Mader honored as MVL Player of the Year

Abbi Mader received her deserved honor recently as the coaches of the Miami Valley League have voted her as the conference Player of the Year, as the league has announced their player selections.

Mader led the conference in scoring and field goal percentage this season. The Tipp sophomore leader had to deal with an injury that cost her a few games, but she came back in the postseason with vengeance. 

“Abbi was the league leading scorer for the second year in a row,” said Tipp coach Brett Kopp.  “She's a well known talent around the area. Teams threw different things at her, and she still made the correct play all the time. Her rebounding and assists numbers improved tremendously. She is a tireless worker and will only get better day by day and year by year. We look forward to her progress in the next two years.”

Also named to the first team was Mady Turner, who had a very productive junior season.  

“We threw a lot on her plate early in running our offense,” Kopp said. “She was top five in the league in 3-point shooting. Teams really couldn't send everything at Abbi and leave any of our perimeter players open, especially Mady. She got better as the year got farther along. She was tasked with guarding the opponent's best guard. She is one of the top three defenders in our league.”

Speaking of defense, Tipp senior Savannah Clawson, who Kopp feels is another of the top three defenders in the MVL, was honored on the second team.

“After taking a year off, Savannah came out and provided great toughness, competitiveness, and athleticism to our group,” Kopp said. “She came off the bench most of the year because of the energy she would bring instantly when the other team was getting tired. I thought she deserved the honor of first team. She was one of the top three defenders in our league. Her leadership and competitiveness will be sorely missed.”

The final player to be honored to the first two teams was Liv Hiser, who really came on this season and will be one of the league’s top seniors next season.

“Liv really came on at the end of the year; she had multiple double-digit rebounds in our tournament run,” Kopp said. “Due to injury, she at times was relied on more to score, and she did in the biggest moments. Her toughness, strength and athleticism was a strength for us. She was a top three defender in our league as well. Like Savannah, I think she was deserving of a first team honor. We look forward to her progress going into her senior year.”

Other MVL first-team selections include Emma Dady and Alexa Moeller of Butler, Olivia Foy of Sidney, Aubrey Fritz of Stebbins, Cyndey Grigsby of West Carrollton, Brooklyn Kimball of Fairborn and Jayda Lyons of Greenville.

Morgan Sessions was also honored by the coaches, being named Honorable Mention all-conference, closing out a great senior sports year for Sessions.