PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
NONLEAGUE MATCHUP … Wauseon post player Aunali Reyes gets free inside for a bucket in the first half. VIEW 139 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
LEADING SCORER … Delta’s Anna Lohman puts up a shot in the lane during the Panthers 36-21 win over Wauseon. Lohman led all scorers with 13 points.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
DELTA (December 12, 2024) – While Delta’s shooting percentage rivaled the near zero wind chill outside and the Panthers committed enough turnovers to get a football offensive coordinator fired, Delta made Wauseon cough up the ball more times (23) than they scored points, in a 36-21 victory over the Indians to remain undefeated on the young season.
“The biggest thing is that we have girls that work very hard,” Panther coach Kelsey Gillen expressed.
“I’m so proud of these girls tonight. This is a rivalry game. Every year you want to beat that team that is your rival. Now they are going to be noticed.”
“We were picked right down near the bottom of the league and these girls are proving what they are capable of.” “They work so hard every day, willing to work, willing to learn and make adjustments. You can’t ask for anything more.”
Aunali Reyes bucket 33 ticks into the game was the only lead the Indians had all night, and when Wauseon went nearly seven minutes before scoring again, Delta put the ball in the basket enough to take a three point lead.
Addison Wyse’s three-pointer just after the halfway point of the first put the Panthers ahead for good, and bucket from Kendall Sprow and Anna Lohman gave them a 7-4 advantage after a quarter.
The two teams combined to shoot 20 percent in the first quarter with 11 total turnovers.
Mackenzie Stasa’s drive to start the second got Wauseon within a point, but Delta responded with a mini 7-1 burst, five of those points off the offensive glass, to take a 14-7 lead.
Sprow’s running bank was followed by Keagyn Gillen’s putback and another from Lohman that turned into a three-point play to double up the Indians point total.
Delta maintained that seven point margin into halftime at 18-11, before blowing the game open to start the third.
In more conventional Delta fashion, three turnovers led to a 7-0 run that put the Panthers ahead 25-11 with 6:19 left in the third.
Abbey Todd scored off Lohman’s steal, then Lohman tripled after another Indian miscue. Gillen from Wyse after a third Wauseon mistake made the lead 14 before Johanna Tester’s basket stopped the Panther run.
“Honestly we keep engraining in them to keep after it,” Gillen said of the Panthers job on the offensive glass in the second quarter, then the rash of forced turnovers in the third.
“There are going to be times when things aren’t going our way and you can’t give up on what we do, we’ll force a mistake, we’ll get a rebound for a score. You have to keep playing.”
Delta stayed up 29-15 after three when Sprow tight roped the end line chasing down a loose ball and turned to toss in a shot off glass with 3.2 on the clock.
Wauseon shaved their deficit to single digits with 3:45 on the clock in the fourth when Marin Leatherman hit a three-ball from the left corner but when Todd retaliated 42 seconds later with a left wing triple, the Panthers kept a double digit advantage the rest of the way.
The Panthers shot just 8/28 in the first half, then an even more frigid 4/22 in the second for 24% for the game. Delta also had 17 turnovers.
Wauseon was just 8/34 for the contest. Lohman’s 13 and Sprow’s 11 led all scorers. Delta travels to Fairview Tuesday while Wauseon hosts Tinora the same night.
WAUSEON (21) – Stasa 3; Tester 3; Leatherman 6; Coronado 2; Rupp 0; Tule 1; Reyes 6; Totals: 7-1-4 – 21
DELTA (36) – Lohman 13; Todd 5; Kruger 0; Friess 0; Sprow 11; Wyse 3; K. Gillen 4; Totals: 11-3-5 – 36
WHS 4 7 4 6 – 21
DHS 7 11 11 7 – 36
Junior Varsity: Wauseon, 39-24