010912 WHSgirlsbk
Promo: Wooster has pair of statement games in victories over West Holmes, Hiland
Generals clip Hiland in key non-conference game
By Brian Questel
If nothing else, the Wooster High girls basketball team is the Queen of Holmes County.
In back-to-back games, the Generals sent a message about their team and the rest of the season when the Generals knocked off West Holmes 46-45 on Dec. 29, thanks in part to the deciding free throw by senior Lauren Walker, and then emerged from the Perry Reese Center in Berlin with a 48-43 victory over Hiland Jan. 3. It was the first loss for both Holmes County teams and left them at 6-1 overall.
The non-league win over the Hawks was huge in the estimation of WHS coach Mike Baus, but the win over the Knights was bigger since it left the Generals as the lone unbeaten Ohio Cardinal Conference team with a 5-0 mark.
That was huge, said Baus following the teams win over Hiland. We played pretty well we played with some confidence. We got down 7-8 points early, but the girls didnt panic. We fought our way back into it and were up three points at halftime. We played very well coming down the stretch and Lauren and Halle (Gallo-Malta) made two big foul shots.
It was a good win. Theyre pumped up.
Wooster has won seven games in a row since dropping a 1-point decision in their opener against Lake, 56-55. Wooster is now 7-1 overall.
In our last two games, the girls have played in front of more people than theyve played in during their lives, said Baus. There was a good crowd (against Hiland) and they are getting used to that environment and their nerves are settling down.
I think both teams we beat here will be state-ranked before it is over with. Hiland is a hard place to play. Its a quality program, with four state championships and 11 Final Four appearances. Were happy to have played hard and given ourselves a chance to be in the game at end.
Aside from the win, Baus has been pleased with the improvement hes seen since the beginning of the season.
I think each game we get a little better, the second-year coach said. (Against Hiland) we played our best defense. Not just from the points we gave up, but we moved our feet and hustled. Were starting to buy into how we need to play defense. Against West Holmes we were physical and rebounding was close; tonight we outrebounded Hiland, a very good rebounding team, by 10.
Weve turned that into a couple girls roles and theyve bought into it. Sarah Cairnie and Andy Logee are both rebounding well, Alicia Carter is rebounding, Claire (Ballard) can rebound with anybody and has. For some it is their role and they are buying into that and they are being effective. Thats their way to contribute to the team.
Wooster had a game against Ashland (Jan. 5) before it took on once-beaten Orrville Jan. 7, both OCC games.
Were going at it hot and heavy, said Baus. We identified this (stretch) as our toughest of the season, with four games in 8-9 days against tough teams all bunched together. I think we can continue to get better on defense, which we did tonight, and get a few more girls into the scoring column, which I think we can do.
Were 7-1 in an excellent league. Were tickled with where were at right now, but its not over yet.
