AFTERNOON HOOPS … Anna Donovan waits to put up a shot as Delta’s Anna Lohman flies by.
PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
STILL UNBEATEN … Delta’s Olivia Mohring takes a shot down low during a 44-35 win over Stryker to remain perfect on the season at 10-0.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
DELTA (January 3, 2025) – Stryker controlled the opening tip of the game against Delta. Two minutes later, Stryker committed a turnover.
That would be the first of 31, and those miscues not only hindered the Stryker offense, but they also fueled Delta’s scoring in a 44-35 Delta victory before a large crowd at Delta.
“We weren’t sure how the girls were going to react after playing last night and having a quick turnaround to early afternoon,” Delta coach Kelsey Gillen said.
“They battled it out. Just to see all of them stick together and battle it was just huge for us.”
“Every battle is a test to see if we can get through this, and we did. We have been working on even if you play a step off, we can still create turnovers and if we can create turnovers without getting a steal by yourself and trusting your teammates, it’s big.”
Abbey Todd was the first to take advantage of Stryker’s bushelful of mistakes with a pair of layups to put Delta up 7-2 in a slow paced first period.
Anna Donovan’s two baskets helped keep Stryker within five with 6:40 to go in the half, but Keagyn Gillen’s banker then a spin and flip for two by McKenzie Kruger push Delta ahead 15-6 at half.
Anna Lohman stuck a right-wing triple at the 5:15 mark of the third to give Delta a 21-7 lead. Stryker scored the next six, keyed by Aubrey Clemens wing jumper to close within 21-13 but Ellie Martinez bagged one from outside the arc and Olivia Mohring scored a three-point play to regain a 14-point lead.
Khloe Goebel laced consecutive triples in the last two minutes of the third to get Stryker back to an eight-point deficit at 27-19.
Kruger bounced the Delta lead back to 10 to start the fourth with a pair of transition layups in the last 75 seconds of the third.
“She really had a good game today,” Gillen expressed of Kruger. “She is like our bull in a china shop.
“She reads the ball so well for us, she is there when her teammates need her to be on the boards and defensively, she is that piece of glue that makes us stick together and today she scored for us too.”
Reiss Creighton hit twice from long range to start the fourth, bringing Stryker back to 31-27. Grace Froelich made it one better with a fast break hoop to close the gap to 34-31 with 4:27 left.
Lohman then nailed the big one with a wing triple to extend the Delta lead, and Stryker (9-2) committed four more turnovers down the stretch to squelch a second comeback attempt.
Lohman hit 13 for Delta (10-0), who had 17 turnovers in the game. Froelich and Goebel had eight points each for the Panthers.
STRYKER (35) – Froelich 8; Donovan 7; Oberlin 4; Ruffer 0; R. Creighton 6; A. Clemens 2; Goebel 8; Totals: 7-4-9 – 35
DELTA (44) – Maynhart 0; Lohman 13; Todd 8; Kruger 9; Martinez 3; A. Gillen 2; Mohring 5; Wyse 0; K. Gillen 4; Totals: 14-3-7 – 44
SHS 2 4 15 14 – 35
DHS 7 8 16 13 – 44