Monroe Girls Basketball Tested With Early Adaptability During 5-2 Start To The Season
(Photo by AJ Fullam / 6SPhotography)
Jason Frazier saw possibility the moment he took over the Monroe High School girls basketball program during the offseason.
Experience was returning. Familiar faces filled the roster. And the foundation, he believed, was already in place.
What followed instead was an early test of adaptability — and the start of a 5-2 season shaped by resilience.
“I knew we were returning everyone,” Frazier said. “We had a ton of varsity experience. Then right before the season, everything changed.”
Just days before the opener, two projected starters stepped away because of soccer conflicts. Another, senior Mikayla Tolbert, tore her ACL.
In an instant, Monroe’s plans vanished, and the Hornets were forced to reimagine their identity.
“All of a sudden, what we were looking at and how we were planning to play was gone,” Frazier said. “We were down three starters.”
The response wasn’t panic, but adjustment. With limited depth and fewer athletes than expected, Monroe leaned into toughness and trust — principles Frazier and his staff emphasized from day one.
A few weeks later, one of the Martinez sisters returned after buying into the program’s culture, prompting careful conversations involving players, coaches and administrators.
“We met for hours and hours over several days to make sure we did this right,” Frazier said.
Now, roughly a month into the season, the Hornets are beginning to see the payoff. Monroe is deeper, more athletic and better equipped to manage the grind.
Opponents, Frazier said, are still trying to figure them out.
“There’s so much opportunity,” the coach said. “We hit a roadblock. We had to take a detour. But now we’re back on track.”
That progress was underscored by a recent win over Ross, a program Monroe hadn’t beaten in five years.
“They were celebrating each other,” Frazier said. “Everybody bought in. That’s when you know it’s working.”
Frazier admits he loves winning, but says the joy comes from watching his players connect during a season that demands six days a week, multiple games and constant pressure.
“This isn’t an easy grind,” Frazier said. “But when you see them enjoying each other’s success, it makes you excited to come back the next day.”
Monroe is not the same team it was a month ago, and Frazier said more growth is coming.
“This isn’t coach-speak,” the coach said. “In a month, this team is going to be entirely different.”
Leadership has anchored that evolution. Seniors Jordan McComas, Emma Adolph and Ryan Buskirk provide consistency and daily example.
Asked what defines this Monroe team, Frazier didn’t hesitate.
“A team that’s fighting every day to be the toughest team on the floor,” he said. “Physically and mentally. And a team that’s selfless.”
Those traits — toughness, selflessness and belief — have defined Monroe’s 5-2 start and point toward a season still unfolding.
Bosse taking on leadership role during senior season on Ross girls basketball team
Carmen Bosse knew her senior season with the Ross High School girls basketball team would look different the moment she’d step on the court.
The familiar outlet passes, the quick reads and easy baskets that came from playing alongside Southwestern Buckeye League standout Lanie Lipps were gone. So was the comfort of a veteran backcourt.
But what remained was opportunity — and responsibility — for Bosse to become the centerpiece of a program navigating change.
“I feel like for us, it’s a big change,” Bosse said. “We lost a couple really good seniors we relied on last year. We definitely miss them, especially having Lanie, but it’s kind of forced all of us seniors to step up and just play our roles.”
Ross is 4-3 overall and 3-0 in the SWBL Southwestern Division after Saturday’s win over Franklin, an early-season record shaped by adjustment as much as results.
The Rams went 18-6 a year ago and graduated five seniors, including Lipps, the league’s second-leading scorer at 18 points per game.
That reality has elevated Bosse’s role on both ends of the floor.
“Playing off Lanie the last couple years, it was a little bit different,” Ross coach Ben Buehner said. “Now Carmen is the main focus. The defense is different, the looks are different, and our kids are still learning how to do their jobs to help her.”
Bosse, a Thomas More University commit, has embraced the shift from finisher to creator. Many of her baskets once came off assists from Lipps, who controlled tempo and spacing.
This winter, Bosse is being asked to generate offense, read collapsing defenses and trust teammates to knock down shots.
“I knew the offense was going to be different,” Bosse said. “A lot of my baskets came from Lanie’s assists because she saw the court so well. Now, if they collapse on me in the paint, I’ve got to kick it out because my teammates can hit those threes.”
