Ethan Linder dribbles around his Ayersville opponent at Friday night’s game. Photo by Jarrison Steiner. More pictures at westbendnews.net
The game of the week for Ohio took place on Friday, February 3, at the Wayne Trace campus against Ayersville. The Pilots are ranked number one in their division in the state and Wayne Trace has also done quite well with only 1 loss this season. Both teams are members of the Green Meadows Conference and have had impressive seasons thus far. Perhaps one of the most anticipated games of the season, this event between these two basketball giants kept everybody on edge. With sports fans literally spilling out of all entrances, it almost seemed as if the Palace was hosting the state game. The deafening sounds of the cheering fans were pounding down on the court.
As the referee tossed the ball for the tip-off, players on both sides held their breath and fans cheered loudly in anticipation. As the game began, it was clear that the Raiders wanted this victory. They took the lead early in the first quarter and even took the point gap as far as a 9-point difference. They went into the second quarter with the a score of 19-10. While they did manage to maintain the lead in the second quarter, Wayne Trace was outscored by the Pilots. Ayersville added 18-points to the board, while the Raiders only managed to add 12. At halftime, the score were 31-28, with Wayne Trace holding the lead.
Going into the third quarter, Wayne Trace wasn’t prepared to give up yet. They managed to outscore the opponents by one point. The Raiders added 11 points, while the Pilots added 10 points. The fourth quarter was when the game got immensely more intense. Tensions were high for everybody: from the players, to the coachers, to the fans. Everybody was on edge. As the game progressed through the fourth quarter, it was anybody’s win. The rest of the game was basically a coin toss. It could have been Wayne Trace or Ayersville who took home the win. However, there did seem to be some strange calls against Wayne Trace that nobody could really explain. There were several foul shots given to Ayersville that confounded even the players on the Raider side. In the end, Wayne Trace barely lost by only 1 point. Both Ayersville and Wayne Trace are exceptionally well performing teams and both teams should be proud of what they have accomplished this season. The final score of the game was 50-49, with the Pilots scraping by with the win.
Score by the Quarter:
Wayne Trace – 19, 12, 11, 7 = 49
Ayersville – 10, 18, 10, 12 = 50.
Scorers of the Game:
Wayne Trace – E Linder 19, B Stabler 7, E Sinn 6, J Linder 6, J Kuhn 6, J Sinn 5
Ayersville – D Dales 14, J Martinez 12, M McGuire 11, E Schlachter 7, J Miller 6
In JV action, Wayne Trace defeated Ayersville with scores of 44-34.
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Ladies Shoot Down Wildcats
The ball is passed to Kaylee Shepherd. She shoots and scores for Wayne Trace before halftime. More pictures at westbendnews.net
On Saturday, February 4 the Miller City Wildcats tracked their way to the Raider court to take on Wayne Trace. The Lady Raiders have had a phenomenal season. Watching these girls play you wouldn’t think their record would be as good as it is. Where are they getting this? Who knows? But most every game they pull another win out of the bag in the fourth quarter.
This early game started around 1:30 after Wayne Trace JV girls won 35 and Miller City 14.
The first quarter of varsity was a toss up between both teams and this is what the Lady Raiders do—slowly wear down the other team. Danae Myers notched an impressive 9 field goals in this match and Kaylee Shepherd was not for behind with 6. The first half ended with a 10 point lead for WT at 33-23.
The second half continued in favor of the Paulding County team even though Miller City was staying consistent on their points. Gracie Gudakunst checked in with 6 points from the charity line—giving her 100% from the line. Brooke Sinn had 5 steals and Danae Myers topped the charts with 8 rebounds for the game. The game ended 62-44 and the Lady Raiders added another victory to their stat sheet.
Score by the Quarter:
Wayne Trace – 14 19 13 16 = 62
Miller City – 13 10 10 11 = 44
Scorers of the Game:
Wayne Trace – C Sinn 10; S Sinn 2; K Shepherd 14; G Guadakunst 8; D Myers 22; B Sinn 6
Miller City – T Welty 15; A Ruhe 3; C Berger 4; A Hoffman 4; M Warnimont 6; K Burner 10
After this game, the Lady Raiders are now 17-1.
Wayne Trace will take on Continental on Tuesday, February 9 at home.
