SETTING THE SCENE: With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Milford High School girls basketball team will be out to make a push for late season victories when it takes to the court twice this week. The Eagles (7-11, 4-7 Eastern Cincinnati Conference) close out the non-conference portion of the schedule on Wednesday night when Hughes visits the MHS Gymnasium. Then, the Eagles will try to play the role of spoiler in the ECC race when it travels to league-leading Walnut Hills for a Saturday afternoon matinee.

A LOOK BACK: January 23 vs. McNicholas: McNicholas 56, Milford 45

THE SHORT STORY

Milford controlled most of the first half and took its final lead late in the third quarter, but McNicholas scored 21 of the last 32 points of the game to send the Eagles to a 56-45 non-conference setback. A tight game that featured six ties and five lead changes went the way of the visiting Rockets as they turned 18 offensive rebounds into 20 second chance points.

RECORDS

Milford 7-10

McNicholas 6-9

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Tori Gilman 14 points, 7 steals, 6 assists

Hannah Thierauf 13 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals

Olivia Redrow 11 rebounds

McNicholas

Jaclyn Geygan 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks

Katey Byrne 14 points

NUGGET OF NOTE: Milford was held without a three-point field for the second consecutive game.

FINAL GAME STATS LINK

January 25 vs. Turpin: Turpin 42, Milford 28

THE SHORT STORY

The pre-game high of the third annual Game of Hope benefiting the Cure Starts Now didn’t carry over onto the court for Milford as the Eagles’ offense sputtered in a 42-28 loss to Turpin. The 28 points matched Milford’s lowest scoring output of the season.

RECORDS

Milford 7-11, 4-7 ECC

Turpin 12-5, 8-3 ECC

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Katelyn Rheude 9 points

Turpin

Kaitlyn Workman 18 points

Charlotte Kerregan 10 points, 8 rebounds

Ellie Holt 10 points

NUGGET OF NOTE: For the second time this season, the Eagles failed to have a player reach double figures in scoring as Katelyn Rheude’s nine points were a team-high.

FINAL GAME STATS LINK

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS: A look at Milford’s schedule for the upcoming week:

• Wednesday, Feb. 1 vs. Hughes, 7:30 p.m.
• 2016-17 Record: 1-16, 1-7 CMAC (NR Division I area coaches’ weekly poll)
• Top Scorer: Senior De’Asia Mack (18.4 ppg)
• Last Meeting: 2015-16; Milford 57, Hughes 39
• Saturday, Feb. 4 at Walnut Hills, 2:00 p.m.
• 2016-17 Record: 13-4, 8-2 ECC (5^th Division I area coaches’ weekly poll)
• Top Scorer: Sophomore Kennedi Myles (15.0 ppg)
• Last Meeting: 2016-17; Walnut Hills 61, Milford 28

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: A look at Milford’s statistical leaders through 18 games:

Points per game: Tori Gilman (14.2), Hannah Thierauf (11.2), Katelyn Rheude (6.6)

Assists per game: Tori Gilman (3.1), Katelyn Rheude (1.5), Hannah Thierauf (1.4)

Rebounds per game: Hayden White (7.3), Olivia Redrow (5.3), Katelyn Rheude (5.0)

Steals: Tori Gilman (73), Katelyn Rheude (34), Hannah Thierauf (32)

Blocks: Hayden White (13), Tori Gilman/Olivia Redrow/Ashli Sheldon (5)

Field goal percentage: Tori Gilman (.443), Hayden White (.373), Hannah Thierauf (.325)

Three-point percentage: Hannah Thierauf (.289), Ashli Sheldon (.214), Tori Gilman (.211)

Free throw percentage: Katelyn Rheude (.813), Hannah Thierauf (.731), Ashli Sheldon (.583)

INSIDE THE ECC: With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Eastern Cincinnati Conference standings are red hot with Walnut Hills holding a slim lead at 8-2. Kings and Turpin are just behind, each at 8-3, with Glen Este still alive at 7-4. The schedule of ECC conference games this week includes: Wednesday-Anderson at Walnut Hills; Saturday-Milford at Walnut Hills, Glen Este at Withrow, Kings at Turpin and Loveland at Anderson.

POLL WATCH: Milford did not receive any votes in the Jan. 30 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer Division I area coaches’ poll. After many weeks at the top, Mason has fallen out of the No. 1 position with Lakota West on the strength of 12 first place votes edging out the Comets by a single point. Mason received the other 10 top nods that were cast. McAuley and Mount Notre Dame are chasing the Greater Miami Conference duo with the ECC’s Walnut Hills wrapping up the top-five. The ECC is also represented by Glen Este in seventh with Kings, Turpin and Withrow also receiving votes. The coaches’ poll is released every Monday at Noon at preps.cincinnati.com/coachespolls.

