SANDUSKY (Crawford County Now) — Wynford wanted a challenge.
The Royals received an invitation to participate in Midwest Girls Live, an annual two-day event, at the Cedar Point Sports Center.
The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association sponsors the event. It brings in teams from all across Ohio. It gives teams a chance to see weaknesses in their teams and for college coaches opportunity to see potential recruits.
Wynford, which placed third in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference last season with an overall record of 19-6, faced Tuscarawas Valley and won 39-26 before being defeated by Fort Frye 50-27 on Friday.
On Saturday, the Royals beat North Union 53-46 before falling to Piketon 31-26.
“This has been the second year we have been invited,” Royals coach Amy Taylor-Sheldon said. “Every game, you have to be willing to compete and step up against some of the best competition you can find in the state of Ohio.”
The Royals went 2-2 for the weekend.
“Going 2 and 2 for the games that we played, along with the caliber of teams here, it’s not too bad,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “When you are playing in June, we are learning some lessons like what do we do to improve and how do we play our bench? How do we grow? All the experiences in June are learning, and I think there is a lot for us to learn to be conscious of a lot of things.”
In their game against North Union (19-4) on Saturday, the Royals started out with the lead, but with 5:37 remaining in the first half, the Wildcats threatened, pulling ahead 19-15.
It didn’t stay that way as Caroline Sheldon had a foul, and less than two minutes later, senior Maggie Ridge was at the free throw line, making one, bringing Wynford within one point 19-18. The Royals retook the lead from there, making it 22-19 at the half.
NU didn’t catch up or have a lead again in the game.
“It’s a great experience,” Ridge said. “You don’t get to see many of these teams and scrimmage them during the summer so it’s great to be able to play teams that are better than us and compete with them.”
It was similar to the first game against Tusky Valley (22-5) that the Royals played on Friday. Wynford controlled the first seven minutes. Caroline Sheldon knocked down a 3-pointer that put a six-point gap between the Royals and the Trojans, 13-7, with 5:54 left in the first half. By intermission, Wynford held on to a 16-12 advantage.
In the second game on Friday, Wynford had to dig out of a six-point deficit to Fort Frye (20-5). They tied it 6-6 with 12:31 on the clock, but the Royals were held to eight points for more than five minutes while the Cadets went on a 15-point run.
With 1:12 remaining in the first half, Wynford got a basket from Paige Sheldon, and a 3-point shot from Jenna Filliater to make it 23-15 at the half.
Four minutes into the second half, Wynford 10 trailed 29-19, but that was all the closer Fort Frye allowed.
“I think during the summer, you have to rebound quickly by playing so much,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “We have to be more consistent with effort and consistent attitude. You have to be ready for the next game, the next possession and you can’t dwell on what’s happened.”
In the game against Piketon (19-6), Wynford had the lead until the Redstreaks drilled a 3 and made it 8-7. The Royals temporarily took the lead back, 13-11, with 1:26 remaining in the first half with Paige Sheldon making her two free throws.
Wynford broke a 13-13 tie in the second half with a three. They held it until 4:08 remaining in the game, when Piketon tied it 26-26. Twenty-six points is where the Royals stayed as the Redstreaks went on a 5-0 run.
“Unfortunately, in a scenario like this, we just got tired, fouled, and the way scoring works, it went to the aggressor,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “But I thought we had some good looks and missed shots, and hopefully we will improve before November.”
Ridge noted that ball handling under pressure is something that the team needs to work on.
“Definitely handling the ball when we are pressured,” Ridge said. “For our team, definitely defense and playing together and helping each other out.”
For the Royals, playing against the tough competition now gets them ready for the ferocious competition in the league. Not only will they face the stiffer competition of Colonel Crawford (22-3), but they will Upper Sandusky (9-15), Division VII state semifinal runner-up Seneca East (20-8), and Carey (18-5), and its new competition of Tiffin Calvert (18-8), Old Fort (11-12), Hopewell-Loudon (9-15), New Riegel (1-22), Willard (20-5), and Lucas (9-14).
“It definitely prepares us for teams like Colonel Crawford, who is aggressive,” Ridge said of the experience. “Playing teams like this that are handsy and all over us, it helps us to be able to prepare for those types of teams.”
It wasn’t just varsity players in attendance for MGL. Wynford had a benchful of girls that were dressed but didn’t play.
“We had a lot of girls that sat on the bench, who didn’t get to play, and they knew they weren’t going to,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “But, this is an invitation, an elite experience for all of our kids, and hopefully we will have the opportunity to play here next year. It’s exciting to be a part of a bunch that gets to do all these things in order to be better.”