David vs. Goliath: Wynford overcomes size discrepancy in season opening win
HOLMES TOWNSHIP - Finishing out close games is typically something young teams struggle with.
Wynford, one of the youngest — if not THE youngest — teams in the greater area, found itself in that very situation Thursday night in the Royals' season opener against East Knox.
Leading by just one entering the fourth quarter, Wynford outscored East Knox 15-5 knocking down nine free throws in the process for a 45-33 win.
"We hit some big free throws in the fourth quarter and we took care of the ball," Wynford coach Amy Taylor-Sheldon said. "Obviously we're working on progress, not perfection, in all aspects. But in the fourth quarter, we managed things and we were able to finish strong."
The Royals boast just two seniors this season in Kenna Caldwell and Zoe Whitmeyer who both featured in almost every game as juniors. But they were primarily role players on a senior-laden squad. Now expected to not only lead on the court, but produce, the two thrived in their season debuts.
Caldwell was tenacious on the glass grabbing eight rebounds, five of which offensive, and nabbed seven steals to go with five points. Whitmeyer added four points, all in the fourth quarter, and controlled the floor for the Royals while she was on the court.
"We had an outstanding effort defensively from Kenna," Taylor-Sheldon said. "Deflections, loose balls, steals — just overall a really gritty effort. And Zoe, she's just consistent. I think that they lived up to what we expected and I think that's terrific."
Alongside them starting were a pair of freshmen in Caroline Sheldon and Brooke Frombaugh. Sheldon wowed with a pair of 3s and three steals in the first quarter to spark an early rally after Wynford found itself down 7-0 to start the game. Sheldon had nine of her 13 in the first quarter as the Royals closed out on a 12-0 run to shift momentum in their favor.
The 5-foot-9 Frombaugh struggled some early in the paint against East Knox's size — Bulldogs had three girls at 5-9 and one at 6-1 — but once she got into a groove was able to chip in six points and four rebounds. And sophomore Maradath Engler, the most experienced varsity player on the roster, had 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.
"Last year Maradath was the only kid who had been in the locker room in the fourth quarter while the JV game's going on … and we didn't have JV games last year," Taylor-Sheldon said. "So that I think that's a big difference. But to get that first one under your belt and be able to progress, not perfect, (was great)."
That run at the end of the first carried into the second as the Royals retained their lead at the half. An Engler floater before the buzzer regained the lead for Wynford heading into the fourth (30-28) before closing out for the win.
"In terms of momentum and basketball, you have to be able to stop, score, stop," Taylor-Sheldon said. "And it's that transition from knowing that's what you have to do, to doing it. And they went so many possessions in a row (without scoring) in order for us to even it back up and kind of reset."
East Knox was able to stay in the game largely due to its size advantage. Getting numerous second chances on offense and grabbing most rebounds off the defensive glass limited Wynford's possessions.
"I thought they killed us on the boards at times and really hurt us there," Taylor-Sheldon said. "There's just a mental toughness that we need to work on in order to be consistent."
That was the Bulldogs' goal going into the game, but turnovers proved more harmful than the good rebounding did. Sydney Opfer had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, Molly Totten added 10 points as well.
"Our size was definitely a strength for us," East Knox coach Mandy Todd said. "(Turnovers have) been our Achilles' heel so far. We have goals for every game and we didn't meet our goals this game.
"(But) I'm super proud of my girls, we learned a lot tonight. We lost a starter right before this game, so we had to learn who we were now. They kept fighting."
Wynford is back in action Saturday at Centerburg before opening league play on Tuesday at Buckeye Central.
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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Wynford girls beat East Knox in nonleague basketball action
