In recent seasons, the West Geauga Wolverine girls basketball team could count on players named Hocevar, Erhart or Furst to provide a spark in scoring to lift the team to victory.
Game photos click here.
In recent seasons, the West Geauga Wolverine girls basketball team could count on players named Hocevar, Erhart or Furst to provide a spark in scoring to lift the team to victory.
This year’s version for Head Coach Brandon Stewart is very young and looking to find that point producer. In the meantime, defense will key the efforts for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines claimed a thrilling 54-51 victory over CVC foe Geneva Dec. 28 after a huge fourth-period turnaround led to an 18-1 run to end the game.
A defensive effort that led to 14 fourth quarter Geneva turnovers also produced some big-time scoring for the Wolverines in the person of sophomore Faelynn Beckrest. After Emily Buck scored for the Eagles with 5:05 left in the game for a 50-36 lead, the Wolverines turned on the heat, led by Beckrest’s 14 points and trio of steals. Intense pressure also forced the plethora of turnovers, and with Beckrest stepping up with her big quarter, aided by a pair of important hoops from Ava Borz and another by Aubrey Sens, the short baseline jumper from Beckrest with just under 23 seconds left in the game provided the lead the Wolverines needed.
Beckrest had a night to remember with 29 points. She also snared four rebounds against the taller Eagles, and the five steals she had, all in the second half, kept Geneva from getting to the basket as easily as they did early in the game.
This effort was led by Emily Buck, their tall post player. She scored 21 to go with 13 rebounds, but Geneva was unable to get the ball to her in the Wolverines’ second-half defensive clampdown.
“We changed our offense somewhat at halftime to put us into a position to attack more,” Beckrest said. “We’re not the best team around against a zone defense because we’re pretty young as a team, so we knew we had to put more pressure on the ball and it worked well for us.”
Coach Stewart appreciated how his girls tightened things up in the fourth period.
“Everybody knows that good defense leads to good offense,” he said. “Our defensive pressure got us to a good spot in that period. Up to that point, we just weren’t getting it done. Once we started to take care of the ball better, we had some success — because with Geneva, you know they are always going to be aggressive.”
Up until those last five minutes of the game, the Eagles forced the action with their own defense. Their pressure also forced 14 Wolverine turnovers, and Buck had her way close to the basket, as the Wolverines had nobody with arms long enough to keep her from getting second-chance scoring opportunities.
A good start to the third period for West Geauga (3-6), however, wiped out a 25-21 halftime edge for the Eagles. A 3-pointer from Beckrest gave the Wolverines a 31-28 lead with 4:35 left in the third stanza, but two free throws from Mickey Zheng, a steal and layup from Zheng, and two consecutive put-backs of misses by Buck gave Geneva a 40-34 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
A quick 10-2 run for the home team set up the final comeback for the Wolverines.
Borz provided nine points and six rebounds to the efforts of Beckrest, along with four assists. Callie Kormos also snared six missed shots in the second half, as the constant movement on defense from the Wolverines stopped Buck from getting missed shots.
Rachel Mason played a huge role in the defensive efforts for Coach Stewart, too, with her quickness in shutting down passes into the paint. The Eagles slowly saw the wheels fall of what looked to be a secure win.
This band of Wolverines seems to be finding more bite on offense, something that will help them with overall quickness. Michaela Platt also played a solid floor game at both ends — a bright ray of hope for the Wolverines heading into the new year.
