly believe that any of our girls could have a big game on any given night," Mitchell said. "Last season, every one of the returning players led our team in scoring at least one game. "That says a lot about our balance. We don't need a superstar. We just need consistent effort from all nine girls."