BY YANEEK SMITH, BEACON CONTRIBUTOR

OAK HARBOR — Ryann and Riley Steinbrick are primed for big senior seasons to help Oak Harbor get back to its winning ways.

The 5-10 Ryann Steinbrick, who played last season after recovering from a torn ACL she sustained as a sophomore, averaged 12.5 points and 5.1 rebounds last year. Riley Steinbrick, who is 5-9 and averaged 12.2 points and 5.0 rebounds last year, will be the point guard, and 5-8 sophomore Hollie Robinson is the third guard.

Katie May, a 5-9 senior, is a wing/post, and 5-8 sophomore wing Nora Schmidt is currently battling it out with 5-9 junior Emma Hand for the final starting spot in the post. Other players that could see some playing time are 5-7 sophomore post Megan Rife and 5-7 junior post Jaclyn Cory.

The Steinbrick twins and May are returning starters.

The rotation, which doesn’t include much size, is pretty thin and includes just eight players.

“Whoever doesn’t start will get a lot of playing time,” said Oak Harbor coach Adam Steinbrick, “and we’re going to develop our younger girls.”

Those post players must help replace the production lost from the graduation of Auna Tack, who averaged 12.1 points and 9.3 rebounds last year, and Kaitlin Paul, who was also a starter.

“That’s one of the things we have to replace,” said Steinbrick, who was the JV coach under Tom Kontak before taking over last season. “Auna was a tremendous rebounder for us. We’ve got to fill that void, it’s one of the things we stress, and that’s going to be a key. We’ve got to be physical and be able to rebound. We’re not overly blessed with size, but we’re fast and athletic. We’ve got to make up for it with quickness and effort.

“We’re going to look to spread the floor and try to put other teams in a situation where we like to isolate some players and take advantage of our scorers. We’re going to give several different looks and look to attack.”

Steinbrick likes his team’s athleticism and believes it can be used to wreak havoc on the defensive end.

“Like any great team, it starts with ball pressure and being able to lock down your opponents. We’re trying to do that and get the girls in shape,” he said. “Quite a few of our girls, because of the tournament run in soccer and volleyball, were short some practices, but they’ve picked it up well and are working extremely hard.

“I like our team camaraderie. Some girls played for me as a JV coach, so some of them have been with me for three years. It’s about them understanding the terminology after being with me and everyone being on the same page. It shows in practices and scrimmages. When you are trying to put a program together, it takes some time, and I can see where it’s starting to click.”

Steinbrick expects Margaretta to be the top team in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division. Port Clinton has a new coach, Willard has had some good seasons recently and Edison and Huron are in the mix as well.