Senior Sophie Bowers — pressed into point guard duties — has helped steady the backcourt, while shooters on the perimeter have been key to creating space for Bosse inside. Seniors Liv Powers, Mya Montgomery and Kelis Egodotaye will see their duties increase this season as well.
And when the Rams execute, Buehner said, Bosse’s presence changes everything.
“Carmen has so much space when we hit shots and do our job,” Buehner said. “She’s able to get offensive rebounds and finish. When we’re cluttered and forcing things, it’s hard for her to do anything. But when everyone does their job, everybody gets better.”
Ross’ learning curve has shown in stretches. Mental mistakes defensively and tough stretches have tested the Rams, but Buehner believes the growth is steady.
“When we stay solid and make the normal play — don’t try to be the hero — we compete,” Buehner said. “When we don’t, it can be a rough go.”
The leadership extends beyond scoring for Bosse. With five seniors in the lineup, she’s become a steady voice during moments of adversity, a role she didn’t always have to fill before.
“I have a way bigger role than I think I did,” Bosse said. “Not just scoring, but making the right plays and picking up my team when they’re down.”
As Ross continues to find its footing, Bosse remains the constant — the player opponents key on and the leader her teammates rely on.
“But we can’t let one player and one game define us,” Buehner said. “It’s about consistent effort. If we keep doing the right things, we’ll keep getting better.”
Franklin girls basketball ‘just trying to get a little bit better’ one day at a time
The record says Franklin’s girls basketball team is still finding its footing, but the direction is familiar.
Seven games into the season, the Wildcats are barreling forward under the leadership of John Rossi — a proven winner who has returned to Franklin with a steady hand and a long view.
The early wins, hard lessons and visible growth echo a blueprint Rossi helped establish during his previous run with the program.
“We told the kids early on it was baby steps,” Rossi said. “Now they’re big-girl steps.”
Those steps were evident Saturday even in a 52-33 defeat against Ross, a veteran program that has become a measuring stick in the Southwestern Buckeye League.
After Ross jumped out early, the Wildcats responded by winning the second quarter and cutting the deficit to one at halftime. The second half, Rossi said, exposed areas his group — which only has two seniors — is still learning to manage.
“We went four or five minutes without getting anything offensively,” Rossi said. “That’s eight, nine, 10 possessions. Against good teams like Ross, you can’t have those blank spells.”
Still, Franklin stayed engaged defensively and fought through every possession. Rossi credited his players for matching Ross’ poise and physicality, particularly against one of the league’s toughest individual matchups.
“That kid is a beast,” Rossi said of Ross standout Carmen Bosse, a Thomas More commit. “She’s a matchup problem for everybody in our league.”
Rossi’s return to Franklin brings a track record that few in the area can match. He coached the Wildcats from 2018 through 2022, guiding the program to a Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division title in 2019, back-to-back district championships in 2018 and 2019, and a regional runner-up finish in 2019.
In 25 years as a girls basketball coach in Southwest Ohio, Rossi has earned more than 300 career victories.
That experience shapes his approach now, as Franklin works through a demanding early schedule and a 3-4 start. The Wildcats can match last year’s win total at 4-16 with one more victory.
“My job’s a teaching coach,” Rossi said. “Make sure we’re putting a really good product out there that the community can be proud of.”
Progress is also showing across the program. Franklin’s junior varsity team recently earned an overtime win against Ross, something Rossi views as a key building block.
“We’ve all got to find ways to win,” he said. “It’s not just going to snap your fingers.”
With 19 players in the program, Rossi and his staff have made difficult early decisions, including moving players between varsity and JV. Rossi said the way those decisions have been handled reflects growth beyond the box score.
“When kids 15, 16, 17 years old accept that, that shows character,” he said. “That shows maturity.”
Practices remain purposeful and efficient, especially during stretches with multiple Monday games. Rossi leans on a disciplined routine — focused scouting, shooting and concise workouts — while keeping the long view in mind.
“It’s one day at a time,” Rossi said. “Just trying to get a little bit better than we were the day before.”
That philosophy helped Franklin reach championship heights before, and Rossi believes it will again. The Wildcats may still be shaping this season’s identity, but under his guidance, the steps are steady, intentional and unmistakably forward.
“I hate losing more than I like winning,” Rossi said. “But this thing takes time.”
For Franklin, the path is familiar — and the climb has already begun.
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(Photo by AJ FULLAM / 6SPHOTO)
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