Woodmore's girls basketball team could have thrown in the towel after one of its best players, senior wing/post Meghan Haar, went down with a season-ending knee injury in the first game of the season.

To the Wildcats' credit, that didn't happen.

Third-year coach Kyle Clair's squad entered Thursday's scheduled game against two-time defending Suburban Lakes League champion Lake with a 10-6 record that included a 7-2 mark in the SLL. The 'Cats were also riding a five-game winning streak.

“Preseason rankings don't mean a whole lot, but people had us placed around third in the league,” Clair said. “When Meghan, our only returning All-SLL player (honorable mention) went down early it was, 'What's Woodmore going to do now?' Give credit to the girls. We've surprised some people by doing it without one of our go-to players.”

Haar played three quarters in the opener against Old Fort before she tore the ACL in her left knee. Haar's loss left the Wildcats with just three seniors – 5-foot-11 post Audrey Thorbahn and guards Chelsea Garver and Bailey Ulinski.

“It was definitely tough,” Thorbahn said. “Meghan is a great defensive and offensive player. I knew with her gone, everyone needed to step up. I definitely took that and tried to work harder to kind of take her place.”

Woodmore 5-foot-11 senior post Audrey Thorbahn (35). (Press photo by Dean Utendorf /www.WoodmorePhotos.com)

Taylor Avers, a 5-6 junior, moved into Haar's spot at the wing and post positions.

“Taylor is a smaller-framed girl,” Clair said, “but she stepped up pretty well in that spot. I give her a lot of credit.”

Defense has been Woodmore's focal point all season. The Wildcats are allowing just 43 points a game.

“Lately, probably since the second half against Elmwood in the beginning of January, we started to get some consitency offensively with inside-outside looks,” Clair said. “Our perimeter people have been knocking down some shots and that's really helped us a lot.”

Kalyn Tate, a junior guard, and sophomore guard Katie Blausey have been instrumental in getting the Wildcats' offense on track over the past few weeks. Tate is averaging 6.6 points a game and Blausey is averaging 3.3.

“They come in and knock down a couple threes and stretch out the defense a little bit,” Clair said, “and then we come back and go to work with Audrey.”

Thorbahn, the team's tallest player, has increased her scoring and rebounding averages dramatically. She averaged 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds as a junior, but those numbers have increased to 10.6 and 6.3, respectively, this season.

“She's welcomed the leadership role, actually,” Clair said. “She played quite a bit last year and sparingly her sophomore year. She blended in last year, but this year she's become comfortable with becoming a leader. She's a team captain. She makes herself available on the court, meaning she does a good job of fitting in in the post and getting square with the passes so we can see her and get her the ball. She uses her body really well in the post.”

Thorbahn said she takes her role as a team captain very seriously.

“I was definitely excited to be a senior and to be named captain,” she said. “That was a really great honor. It's more of lead by example for me; it's my nature. I enjoy being someone the other girls look up to.”

Thorbahn, a 4.0 student who plans to major in pharmacy in college, said she had a good feeling that Woodmore would be respectable this season. The 'Cats did, after all, return several key players from last year's 12-9 (6-6 SLL) team.

“People knew we were going to be pretty good this year,” Thorbahn said. “We are definitely a lot tougher to beat than what they thought at the beginning of the year. This year we're able to score many different ways, whether it's down in the post on or threes. Teams have a lot of different positions to worry about.”

The Wildcats' five-game winning streak started with a victory over Elmwood on Jan. 11, followed by wins over Fremont Ross, Otsego, Eastwood and Gibsonburg. The 'Cats end the regular season with games against fourth-ranked Lake, 10th-ranked Genoa, Elmwood and Toledo Christian.

“I think we've just been able to relax a lot more in games and play at our level instead of whoever we're playing against,” Thorbahn said of Woodmore's recent streak. “Everyone on the team has become a lot more comfortable and has been able to use their skills with more confidence. A lot of it has to do with confidence.”

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