By Kary Booher
Back in the late 1990s and early- to mid-2000s, the Hartville Lady Eagles basketball team won six Summit Conference championships and a 2007 state championship.
The coach who guided those teams is back and, even better, takes over a team that a year ago finished 22-4, reaching a district championship game. In fact, Hartville returns eight letter winners, including five starters.
Put another way, call it a pretty good homecoming of sorts for coach Mike Percival, who spent four seasons coaching Willard and one at Sparta.
“It’s good to go back to an atmosphere you’re familiar with,” said Percival, who was 242-129 at Hartville from 1997 to 2011. “They’re very supportive. They love their basketball in Hartville.”
The Hartville job opened after Cecil Meyer took a coaching job at Thayer High School.
“When I saw the opportunity to go back, I couldn’t pass that up,” said Percival, who is 355-351 overall as a varsity coach in 29 seasons. “It took a little while over the summer for them to get the idea of what I wanted to accomplish. But once they did, they took off.”
Meyer left the program in good shape. Among returnees are seniors Emily Chisum, Mallory Hardcastle and Cheyanne Mullenix as well as juniors Ally Coltrane, Ashlynne Dickinson and Grace Still, plus sophomores Sadie Chisum and Skyler Divine.
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Both Chisum girls were first team All-Summit Conference and all-district. Sadie Chisum averaged 12.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and had identical averages (2.6) in rebounds and steals a game. Emily Chisum, who can play inside and outside, averaged 8.2 points and 3.6 rebounds a game. She also could be an emotional leader.
“The Chisum girls are going to have a lot of say for us,” Percival said. “Sadie should make us go. She is fun to watch. She played for the Magic this summer, and she’s very aggressive.”
Hardcastle, who averaged 6.5 points last year, provides a scrappy mentality, while Mullenix should be a perimeter threat after averaging 5.8 points a game. Dickinson gives the team one of its few options in the post.
“(Dickinson) played in some big spots and made a difference in big ballgames last year,” Percival said.
However, the team is moving away from playing zone defense and instead adopting a man-to-man, the preferred strategy Percival has had for years.
“So far, they’re doing a pretty good job (of adjusting),” Percival said. “The girls have bought into what we’re trying to do.”
Size also will be an issue. The team is guard-oriented.
“We’re going to have to deal with people who are bigger than us,” Percival said. “I’m sure there will be people who will look at us and want to play aggressive. But we have to be physical. That’s why we did a lot of work in the weight room this summer.”
Newcomers include freshmen Grace Culver, Aubrey Hardcastle, Bailey Martin, Katrina Prock, Katie Still and Kelsey Still.
Fortunately for Hartville, half the basketball roster played softball, which was coached by Percival and reached the state sectionals in mid-October.
“I think they’ll understand when I’m being serious and when I’m kidding,” Percival said. “But we’re excited. This bunch has been together awhile. They are a pretty cohesive unit. And that’s a hurdle we shouldn’t have to fight.”
