(December 15th, 2014) – STRYKER: It was the inexperience of the Lady Panthers that left them so vulnerable to a veteran Wauseon team. The Lady Indians traveled to Stryker to take on the young team on their own court, and the result was a 73-32 loss for the Panther girls.
Stryker committed 32 turnovers in the contest. In contarst, Wauseon turned the ball over just 8 times. The Indians took several scoring opportunities away from the Lady Panthers, and relinquished few themselves.
Making the most out of their team’s possessions were Panther girls Haley Doehrmann and Taylor Haines. Each girl scored 9 points in the loss, combining to total over half of their squad’s offensive output. They earned their points in different ways. Doehrmann, a freshman, connected on 4 two-point field goals in the game, making her only free throw attempt. Haines, a sophomore, hit Stryker’s only two successful three-point shots against the stingy Wauseon defense, going 3 of 4 for her extra points.
Natalie Koenig, a senior, had yet another strong performance for the Wauseon girls, putting up 20 points. Routinely scoring off of Stryker turnovers, 7 of her 8 field goals were for two-points. Teammate Maddie Richer, after getting off to a bit of a slow start to the season, had a great night as well. The senior offered 14 points to the Indian victory. A third Wauseon senior, Sariah Yackee, added 11 points as well.
The disparity from the free throw line also makes apparent the levels of experience each team possesses. Stryker made 8 of their 14 shots from the line, a 57% average. The Lady Indians went 14 for 29 from the charity stripe, making less than 50% of their shots. Yet getting to the line so much more still allowed for Wauseon to make as many free throws as the Lady Panthers attempted, and gave the former a distinct advantage in this aspect of the contest.
This loss will be a tough one for the Stryker girls to swallow. Losing by 41 is always hard to deal with, no matter how much the cards are stacked against you. The best thing they can do at this point is get back on the court and wipe this game from their minds.