It’s district tournament time and it’s a good time for the East Webster Lady Wolverines to be on the court.
EWHS is currently 18-8 and finished out the regular season with two more wins last week as it defeated Houston 56-44 and Houlka 46-12. The Houston win was especially sweet for the Lady Wolverines as they showed just how bright the future was having no seniors on the team for senior night.
Earlier in the year, Houston took home a 59-52 overtime win over the Lady Wolverines in a game that the team never forgot. They got their revenge against the Class 3A squad in the final home game of the regular season.
“I thought that was a good win,” Ginn said. “We could have stretched it out a little more at the end but overall I was really pleased with our play defensively and offensively. A lot of that is just getting some kids maturing and understanding how to play.”
Shameriah Culpepper had 16 points in the win and Meri-Grace Gregg finished with 11. It was the perfect tune up for a team that is focused in on winning a Class 2A, Region 2 championship and making a run in the playoffs this year.
With EWHS hosting the district tournament that began on Tuesday night, the Lady Wolverines earned a couple of days off due to the grabbing the No. 2 seed. EWHS went 3-1 in district play with the lone loss against No. 1 Calhoun City. They’ll play against Bruce on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
The progress that Ginn’s team has made over the year gives him a lot of confidence heading into these ball games.
“Lauren (Graves) is really starting to see the floor better. She used to just drive when a play broke down but now she’s starting to really get a feel of who she needs to get the ball to for a score. We’re getting a lot of production out of Meri-Grace Gregg who is shooting lights out and then we have the sister act down low with Shameriah (Culpepper) and Shan (Culpepper). We’re just in a really good spot right now.”
BOYS
A stretch run against tough opponents continued last week as the Wolverines lost their fifth and sixth games in seven attempts since mid-January.
These were losses to Houston and Houlka, two teams with a lot of history on the basketball court. It didn’t help matters that the Wolverines had most of the starting lineup out with the flu or injured and remain very young.
Riley Carrithers, Nash Caldwell and Sedrick Taylor were the three seniors recognized against Houston but only Carrithers contributed in a major way with 10 points in a 77-42 loss. Considering the illnesses on the team, Ginn was proud of the effort.
“We’re trying to get them healthy. The two games that we lost last week to two really good opponents was without four starters. Three were out with the flu and Sedrick was out with an ankle injury,” Ginn said. “If we can get any of these guys back to 100 percent, we’ll be a little stronger.”
Cael Chrismond had to lead the way in the Houston game with several players out and had 15 points. Chandler Hodges joined Carrithers and Chrismond in double figures with 10.
The Wolverines (8-19) followed that up with a 84-46 loss at Houlka. Caldwell got into the scoring column with 12 points and Hayes Fason also had 12 in the loss.
District tournament begins for the Wolverines on Tuesday night as the No. 5 seed playing host to No. 4 Bruce at 7:30 p.m. The winner gets No. 1 Calhoun City on Thursday at 5:30.
EWHS might have gone winless in division play, but they lost three of the four Region 2 games in the final minute. Bruce was one of those that was in the grasp for the Wolverines as missed free throws down the stretch contributed in a 54-51 overtime loss.
“We led just about the whole game and lost it in the end by not hitting free throws or executing,” Ginn said. “We’ve been wanting to get another shot at redemption.”
