HOLMES TOWNSHIP — Anymore, every time Wynford girls coach Amy Taylor-Sheldon wins a game, she sets one milestone after another.
Saturday, according to her husband, Colonel Crawford coach David Sheldon, was “just another day in the Sheldon household.”
Taylor-Sheldon, who won her 400th game at Wynford on Dec. 21 with a win over Bucyrus, collected win 401 Saturday as her Lady Royals used a 30-point explosion from sophomore post Brooke Frombaugh to down Mohawk, 58-40.
The win tied Taylor-Sheldon with former Wynford boys coach Rob Sheldon, her father-in-law, as the winningest coaches in Wynford basketball history. With her next win, Taylor-Sheldon will have won more games than any Wynford coach, boys, or girls.
Before the game, scores of Taylor-Sheldon’s former players came to honor her. But Taylor-Sheldon, in her own way, showed great humility after the game.
“It’s an honor to be in that group,” Taylor-Sheldon said of being paired with her father-in-law. “I think part of that is, as we look forward to the floor dedication in a week. All my players who were here today; all the players that will be here for him.
“Nobody got here by themselves,” she added. “I didn’t get to where I was at; he didn’t get to where he was at. All of these players that dedicated hours and years of their lives is something bigger than themselves, which is Wynford basketball. If I can even hold a candle to any of what Rob has done, his legacy with his players.
“He has always been successful,” Taylor-Sheldon added. “He has been great father and just a great guy. If I can do anything near that I will consider myself very blessed.”
The Lady Royals had a very simple game plan going into the battle with the Lady Warriors: Get the ball inside, especially to Frombaugh.
Mohawk couldn’t stop Frombaugh in the first half as she scored 22 of her game-high 30 points in the first two periods.
As a result, the Lady Royals jumped out to a 20-9 lead after the first period and led 37-17 at the half.
Taylor-Sheldon and Frombaugh each credited their defense for the Lady Royals’ fast start.
“I thought our start defensively was great,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “Everybody knew what their role was and their space and what their support role was, and from the top to the bottom. I was really happy about our defensive intensity was. In the first half, that was the best half we had offensively and defensively.”
Frombaugh also said that defense and her team’s ability to push the ball into the post was the difference.
“We have to give everything to our defense,” Frombaugh said. “We played really tough defense, so we were able to get stops and then push the ball up the court and the wings were able to get me the ball.
“I have to give it to my other post, Maggie (Ridge), in practice. She really pushes me to get better.”
Frombaugh was virtually unstoppable in the first half.
“Brooke has been just a force to be reckoned with,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “She catches everything; she’s so coachable. Whatever you ask, she tries to do it the first time. And for somebody who wants to do things right and takes pride in doing things right. She has really grown as a player.”
In the second half, Mohawk did a better job defending the Wynford post game.
The Lady Warriors trailed as much as 45-17 early in the third period on a Ridge basket but came storming back.
Mohawk outscored Wynford, 10-2, in the remainder of the third period and trimmed the lead to 47-27 entering the final frame, before getting eight points from Chloe Miller to cut the Wynford lead to 51-38 with 4:24 left in the game.
Wynford, however, made seven of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Mohawk coach Natasha Mullholand said that, while her team wasn’t ready to play in the first half, they were much better in the second.
“It was the first and second quarters that definitely killed us,” Mullholand said. “At halftime, it didn’t look like they came ready to play. I didn’t know who I was starting after halftime and I said if you wanted to play, you need to let me know. And you need to show up. And I’m glad they came ready to play in the second half.”
Box score
Mohawk 9 8 10 13 — 40
Wynford 20 17 10 11 — 58
Mohawk (3-7, 2-4 N10): Shots 16-40; 3-pt. shots 1 (Katie Woodland); Free throws 7-10; Rebounds 22; Turnovers 21. Scoring: Allison Russell 2 1 5, Anna Russell 6 0 12, Katie Woodland 2 0 5, Aubrey Gottfried 1 5 7, Jaedynn Hamilton 0 1 1, Chloe Miller 5 0 10.
Wynford (6-3, 3-2 N10): Shots 22-48; 3-pt. shots 3 (Maradath Engler, Ally Liming); Free throws 12-18; Rebounds 20; Turnovers 10. Scoring: Caroline Sheldon 1 2 4, Bri Westrick 1 0 2, Maradath Engler 3 1 8, Brooke Frombaugh 12 6 30, Maggie Ridge 3 0 6, Ally Liming 1 0 3, Jenna Filliater 1 3 5.