There might be some youth on the East Webster Lady Wolverine but they’re starting to hit their stride.
EWHS (11-6, 2-0 Region 2) used a tough schedule in non-conference to prepare them for the games that matter in January and February. They went 2-0 last week with victories over Bruce and Eupora to start of Region 2 play in a big way.
The first game of the week on the road was a tight one. The Lady Wolverines trailed 29-28 at halftime but EWHS came back and took the lead heading into the final quarter at 45-41. The back and forth final quarter saw the Lady Wolverines hang on to the 55-50 win in a hard-fought effort.
Shameria Culpepper had a team-high 17 points, Shan Culpepper scored 13 and Meri-Grace Gregg scored 11.
Against Eupora, the game was never in doubt. EWHS gave up just one point in the first quarter and Eupora couldn’t score double digits in a quarter all game as the Lady Wolverines won 60-14.
Whitney Winter was the leading scorer for the Lady Wolverines with 10 points.
With the win, the Lady Wolverines have a chance to move to the top of the division but the toughest task is ahead. They go to Calhoun City on Tuesday in a matchup of two of the teams that are going to be at the top this year. Ginn likes the progress of his team.
“Some girls are learning what’s going on and they’re also learning how they have to compete at this level,” Ginn said. “We’ll really find out on Tuesday how we have to compete. I look forward to seeing if we have those same improvements.”
BOYS
It was déjà vu for Ginn and his boys team on Friday night against rival Eupora. After missing several free throws down the stretch that ultimately cost them the game against Bruce, the Wolverines had a 3-point lead with less than 30 seconds left and couldn’t hold on as free throws were again in issue.
A late 3-pointer by Perron Hill tied the game and then two free throws by the Eagles in the final seconds sealed it as the Wolverines couldn’t get the job done, falling 46-44.
“It wasn’t those free throws along the way that cost the game, we missed several in the first half as well,” Ginn said. “And one of our Achilles Heels lately has been rebounding and we’ve given up second-chance opportunity. There were two or three stretches in the game where we couldn’t get the ball, they got it and scored.
“Usually when you do something bad on one end, something good happens (for the other team) on the other end. My hat is off to Eupora. I thought they played really good.”
At one point late in the second half, the Eagles had a 10-point lead over the Wolverines but they were ready to battle back. A 7-0 run actually gave EWHS the lead with 1 minute left as Reid Gatlin hit two free throws and Chandler Hodges made a layup but they couldn’t hold on.
Sedrick Taylor finished with 15 points to lead the Wolverines while Cael Chrismond and Gatlin scored 10 each.
The Wolverines (6-12, 0-2 Region 2) have the toughest test of district play coming up on Tuesday when they travel to division favorites Calhoun City.
“The only way to get experience is experience,” Ginn said. “You can either get bitter or better so this should motivate them to get in the gym. I challenged a couple of our seniors that they have three weeks left in the regular season. As long as there’s another game, there’s life in the season and a chance to improve.”
