What a week it was for local high school basketball teams.

Several area squads, like the Marietta and Fort Frye boys and the Waterford and Shenandoah girls, kept their seasons alive with big district tournament wins, while other teams bowed out of postseason play.

Win or lose, it was hard not to notice some of the individual efforts that really stood out. Here are some shoutouts from The Marietta Times to those players.

Shoutout to Frontier junior Jacob Bowersock.

–Bowersock had a career night in the Cougars’ tournament-opening win over Shadyside, scoring a career-high 32 points. The junior may get overlooked at times, but he’s proven to be one of the best players not only in Washington County, but the entire East District. His performance this season helped the Cougars earn the top seed in their district.

Shoutout to Belpre junior Gracie Bills.

–Bills established herself as one of the best players in Southeast Ohio this season. She averaged a double-double per game despite constantly garnering extra defensive attention and having to play through more contact than most players. Bills helped Belpre upset second-seeded Coal Grove in the district semifinals with a 20-point, 20-rebound effort, and although the Golden Eagles ultimately fell to Waterford in the district finals, Bills played her best basketball down the stretch of the season. The sky is the limit for her going into her senior year.

Shoutout to Marietta senior Lucas Miller.

–On a team with four players averaging double-digit points per game, Miller is the one starter for the Tigers who doesn’t typically light up the scoring column. However, Miller put together a clutch performance in Marietta’s 55-52 win over Miami Trace. He finished with nine points, including two free throws late in the game to help stave off a Panthers’ comeback bid. On the other end of the floor, Miller made one of the biggest plays of the game when he stole an inbound pass on a possession where Miami Trace had the opportunity to tie or take the lead with less than a minute to go. Miller and the Tigers will try to win the program’s first district championship since 1977 on Wednesday.

Shoutout to Waterford senior Elsie Malec.

–A starter on teams that made it to the state championship game the last two seasons, Malec heard all the talk about how this was going to be a rebuilding year for Waterford. The Wildcats lost three starters off last year’s state championship squad, and outside expectations didn’t give this Waterford group much of a chance to make it very far. For a while, it looked like those naysayers may be proven right, especially when the ‘Cats were 7-8 through their first 15 games. However, Malec and her teammates have stepped it up down the stretch and have led Waterford back to the Sweet 16. Malec netted 13 points and played lockdown defense in the Wildcats’ district final win over Belpre. They’ll take on Harvest Prep tonight in the regional semis.

And, finally, a major shoutout to Fort Frye senior Chatum Courson.

–Courson thought his basketball career might be over back in December when he broke his back. The Cadets’ leading scorer had to be patient and watch from the end of the bench as his teammates grinded through the regular season. However, in Saturday’s tournament opener, Courson was cleared to play. He came in off the bench and immediately hit a pair of first-quarter 3s, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Courson finished with a game-high 18 points, leading FFHS to a 58-43 win over Meadowbrook. After the game, he gave an emotional postgame interview where he opened up about his road to recovery: “It’s been a long battle. It’s been tough. Lots of therapy. Lots of nights crying in my car after the games. It’s good to come back. Missing my team. Missing the competition. It’s been a long road and I’m so happy to come back, but I couldn’t do it without the support from this community, support from my coaches, all the doctors.

“It’s been a team effort. It’s not just me. Thank the Lord. The last week I’ve really been thinking there’s a chance I could come back. I’ve been running. I’ve put my blood, sweat and tears into this last week just to come back for this game.”

The Cadets play Ridgewood tonight in the district semifinals.

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.