COLUMBUS — Among all the well-wishers who have given words of encouragement to the Wadsworth girls basketball team over the last six days, one stood out: Kate (Lyren) Sondles.
That’s the same Kate Lyren who in 1997 made the game-winning layup as time expired against Mason to give the Grizzlies their lone Division I state championship. Her postcard was double-sided, kind-hearted, inspiring and with great merit.
ASHLEY FOX / GAZETTE 1500 students from Wadsworth High School packed into the gym on Thursday, sending off the girls’ basketball team. The Lady Grizzlies will play the Reynoldsburg Raiders at 6 p.m. Friday, at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.
“That was awesome,” D-I co-Player of the Year Jodi Johnson said. “She’s been in our shoes before. She’s been in a state champion’s shoes, too, so it was definitely a big motivation for us.”
The current Wadsworth team is itching for a chance at history. The Grizzlies had a pep rally Thursday morning and visited the city’s elementary schools before they headed to Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware for a 1 p.m. practice. They then reached Columbus, where they checked into their hotel, had a team dinner and watched lower-division semifinals.
Wadsworth (26-1), which was No. 20 in the USA Today national rankings this week, will take to the Value City Arena court and battle Reynoldsburg (23-5) in the D-I semifinals tonight at 6. The winner gets Mason (25-2) or Solon (19-8) at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
The buzz in southeastern Medina County has been electric, as Wadsworth faithful purchased a state-record number of presale tickets. The Sea of Red will be out in force tonight.
“It’s been very noticeable that the community has been excited,” coach Andrew Booth said. “The school is alive. It’s hard to remember 10 years ago (when Wadsworth last made the state semis), but I don’t remember this much hype going around. It’s just been great. The kids have been soaking it in.”
Reynoldsburg coach Jack Purtell has a Medina County connection, as his father, also named Jack, was Black River football coach from 1960-62. The Raiders’ other area link is a 67-48 loss to Solon at The Classic in the Country Challenge on Jan. 17. Wadsworth defeated Solon 68-46 on Feb. 3.
The Grizzlies are taking a grounded approach and not giving Reynoldsburg’s loss to Solon any merit. While the Raiders are ahead of schedule, so to speak, with no seniors and six sophomores or freshmen in their rotation, they can be devastating defensively with a blend of size and speed.
The biggest name in stature is 6-foot-3 sophomore Jalynda Salley (12.0 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 1.3 bpg, .536 fg, .403 ft), the most physically imposing player Wadsworth will face this season. The biggest backcourt threat is 5-9 sophomore Newark transfer Adrian Crockwell (11.6 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.9 spg, 52-of-192 3-pointers), a fellow ESPN three-star recruit and highlight-reel dribbler who can create her own shot with ease.
Another 3-point threat, Brooklyn Pannell (5-8, jr.), is averaging a team-best 14.5 points in the postseason, while Hannah Haskins (5-7, jr., 7.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Mackenzie Davis (5-6, so., 3.9 ppg, 3.7 apg) also are slated to start. Oju Ezeudu (6-0, fr., 5.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg) helps keep Salley fresh.
“They’re extremely aggressive defensively, and usually any mistake you make, they’re going to turn it into points — and they’re usually points you don’t have any time to defend because it will be a breakout,” Booth said. “That’s going to obviously be something we focus on. Secondly, they’re not the biggest besides Salley, but they all go to the boards hard.”
As Booth alluded to, Reynoldsburg, which shoots .506 at the foul line compared to .734 for the Grizzlies, relies heavily on aggressive pressure that often remains trapping in the half court. This will be an adjustment for the Grizzlies, who haven’t seen much full-court defense in first quarters all season.
That said, Wadsworth has had success in those situations — mostly when the opposition is desperately behind in the second half — and is looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s their speed and their ability to put pressure on us to try and force us to turn over the ball,” Johnson said. “We haven’t been really in those situations where we’ve had a lot of quick players on the floor who were able to pressure us. It’s definitely going to be a test.”
While current Grizzlies players have never taken competed at this stage, assistant coaches Jen (Uhl) Martin and Lindsay Tenyak were on the 2006 team that fell to Solon. The coaching staff also remains intact.
Booth didn’t worry about giving his team an in-depth scouting report on the atmosphere. He likes the focus in his players’ eyes and is confident they will not be overwhelmed by the 19,049-seat arena and deep shooting backgrounds.
This team is ready for the spotlight and plans to cap what Johnson called “a crazy week” with a state championship.
“It’s been a very neat experience so far,” Booth said. “Hopefully we can continue it.”
