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Lordstown’s glory days recalled
Lordstown honors 1982 girls team that advanced to regional tournament
By ERIC FORTUNE
LORDSTOWN
In 1982, the Lordstown girls basketball team set two records — a perfect regular season and their first district championship.
The teams in that era featured the Kilbert sisters — Kathy, Becky, and Mary.
Becky Kilbert-Battista reflected on that 1982 team that was honored during Lordstown’s 84-16 victory over Bloomfield on Monday. She was an All-Ohio special mention that season along with being a Trumbull Interscholastic Conference all-star.
She parlayed those skills to the next level as a three-sport athlete at Hiram College.
As a member of the Terriers, Kilbert-Battista averaged 9.1 points per game, 7.1 rebounds and a 40.8 percent shooting percentage. She was inducted into the William H. Hollinger Hall of Fame in 2006.
“I have a lot of memories,” Kilbert-Battista said. “We had two very dedicated coaches. Terry Grimm was very motivating and very positive. He did all kinds of special things to motivate us. He was very meticulous.
“We had to look very professional. He was highly organized.”
A key to success were the teams Grimm scrimmaged such as Woodrow Wilson, Struthers and Boardman.
“There was a lot of pressure, but we wanted it,” Kilbert-Battista said. “It was our goal. We wanted to get to the state tournament.
“We had very supportive parents,” she said. “There was always a big community turnout for the games. Girls basketball at that time at Lordstown was huge.”
The Red Devils lost to East Canton 69-47 in the regional semifinal.
The way the team was built comes back strictly to Grimm.
“We didn’t have a LeBron James or that kind of superstar on this team,” Grimm said. “We had people on this team that were able to look at their strengths and their weaknesses.
“They were willing to play roles. Really it was by their collaborative will that we were able to have that perfect season. That was really what did it.”
So for Grimm to be back on the court with some of the players where so much went right, it was a special feeling all the way around.
Grimm had his players huddle up one last time, to recapture what was so special.
“It was my privilege to coach these ladies,” Grimm said. “I told them I hope you got something out of playing on this court because they were probably not going to play basketball at the next level.
“The point is we didn’t blink as we got win 16, 17 and 18.”
In Monday’s game, the Red Devils started fast.
“They were short [players] and we executed well against their zone,” Lordstown coach Brian Force said.
“We [forced turnovers] early and got easy buckets.”
The Red Devils posted a 34-2 first quarter as all 14 players that dressed got into the scoring column.
Dakota Bingham and Michon Peterson led with 15 and 13 points, respectfully.