BUTLER COUNTY — Winter high school sports are in full force around the Butler County area.
Here are some notable highlights from this past week of action:
Fears, Farris reach milestones at Talawanda
Talawanda senior Kylee Fears bucketed a game-high 19 points in the Brave’s 39-31 victory over Mount Healthy on Wednesday, Dec. 14 to become the school’s points leader in both girls and boys basketball.
“She just puts it back up, and they can’t stop her,” Brave coach Mary Jo Huismann said of Fears. “She’s so strong. She’s religious on getting strong.”
Fears has now collected over 1,274 points.
Talawanda senior Taylor Farris scored a career-high 30-points in the Brave’s 72-43 win over St. Ursula on Saturday, Dec. 17.
That helped Farris reach over 1,000 points in her high school career.
“Taylor is just getting better and better,” Huismann said. “She’s been playing some great basketball.”
Crim hits 1,000-point club at Fairfield
Fairfield senior guard Deshawne Crim scored his 1,000th career point during the Indians’ 51-45 victory over Hamilton on Tuesday, Dec. 13.
Crim knocked down a free throw to reach the milestone.
“Crim is another coach,” Fairfield coach DJ Wyrick said. “He’s always talking and giving everyone confidence. I think that shows how far he’s come as a leader. He’s a heck of a player.”
Crim averages a team-best 21.0 points a game, which is second in the Greater Miami Conference. Fairfield is now 7-0 overall and stands alone at 5-0 on top of the GMC.
Lakota West girls bowling lead GMC
The Lakota West girls bowling team sits at the top of the Greater Miami Conference with a 6-0 overall, 2-0 league record.
The Firebirds snuck by St. Ursula 2362-2331 in their most recent victory on Thursday, Dec. 15.
Lakota West junior Reese Volk leads the conference with a 191.8 average. She bowled a season-high game of 232 in the season opener against Lebanon on Nov. 30.
The Firebirds started the season off 7-1 in 2020-2021.
Cincinnati Christian boys bowling off to hot start
The Cincinnati Christian boys bowling team has won five straight and currently sits at 5-1 on the season — the best start in school history.
“The kids are exuding with confidence,” Cougars first-year coach Jimmy Beltz said. “We’ve really focused on what we can do as a team to win.”
CCS sophomore Keller Harrison is fourth in the Miami Valley Conference with a 196.5 average. Junior David Brown has a 171 average.
“Keller has got a strong form,” Beltz said. “He performs really well under pressure.”
Cincinnati Christian won a program-high 17 matches last season.
Badin girls basketball has six-game win streak
The Badin girls basketball team is 8-1 on the season after winning its sixth-game in a row with a 68-52 victory over McNicholas on Saturday, Dec. 17.
Rams freshman Braelyn Even averages 15 points a game for the Rams, who are tied with Alter atop the Greater Catholic League Coed at 5-0.
“We are young and lost our top three scorers from last year,” Badin coach Tom Sunderman said. “But we are more balanced and have girls who can both score and play on the defensive end.
“After two years in the regional finals, these girls know how to get there,” Sunderman added. “They just go out and take it one game at a time.”
The Rams have tied their best start since the 2009-2010 season when they also went 8-1.
Lakota East girls basketball tops in GMC
The Lakota East girls basketball team is off to a 9-1 start and stands alone atop the GMC at 6-0.
“I’m just super proud of these kids and how they’ve been focused,” Lakota East coach Dan Wallace said following a recent 52-48 win over Mason. “The prep work that they did, from the baseline out-of-bounds plays, rebounding, free throw shooting, everything.
“I think this was the best rebounding from a Lakota East team that I’ve seen,” Wallace added after the Mason victory. “Our kids held their position and boxed out. There were a lot more extra plays that we got because of the extra effort and boxing out.”
Leading the way for the Thunderhawks are seniors Savannah Smith (11.9 ppg) and Madison French (9.2 ppg).
