JV and Varsity Girls Basketball

Wynford Girls Sweep the Rams 

By: Kelsey Redden
On Thursday, January 17th the Wynford girls basketball teams faced the Upper Sandusky Rams in a makeup game. In varsity girls action, the defense was a major contributor for the win over Upper, 49-30. The first half of the game kept both crowds on the edges of their seat. Halfway through the first quarter Brenna Quinn went out with an injury to the face and did not return. This caused the Royals to go deep into their lineup and caused difficulty with executing as a team but managed to generate continuity as the game progressed. The Rams took the lead 15-12 at the end quarter one. As the second quarter progressed, the Rams were able to hold on to the lead, 21-19, with less than a minute left to go in the quarter. As seconds ticked off the clock before halftime, Beth DeLong gave a huge spark to her team as she hit a three point shot putting the Royals up by one 22-21. Then Meghan Harrer sank a last second shot adding two more points to the Royals lead at halftime. This five point swing and 24-21 lead gave the Royals the momentum they needed as they headed to the locker room. The Lady Royals looked like a different team after halftime as they increased their defensive and offensive intensity. The Royals only allowed the Rams to score three points in the third quarter and six points in the fourth quarter. In the the second half, the Royals used their intensity and pulled away from the Rams ending the game with a 19 point advantage. When asked after the game about the change in the Royals defensive game in the second half Meghan Harrer said “We executed our defensive game and were patient running our offense. Also, we had to try and shut out Taylor Graboski, the Rams leading scorer.” The Royals were able to keep Taylor Graboski who is also the NCC’s leading scorer to only 8 points which was a key part to the game. The top three scorers for the Royals were Ellie Richmond with 16, Meghan Harrer with 12, and Beth DeLong with 10. The leading rebounders were sisters Meghan and Alyssa Harrer. Wynford improves their overall record to 10-3 and 7-1 in the NCC.

In junior varsity action, the Royals chalked up another win on their record improving to 12-1 overall and 8-0 in the NCC. The Royals defeated the Rams 39-31 in a close win. The first quarter was a low scoring quarter with neither team seeing double digits. Maci Cooper was the only scorer for the Royals putting her team ahead 6-2 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter saw the most points of the night by the Royals, scoring 14 and increasing their lead to six points going into the half leading 20-14. In the second half, the Royals were able to maintain their lead increasing it to eight by the end of the third quarter leading 31-23. They would keep their eight point lead as the game came to an end. The top three scorers for the Royals were Hannah Kocher and Maci Cooper with 10 and Sarah Ogden with 8. The Royals post play contributed to a major part of their success in the game totaling 29 points. The girls next game is on the road as they face Bucyrus on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in a battle of rivals.

Junior High Girls Basketball

Junior High Girls Go 1 for 1 on the Night

By: Lainie Wright

On Thursday, January 16th the 8th grade Lady Royals came out victorious against their rivals the Bucyrus Redmen. Winning in a low scoring game of 19-8. The Lady Royals played an aggressive game never letting the Redmen catch up. The Redmen trailed the entire game never coming close to the Lady Royals because of their strong offense and aggressive defense. At halftime, the Royals had a comfortable lead of 13-6. The Redmen were 0-10 from the foul line for the game which helped the Royals in their victory. In the fourth quarter, no points were scored by the Redmen because of the Royals strong defensive effort and refusing to lose to their rivals. The Royals were led in scoring by Shaylin Miller with 5 points; followed by Bailey Alspach, Sierra Richardson, and Gabby Grove with 4 points. 

However, earlier in 7th grade action, the Lady Royals were not as lucky in their battle against the Bucyrus Redmen. It was a close game throughout with the Redmen defeating the Royals 34-29. The Royal’s missed some easy layups and committed costly turnovers which helped the Redmen tremendously in their victory. Alexis White said “The team needs to focus on the easy shots and work at committing less turnovers.” The first half shared numerous lead changes in a head to head battle with neither team falling to far behind. At halftime, the Royals had a very close 16-14 lead. The Lady Redmen quickly took the lead from the Royals shortly after the third quarter started and did not look back. The Lady Royals defense had difficulty stopping the Redmen’s offense in the second half. The Lady Royals defense was extremely aggressive committing 18 fouls which helped contribute to the Redmen victory. The Lady Royals were led in scoring by Alexis White with 11 points. The next time the Lady Royals are in action is Tuesday, January 21 at Upper Sandusky.

Swimming

Wynford Competes at Mini Invitational

By: Mason Johnson, "Royal Times"

The Wynford boys and girls varsity swim teams made a trip to the Bucyrus YMCA to compete in a mini invitational against Bucyrus, Crestline, and Upper Sandusky on Tuesday, January 14th. The Lady Royal swimmers ended up placing second just behind the Upper Sandusky Lady Rams. Madison Graham placed first in the 200 free style with a time of 2:18. Kaley Lohr placed first with a time of 1:07 in the 100 butter fly. Callie Ruffener received first in the 100 free style with a time of 58.97 and also placed first with a time of 1:08 in the 100 backstroke. 

