WAUSEON 2/10/2014— The Wauseon Lady Indians hot start proved to be vital, as the Lady Bulldogs of Rossford would make a late game comeback. Wauseon would be able to survive the scare from the Bulldogs and go on to grab the non-conference victory, 59-44.
A barrage of three pointers started the night for the Tribe, as Sariah Yackee would hit a pair of threes to start the night for the Indians, putting them ahead early on by a score of 6-4. Maddie Richer helped the Indian cause by draining a three of her own, and then hitting one out of two free throws the next trip down the court, putting Wauseon up 10-6 at the 3:54 mark of the opening quarter of action. Richer nailed yet another three, followed by a three by Haley Archibeque. The first five field goals that the Indians made were all of the three point variety, putting the Tribe up 17-12 at the end of the first stanza.
The first field goal that was no a three pointer for the Indians would not come until the 6:00 mark, as Natalie Koenig scored her first points of the night to put the Tribe ahead 20-12. Koenig would go on to score ten of the team’s 16 points in the second quarter, putting the Tribe ahead 33-21 as the teams hit the locker rooms for the intermission.
The Wauseon offense stalled a bit in the third period, only able to score nine points in the quarter. Rossford was able to capitalize on the struggling Indian offense, outscoring the Tribe 11 to nine, and shrinking Wauseon’s lead to ten points as the third quarter came to an end, as the Indians lead 42-32.
Rossford was able to shrink the Wauseon lead even more in the third quarter, drawing within seven points with only 4:16 left in the contest. However, that was the closest that the Bulldogs would get, as the Tribe offense came alive in the final few minutes. In a rather fitting ending, Wauseon seniors Hannah Blaylock and Lexi Lane would both hit buckets in the closing minutes of the contest in what was their final game at Wauseon High School, helping their team seal a 59-44 win over Rossford.
Koenig’s 19 points lead the way for the Indian’s. Richer followed behind with 13, Yackee contributed ten to the cause, Archibeque tallied up six, Blaylock scored five, Sally Frank put down four, and and Lane rounded out the Tribe’s scoring with two points.
-Mitchell Peebles