GAME OF HOPE: On Wednesday night, January 25, 2017, the girl’s basketball programs from Milford High School and Turpin High School staged their second Eastern Cincinnati Conference match-up of the season. While the final score indicated a 42-28 Turpin victory, even the Spartans would agree that the biggest winner of the night was The Cure Starts Now Foundation. This game wasn’t just any game between two area rivals; instead it was the third annual Game of Hope and when all the pomp and circumstance of the evening was complete, a total of $5,000 was raised to benefit the fight against cancer. Click here to continue reading.

RETRO DAY: During the 2012-13 school year, five of the six seniors on this year’s Milford High School girls basketball team were members of a highly-successful eighth grade squad that went a perfect 16-0 and captured the Eastern Cincinnati Conference Championship. There coach that year? Phil Sheldon. Now fast-forward to January 14, 2017 and the quintet and their teammates were back on the court taking on ECC rival Anderson, led by a familiar face in…head coach Phil Sheldon. And it wasn’t just any game, it was a special throwback game between the two schools.

The brainchild of Milford head coach Kristi McKenney, the Eagles broke out the same jerseys the five seniors had worn as eighth graders for Sheldon for the second match-up between the schools this season. The Eagles also took time to say thank you to their former coach during a brief pre-game recognition. Click here to continue reading.

Milford Eagles Season/Career Highs

Kyrsten Brown

Points—Season: 2 at Seton; Career: 2 at Seton (2016-17)

Rebounds—Season: 2 twice; Career: 2 twice (2016-17)

Assists—Season: 1 twice; Career: 1 twice (2016-17)

Tori Gilman

Points—Season: 29 vs. Princeton; Career: 29 vs. Princeton (2016-17)

Rebounds—Season: 6 twice; Career: 7 vs. Anderson (2015-16)

Assists—Season: 6 twice; Career: 6 three times

Ali Kirk

Points—Season: 5 at Seton; Career: 5 at Seton (2016-17)

Rebounds—Season: 4 vs. Princeton; Career: vs. Princeton (2016-17)

Assists—Season: 2 at Anderson; Career: 2 at Anderson (2016-17)

Maddie Plucinski

Points—Season: N/A; Career: N/A

Rebounds—Season: N/A; Career: N/A

Assists—Season: N/A; Career: N/A

Olivia Redrow

Points—Season: 9 vs. Princeton; Career: 9 vs. Princeton (2016-17)

Rebounds—Season: 11 vs. McNicholas; Career: 11 vs. McNicholas (2016-17)

Assists—Season: 3 at Anderson; Career: 3 at Anderson (2016-17)

Katelyn Rheude

Points—Season: 20 vs. Kings; Career: 20 vs. Kings (2015-16)

Rebounds—Season: 11 vs. Kings; Career: 11 vs. Kings (2016-17)

Assists—Season: 4 twice; Career: 4 twice (2016-17)

Double-doubles—Season: 1; Career: 1

Bryn Rolfsen

Points—Season: 5 vs. Walnut Hills; Career: 5 vs. Walnut Hills (2016-17)

Rebounds—Season: 5 vs. Princeton; Career: 5 vs. Princeton (2016-17)

Assists—Season: 1 five times; Career: 1 five times (2016-17)

Ashli Sheldon

Points—Season: 12 at Northwest; Career: 12 at Northwest (2016-17)

Rebounds—Season: 7 four times; Career: 7 four times (2016-17)

Assists—Season: 2 at Northwest; Career: 2 at Northwest (2016-17)

Abby Thierauf

Points—Season: N/A; Career: N/A

Rebounds—Season: N/A; Career: N/A

Assists—Season: N/A; Career: N/A

Hannah Thierauf

Points—Season: 22 at Winton Woods; Career: 22 at Winton Woods (2016-17)

Rebounds—Season: 9 vs. McNicholas; Career: 9 vs. McNicholas (2016-17)

Assists—Season: 4 vs. Kings; Career: 4 vs. Kings (2016-17)

Hayden White

Points—Season: 11 at Glen Este; Career: 11 twice

Rebounds—Season: 14 twice; Career: 14 twice (2016-17)

Assists—Season: 3 vs. Anderson; Career: 3 vs. Anderson (2016-17)