The boys placed third falling short behind our rivals Bucyrus, placing 2nd, and the Rams finishing first. Ethan Stuckey swimming the 200 free style finished first with a time of 2:07. The Royals 200 free style relay team consisting of Trey Smith, David Blank, Max Hackman, and Ethan Stuckey placed first with a time of 1:54. Trey Smith placed first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:14.The Royals are back in action on Saturday traveling to Ontario High School to participate in the Ontario Invitational.

High School Girls Basketball

Battle of the Unbeaten

By: Todd Enders, "Royal Times"

The Wynford Royals and the Riverdale Falcons went head to head in North Central Conference (NCC) play in a battle of the unbeaten. The battle between these two teams kept the "House of Thrills" tradition alive at W.R. Donnenwirth Gymnasium where the Falcons defeated the Royals, 59-57. This was an intense match up for 32 minutes. The Falcons got off to a fast start taking an 18-12 first quarter lead where they ran off the last 10 points of the first quarter. The Royals did not let this deficit affect them. The second quarter continued in fierce combat with the Royals outscoring the Falcons 19-13. The Royals put together a nine point run with the help of Ellie Richmond connecting on three 3-point field goals to end the second period with the Royals and Falcons tied at 31-31. The second half was no different than the first half with each team continuing to battle. The Royals started the third period strong, but the Falcons would not give up, leading at the end of third period 42-41. The final period was the difference in the game with the Falcons getting to the foul line 16 times and the Royals only eight.  Even though the Royals were 6 of 8 from the line, the

Falcons were able to hit 13 of 16 maintaining their lead and controlling their own destiny.  Coach Taylor-Sheldon said, "We needed to make some big shoots down the stretch, but we turned the ball over. This caused us to foul and put Riverdale at the line." The Royals were led in scoring by Ellie Richmond with 21 points. Coach Taylor-Sheldon commented on Ellie's game saying, "The biggest part of her improvement is her outside shooting and she is so much more poised making her game more balanced." Also making a major contribution to the Royals was Brenna Quinn, finishing with a 19 points and 12 rebounds. The Royals fall to 8-3 overall and 5-1 in the league. The Royals still control their own destiny in the NCC by winning out and looking forward to a rematch with the Falcons for a shot at a co-championship.

In junior varsity action, the Royals continued their winning ways by defeating the Falcons, 37-35, in overtime. This game also was a thriller in the "House of Thrills. The Royals started the game by utilizing their inside game with Sarah Ogden. Sarah contributed seven of her game high 14 points during the first period with the Royals leading 13-9. The Falcons made a run during the second period outscoring the Royals 9-6 and cutting into the Royals lead, 19-18, at intermission. The Royals struggled with the Falcons full court pressure the entire game, but it

showed most of all during the third period. The Royals only managed to score three points, while the Falcons scored seven, allowing them to take a 26-22 lead. The Royals were determined to continue their undefeated NCC record during the fourth quarter and overtime by outscoring the Falcons 15-10. The foul line was the determining factor, just like the varsity game, with the Royals hitting 7-12 and the Falcons 8-10. The only difference was the Royals coming away with the win. The junior varsity girls improve to 10-1 overall and 6-0 in the NCC. The girls are back in action Tuesday, traveling to Buckeye Central at 6:00 p.m. to take on the Bucks.

Junior High Boys Basketball

Royals and Falcons Split in Junior High Action

By: Todd Enders

The Wynford Royals junior high basketball teams finally get back into action after a long break over the holidays due to cancellations. Although the outcome was not what the 7th grade blue team wanted, falling to 0-4 on the season. During the first half, the Royals played with the Falcons until Riverdale's defensive pressure made it difficult for the Royals to generate any offense. At the half, the Falcons led the Royals 15-9.  In the third period, the Royals only managed to go one for five from the foul line and missed all their field goal attempts; only scoring one point trailing 25-10 at the end of the third period. The Falcons continued to play their aggressive defense, and the Royals outscored the Falcons nine to six in the fourth period; still not enough to come away with a victory. The Falcons defeated the Royals 31-19. Coach Oliver stated, "This is the best game we have played as a team so far this year." The Royals were led in scoring by Logen Sand with five points and Noah Smith, Ethan Bailey, and Caleb Rausch with four. 

In eight grade action, the Royals defeated the Falcons in impressive fashion for their first win of the season; bringing their record to 1-3. The Royals and Falcons showed some rustiness from the holiday break only managing to score a total of five points in the first period, 3-2. The Royals turned up the defensive pressure and outscored the Falcons 18-2 in the second period and pulled away never looking back. They forced the Falcons to commit numerous turnovers creating many layups for the Royals; leading at halftime 21-4. The Falcons showed signs of coming back during the third period outscoring the Royals 12-7, but Wynford did not give in and ended up defeating the Falcons 35-23. The Royals were led in scoring by Wesley Perdue with 16 points and Cole Heinlen followed with 13. The Royals are back in action Tuesday night at 5:00 p.m. traveling to Buckeye Central.