MONROEVILLE — Wynford came in determined in the Division III girls’ sectional semifinal here Wednesday night.
“We were ready to play today. We planned our work. We worked our plan,” said head coach Amy Taylor-Sheldon after the sixth-seeded Lady Royals prevailed 42-28 over Western Reserve.
Wynford (13-10) was led by guard Reese McGuire with 15 points, including three 3s. Post Katie Wagner added 11 points and 11 rebounds and was a force inside.
“We had some lapses as we’ve had all year. But Katie had a great first half (10 points and 6 boards). Reese and Zoe (Whitmeyer) hit some big shots in the second half and that helped us to be complete,” Taylor-Sheldon said.
Whitmeyer added 7 points and a pair of assists.
Wynford started hot, going up 10-7 after one quarter and maintaining a 20-17 halftime advantage.
“We were able to consistently defend by communicating on screens. Overall, I thought we advanced to have a chance to win a championship,” Taylor-Sheldon said.
Seventh-seed Western Reserve ends its season at 16-7 after going undefeated in the Firelands Conference. They were led by Joslin Cain with 7 points.
The Royals also scored the first eight points of the second quarter to go up 18-7 with 4:53 left in the half.
Lady Riders head coach Carli Ashley admitted her squad had difficulty with Wynford’s defense.
“We struggled to execute offensively. Wynford did a great job on our guards. they made every shot we took tough. They made shots and we couldn’t,” she said.
“Offensively, in the first half we did a good job of keeping them off the glass. Our defensive transition was very much lacking in that half when they were able to make that run,” she said.
Wynford was 1-of-11 on its 3-point attempts in the first two quarters. But Whitmeyer and McGuire each hit a pair of them in the second half.
“They had some nice 3s and did an excellent job tonight. She (McGuire) had a heck of a night,” Ashley said. “At halftime we made that adjustment and collapsed in the paint, but they started making shots from the outside.”
Wynford pushed the tempo, got good looks at the basket, and ended up 6-of-20 from beyond the arc.
“Wagner is definitely a physical post. They were executing a pick-and-roll pretty well that our girls just couldn’t really get over top of the roll.”
Taylor-Sheldon credited Wagner, a 5-8 senior post, on her effort against a much bigger opponent.
“Katie is not intimidated and she’s gotten better and better at that, blocking out and trying to wall up as best as you can on somebody who has 7 or 8 inches on her.”
That taller player was Western Reserve’s 6-foot-3 center Bella Thornburg. She had 5 points and 10 rebounds.
Wagner entered the game knowing the challenge that awaited her in the paint.
“They have a really big girl. So, our emphasis was just to get around and push back and get the rebound. When you’re a small post like I am, you definitely got to work 10 times harder to get around somebody and push back,” she said.
“This will be extremely great because my whole high school career we’ve never cut down a net, so we’re on our way there to get Crawford.”
Offensively, patience paid off for the Lady Royals.
“We said we don’t need to be in a rush here. It’s not desperation. It’s not our MO. We want our feet to be set. Eyes on the rim. If we don’t get it, we don’t get it, but have the patience to get some good shots.
“We had good execution on offense,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “To their credit, they did a great job of blocking out and made it tough for us to get to the boards. So, we didn’t have as many second shots.”
Western Reserve had three 3-point shots in the first half, but none in the second.
“So, we had to talk about how are they getting open. We needed to do a better job defending on the perimeter and the kids did that,” she said.
Taylor-Sheldon said it was a total team win.
“We played 7 players all year, and we played 7 tonight and all contributed.”
Wynford plays Colonel Crawford (16-6) at 6 p.m. on Saturday for the sectional title.
Another defensive battle is anticipated, as the two rivals split the regular season meetings.
In the last game, played Feb. 9, the Lady Eagles won, 29-26. The Lady Royals won the first meeting, 36-32.
“They know everything about us, and we know everything about them,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “We battled both times. We want this team to have a chance to win a championship. You have emotion in that game. You have preparation. You have familiarity. If we can be consistent on offense, we have a chance to win.”
Wynford has several signature wins this season.
“So far we beat the best team in the MOAC (River Valley 45-43 in the opener), the best team in the N10 (Buckeye Central) and the best team in the Firelands.”
Margaretta, the top seed, eliminated Galion 72-17 in the second game. The Lady Bears will face Ashland Crestview Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Box score
Western Reserve 7 10 7 4 — 28
Wynford 10 10 13 9 — 42
Western Reserve (16-7): Shots 9-41; 3-pt. shots 3-14 (Madison Pfanner, Lilli White, Joslin Cain); Free throws 7-11; Rebounds 34; Turnovers 14. Scoring: Madison Pfanner 1 0 3, Anna Woodrum 1 0 2, Lilli White 1 3 6, Joslin Cain 2 2 7, Bella Thornburg 2 1 5, Kathleen Woodruff 2 1 5.
Wynford (13-10): Shots 13-38; 3-pt. shots 6-20 (Reese McGuire 4, Zoe Whitmeyer 2); Free throws 10-19; Rebounds 30; Turnovers 8. Scoring: Zoe Whitmeyer 2 1 7, Maradath Engler 1 2 4, Reese McGuire 5 1 15, Grace Stucky 1 1 3, Alexis Stevely 0 2 2, Katie Wagner 4 3 11.