Wildcats poised to grab share of league championship

By: 
J. Patrick Eaken

Woodmore girls basketball improved to 13-2 overall with 52-36 win at Eastwood (10-5, 7-4) Tuesday.

That puts the Wildcats one game behind Elmwood in the Northern Buckeye Conference race.

You can circle Thursday, February 4 on your calendar. Woodmore coach Kyle Clair said he is. 

That is when the Wildcats (9-2 NBC) will travel to Jerry City Road in southern Wood County to take on league-leading Elmwood (13-2, 10-1). 

“We try not to talk about it, but you know the girls are thinking about it,” Clair said. “We have a tough Genoa team (7-7, 4-5) that is coming in and we have got a couple non-league games in-between.”

Of course, with limited attendance in person, you might have to watch remotely over the internet, but it could be a good one when the Wildcats face off with the Royals, led by 6-0 playmaker Brooklyn Thrash.

If everything else in the Northern Buckeye Conference stays the way it is, that game will determine whether Woodmore can earn a share of the league title. It helped that Lake (8-5, 6-3) handed Elmwood their only league loss, 43-39, on Jan. 14. Woodmore has to also get past the Comets, who they beat by just seven, 43-36, in their first meeting.

Woodmore’s two losses came to Elmwood, 49-43, in their first game and to Lake, 74-50, but the Wildcats avenged the loss to the Flyers, winning on the road, 62-51. 

“It is crazy as always,” Clair said. “It is always that kind of season when the NBC teams get together. In the NBC, you cannot take a night off or look past anybody.”

In the win over Lake, 5-foot-4 sophomore guard Macey Bauder scored 15, 6-1 senior post and team captain Brooke Allen scored 14 and 6-1 junior post Camryn Ivy scored 10 as the Wildcats outscored the Flyers 31-18 in the second half.

Woodmore has hit the 70-point mark three times, 71-35 and 72-30 over Fostoria, and 73-34 against Port Clinton. They have scored 60-plus in five other games, including beating Eastwood 67-44 in their first meeting.

Woodmore has won six straight games heading into a non-league contest at Ottawa Hills on Monday. Clair says his team is showing maturity, and it was on display in the win over Eastwood last week.

“I think it is our resolve in games like (Eastwood),” Clair said. “We were down, and they took the lead a little bit and we didn’t quit. We kept our composure and did the things that we typically do well and that has been something that has been really impressive with us. We don’t get too down on ourselves. We know what we can do and get back to what we know.”

Clair says his leading scorer, Allen, has a shot of becoming Woodmore’s all-time leading girls basketball career scorer at Ottawa Hills Monday. Allen crossed the 1,000-point plateau in December and is averaging a double-double 20.9 points and 11.1 rebounds, and that includes 15.3 points in the paint and 5.3 rebounds on the offensive boards. Once again, she played a huge role in the second win over Eastwood.

“It was a great ballgame and we put it away in the fourth quarter, so it was a good road win for us,” Clair said. “We did not shoot the ball very well to start out, but our defense clamped down mid-third quarter and we went on a 15-2 run and Brooke just started getting some rebounds, some put-backs and we went from there.”

However, it was Bauder who stepped up matching Eastwood’s fast-paced transition game. Bauder is averaging a team-leading 3.1 steals and 2.2 deflections, which gets everything rolling.

“Obviously, our inside presence with Brooke is our foundation and we like to go to her and get her as many touches as we can,” Clair said. “But I’ll tell you, our sophomore point guard Macey Bauder has really done a nice job getting us out on the break and getting us running and getting us some easy buckets in transition. That has been huge for us.

“We wanted to get the ball into Macey’s hands as much as we can and then once we get her into transition, our other guards sprint for the wings and Brooke crashes for the block and that’s when we get our best opportunity. It started from the defensive end, and that has always been a focal point for me. We played man the whole game; got some lockdowns, and got some turnovers and that helped us on the offensive end.”

Bauder is second on the team in scoring at 7.3 points, plus she averages 3.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Sophie Blausey, a 5-8 junior guard, is averaging nine points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals. Ava Beam, a 5-9 senior guard, is averaging 6.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and two steals, Greta Bauder, a 5-7 senior guard, is averaging 6.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.6 steals and 1.7 deflections and Ivy is averaging 5.5 points and 6.3 rebounds. 

 

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