'People underestimate her a lot': Leah Hall earned what she wanted for Gibsonburg
Leah Hall didn't play much coming off the bench last season.
That makes the Gibsonburg sophomore even more impressed with freshman Elly Evarts. Hall, however, knew what was coming and she wasn't going to witness it sitting down.
"Her improvement the last 12 months is special. She was always an athlete, now she's a basketball player," Gibsonburg coach Bo Evarts said. "She plays a role defensively and rebounding. She can score. She does everything. She doesn't care how many points.
"She's critical for us. From freshman (year) to sophomore was amazing; if she continues that progression we're going to be ecstatic."
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Hall dropped in two free throws to help seal a 49-41 victory over Toledo Christian in Division IV for Gibsonburg's first district championship in program history.
"Come on now, Leah doesn't always make her free throws," Elly Evarts said of the 34% shooter. "She made two, after she got hit in the face. People underestimate her a lot."
The same can be said of Gibsonburg.
"Nobody thought little old Gibsonburg would come and beat Toledo Christian," Hall said. "We showed everyone. We lost to Toledo Christian [in a district semifinal] last season. It's special how hard we've worked. People thought we'd be a one-man team.
"Shut down one girl [Evarts], you shut down the team. We proved that wrong. It's a huge win; we're never done."
Hall is much more suited to her role than she was with the ball in her hands on junior varsity.
"Now that she doesn't have to be point guard with Elly here," Bo Evarts said. "They're best friends, they do things; they play Fortnite. You can see they have that connection."
Hall averages 7.8 points and 6.5 rebounds. She joins Jaz Morant to close on passing lanes with long arms and plucks 2.7 steals per game.
They help Evarts lead an offense that is dangerous in transition and with Evarts probing.
"Not necessarily scoring, but rebound, box out and get assists," Hall said. "If I get points, that's extra."
She shoots nearly 50% from the field and doesn't shoot 3-pointers.
"Her real talent is offensive rebounds," Bo Evarts said. "She gets two or three a game. She's smart, she gets good position and she boxes out."
Her stats might not pop, but Hall's teammates know how important she is.
"Take Lakota, they thought they had to contain me and Jaz," Elly Evarts said. "Leah gets the rebounds and she hustles after every ball. Leah is a key."
That's exactly what she had in mind.
"Last year, I didn't play at all," Hall said. "I went to all our stuff this summer. I wanted that spot. My goal was to play a role. There's no feeling like winning, like we're doing now. We were unknown to others. We are us."
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This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Leah Hall helps Gibsonburg girls basketball claim first district title
