Wednesday, March 14, 2001
Eastern Brown unbeaten, determined
By Dave Schutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
One of the Cincinnati area's most successful girls basketball programs continues to be one of the best-kept secrets.
Eastern Brown, located in Sardinia about 50 miles east of Cincinnati — and with an enrollment of 178 girls — has gone undefeated during the past two regular seasons. The team has built Ohio's longest regular-season winning streak, 67 games, dating to the 1998-1999 season.
Coach Richard Kiser's Warriors, 25-0 this season, have qualified for a second consecutive trip to the Division III final four. They will play Hamler Patrick Henry (24-1) in the semifinals at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus. The winner advances to Saturday's 11 a.m. championship game.
“Basically, we have the same team as last year,” Kiser said. “We graduated two starters and the first substitute, but we had three good starters back and Jessi Ellis, who missed last year due to surgery.”
Kiser's tenure at the school began in the 1976-77 season, and the Warriors are 433-119 (78.4 percent) since. Kiser has had only one losing season, 9-13 in 1995-96.
The Warriors are a balanced team with outstanding depth, with 11 girls seeing action in every game.
The team's three leading scorers are guards. Junior Micah Harvey averages 17.3 points, with senior Elizabeth Burrows (12.6 ppg) and sophomore Brenna Morris (10.4) also in double figures. Burrows has committed to Northern Kentucky University.
The other starters are Sarah Jodrey, a 5-foot-9 senior, and Ellis, a 5-8 senior, both averaging 3.9 points. Brandy Koehler, Abby Scott and Amanda Hauck play key roles as substitutes.
"“When we walked into the gym for the first practice, there was a banner noting we were in the state Final Four last year,” Burrows said. “Everyone agreed that we have to do better than that.”
Burrows recalled the agony following last year's loss to Bluffton in the semifinals.
“We were all crying because of all the hard work we put in and that we had to start over again,” Burrows said. “This year our plan is for the tears to be for joy, not from the hurt of losing.”
The Warriors average 67.1 points a game while the swarming defense holdsand hold opponents to an average of 35.
Although Patrick Henry has a size advantage, the Patriots start only one senior (Anita Meyer). The remainder of the lineup includes juniors twin sisters Nikki and Lydsey Zgela and sophomore Becca Flowers and Karyn Creager.
“The community is behind us and the town is decorated to honor the girls,” Kiser said. “The gym is full most home games and this support has meant a lot to the team.”
If The Warriors prevail, they will meet the winner of the Wyoming/Regina game Saturday at 11 a.m. for the state championship.
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Eastern Brown unbeaten, determined
