NEW WASHINGTON — According to Wynford coach Amy Taylor-Sheldon, one goal of the Lady Royals each year is to win a sectional tournament and beyond.
The Royals took the first step toward that goal Wednesday night at Buckeye Central. Wynford used a distinct rebound advantage and suffocating defense to defeat Milan Edison, 48-24, in the opening round of the Division III sectional tournament.
“We’re thrilled to be playing for a (sectional) championship,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “That’s a goal we set every year, that we win a championship and hopefully we can do that on Saturday.
Wynford (15-7), the fourth seed in the district, will get that chance Saturday afternoon when they take on No. 2 seed Ashland Crestview at 2 p.m. back at Buckeye Central.
For Edison, it was a case of not making shots. The Chargers hit just 10 of 43 shots from the floor.
“It’s the story of our season,” Edison coach Ryan Kurt said. “We’ve had wide open looks and just couldn’t put the ball in the hole.”
It started in the first quarter. Edison (7-16) made only two of nine attempts. The Royals took advantage to take a 13-7 lead after one.
The Chargers’ shooting woes continued in the second period, as they converted on just two of 10 shots. It was more of the same at the free throw line, where they went one of five. Edison made but four of 16 free throw attempts for the game.
Averi McMillan scored 10 of the Royals’ 12 points in the second quarter and 10 of her 12 for the game. Wynford stretched the lead to 25-12 at the break.
“She missed several shots early, but we said if the ball goes to you, you’ve got to keep putting it up,” Taylor-Sheldon said of McMillan. “She’s persistent. She’s had a lot of perseverance. She gets beat around a lot of times by being the leading scorer. It was good she stuck with it and was able to finish.”
With a 12-2 third quarter advantage, the Royals ended any hope Edison had of a comeback. Five different players scored Wynford’s 12 points, and the defense forced seven turnovers, allowing the Royals to expand their lead to 37-14.
“Credit Wynford,” Kurt said. “They did a great job defensively, making us take outside jump shots and kind of limiting our looks in transition. And they just knocked down shots — especially that second quarter, third quarter — they were putting it on us.”
Wynford’s rebounding edge also took its toll. The Royals held a 50-34 edge on the glass and grabbed 21 offensive boards, helping give them 16 more shot attempts, 59-43.
“We talked about what can be the most consistent thing,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “We talked about the rebounding and defending regardless of how we shoot. I was happy for that spaced effort.”
Alexis Stevely found the range from the 3-point line in the fourth quarter connecting on three from beyond the arc. Stevely ended with five 3s and 15 points to lead Wynford.
McMillan had 13 rebounds for the Royals to go with her 12 points and Paige Smith had eight boards.
“We had a lot of shots that looked really good,” Kurt said. “We got the looks we wanted; it just didn’t fall. I think we rushed some stuff. We have a lot of girls that are young, the first tournament experience. I think that kind of affected them a little bit.”
Junior Kalli Quillen led the Chargers with five points. Lindsay Roberts had nine rebounds. Only Roberts and Jamie Teed are seniors.
“This was our second straight game at Buckeye Central,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “We shot a little better this time than we did last Saturday. Hopefully, we’ll shoot a little bit better this coming Saturday — our third game in a row.”
“Overall, I’m happy with the effort we gave,” Kurt said. “I thought we played hard. It’s just when you’re not making shots, it’s tough.
“(Wynford) made some nice adjustments at halftime,” he added. “We didn’t match that, and we didn’t match their intensity in the second half. That was the difference in the game.”
“We’ve just got to work to be a little more disciplined and I think now that we have any jitters out that we had for tournament play,” Taylor-Sheldon said. “We’re excited to play on Saturday.”
Box score
Wynford 13 12 12 11 — 48
Edison 7 5 2 10 — 24
Wynford (15-7): Shots 17-59; 3-pt. shots 5-20 (Alexis Stevely 5); Free throws 9-19; Rebounds 50 (Averi McMillan 13); Turnovers 9. Scoring: Maddie Coffman 0 2 2, Reese McGuire 3 0 6, Grace Stucky 1 2 4, Paige Smith 1 1 3, Averi McMillan 5 2 12, Alexis Stevely 5 0 15, Katie Wagner 2 2 6.
Edison (7-16): Shots 10-43; 3-pt. shots 0-5; Free throws 4-16; Rebounds 34 (Lindsay Roberts 9); Turnovers 16. Scoring: Kalli Quillen 1 3 5, Jamie Teed 2 0 4, Lindsay Roberts 1 1 3, Isabella Sanabria 2 0 4, Jorja Byington 2 0 4, Avery Rutherford 1 0 2, Cydnie Barnicle 1 0 2.