Cast in Steel: Milliron’s Furnace Always Runs Hot on the Basketball Court for Clarion-Limestone

STRATTANVILLE, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Frances Milliron knows only one speed.

Breakneck.

(Photo by Dave Cyphert/ProPoint Media Photography)

On a scale of one to 10, Milliron is always turned up to an 11. The needle is always on full for the senior guard on the Clarion-Limestone girls basketball team.

“She’s a kid with a very high motor,” said Clarion-Limestone coach Gus Simpson. “There is no taking it easy. She never takes a possession off. What speaks volumes for Frances is, if you would have seen her freshman, sophomore years — we took some pretty good beatings then — Frances was still sprinting the floor and knocking the basketball out from behind kids when they were dribbling down the floor. She still had the willingness to throw her body everywhere.”

Fortunes are much better these days, both for Milliron and Clarion-Limestone.

Milliron is still flying all over the court and the Lions are winning.

“She’s just an incredible kid,” Simpson said. “She’s an example for the rest of our program to follow.”

Milliron is off to another strong start for Clarion-Limestone, which has gotten out of the shoot at 5-2.

The 5-foot-4 Milliron is averaging 14.4 points per game and has contributed in other ways, be it rebounding, assists or steals.

She had a double-double with 15 points and 10 steals against Keystone earlier in the season. Milliron is one of the reasons why the Lions have already posted nearly as many wins as they did all of last season when they went 7-12.

“I think everyone was pretty motivated,” Milliron said. “In the summer, we went up to DuBois and played and we did a lot of open gyms to get ready for the season.

“I wanted to get better inside, finishing shots,” Milliron said. “Assists, too. I wanted to help my teammates a little more.”

Milliron, despite her size, also worked on her skills in the post.

It’s still a work in progress, but Milliron is determined to add that aspect to her already well-rounded game. Because it is relatively new to her, she’s had to do way too much thinking and not enough playing instinctively to her liking.

“It’s a little frustrating because I have to sit there and think about what I’m going to do with my feet,” Milliron said. “I have to make sure I don’t travel, so that’s kind of frustrating having to think instead of just doing. I’m definitely better than I was in the summer.”

Milliron is much more comfortable shooting the ball from the outside rather than making moves in the paint. It is what she has excelled at since she first picked up a basketball and dribbled it.

She’s only gotten more potent and consistent over the years.

“I remember my freshman, sophomore years, I would go on streaks were I would just shoot lights out for three of four games, then I’d get into a slump,” Milliron said. “My coach would tell me, ‘You’re gonna get out of that. It’s gonna become better for you as you put more shots up and get used to being in those situations during a game.’”

Has that happened for Milliron?

“Um,” she says, chuckling and then pausing. “For the most part, yeah.”

Milliron has developed a short memory — most good shooters are forgetful.

She keeps shooting, whether she starts a game scorching hot or freezing cold.

“I try not to stop shooting,” Milliron said. “I think I’ve overcome some of that doubt, but I’m definitely still working on it.”

Clarion-Limestone as a team has also had to reshape its collective thinking.

In 2017-18, the Lions were 1-21. The next year, they were 2-20. Clarion-Limestone has shown marked improvement during the last two seasons, but the Lions are thinking much bigger this campaign.

“I think we can make it to the championship game,” Milliron said. “Even during the summer, Coach Simpson was like, ‘We’re going to the playoffs.’ He has goals for us and that was one of them, to be in that championship game.”

Milliron saw a lot of those early beatdowns first hand when she was a freshman. She started a few games, but saw a lot of varsity minutes off the bench.

That time has served her well now.

“Having that experience early on definitely helped me,” Milliron said. “Some kids play varsity starting their junior year and it’s all new to them because they’ve only played JV. Having that experience as a freshman and sophomore, taking those lumps, really propelled me to be able to do what I am doing now.”

Milliron’s basketball experience goes back to when she was very young.

Some of her first memories involved basketball; She started to play in kindergarten.

Her mother, Barbi, played in high school at Brookville and her grandfather was a longtime basketball coach and referee.

“I was always around basketball,” Milliron said. “Every time we go to the Brookville Tournament, her name is on one of the trophies and it’s always pointed out to me.”

Milliron hopes to get her name on some trophies.

She’ll have more chances after high school.

Milliron has already signed to play at Penn State DuBois next season. Playing in college has long been one of her goals.

“My mom asked me, either my freshman or sophomore year, ‘Do you want to play (in college)?’” Milliron said. “My answer was yes. Absolutely.”

Milliron had choices, but soon Penn State DuBois became the only one for her.

“I applied to three schools and filled out the sports application for all three,” Milliron said. “The very next day, (Penn State DuBois women’s basketball coach Pat Lewis) responded to my application. Even when I went on tour, he was always helpful, even if it wasn’t just basketball. He was always involved, so that was really nice.”

Milliron is excited to begin that next chapter.

“And nervous,” she added, chuckling. “But excited.”

For now, she has some unfinished business at Clarion-Limestone.

“We 100% have a lot of talent,” Milliron said. “We can win a championship. I believe that.”