Girls Hoops Notebook: Chippewa leads the way in loaded WCAL

When Denny Schrock retired as Chippewa’s girls basketball coach last March, it was the end of an era.

That tradition, however, has shown no signs on stopping anytime soon.

Under the direction of Katie Miller, who came to the school after eight seasons guiding her alma mater, Dalton, to a number of postseason runs in Division IV, the Chipps haven’t lost a beat this season, even with a team loaded with underclassman and newcomers to the varsity court.

The result has been a 11-3 start to the year and a perfect 9-0 record in the Wayne County Athletic League, where Chippewa leads state contenders Smithville and Waynedale by two games entering the week.

The team to beat: Chippewa beats Waynedale in battle of first-place WCAL teams

“It's been a lot of fun,” Miller said. “We've had our moments where we've looked young, and we've had our moments where we've looked like vets, and that's OK. That makes our dynamic cool and keeps us wanting to come back and keep working.

“The kids have really bought in, and we talk a lot about practicing how you play and we're doing that more often. That's why we're getting the results we have been getting.”

Indeed they have and it's been a balanced effort that has gotten it done.

With a combination of a high-octane transition game and some gritty defense, Chippewa has four players averaging around seven points or better, led by sophomore Aira Regan, who is averaging 11.9 points a night, along with a team-best 5.9 rebounds.

Combine that with junior Elena Moyer (9.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg), senior Sky Regan (8.9 ppg), senior Annie Henegar (6.9 ppg, 2.6 apg) and freshman Bree Regan (5.1 ppg), the team is averaging over 50 points a night.

It’s been quite a start for a team that was hit hard by graduation from a team that played for the D-III state championship a year ago.

But the current Chipps have been waiting for their turn and have taken full advantage of the opportunity to keep the winning tradition going.

“It's really special here,” she said. “It's just Denny Schrock. Denny is the credit for this program. He built it.

“You talk about a tradition and you go to some schools and maybe that tradition was a five-year span here or there, but for him it was 30-something years,” Miller continued. “Denny always said it's Lady Chipp basketball and that's what has shown up.”

Century Club

Three more area players surpassed the 1,000-point plateau this past week as Northwestern’s Caydence Scale, Triway’s Caitlin Titler and Waynedale’s Alyssa Geiser joined the elite club. Scale, who enters the week scoring 17.7 points a night, reached the marker against Chippewa this past week, while Titler did it in a hard-fought overtime contest at Tuslaw. Geiser — a fellow senior all-conference guard along with Scale and Titler — netted 15 points versus Smithville.

In all, six locals have reached the career milestone, joining Ashley Mullet (Hiland), Naomi Keib (Smithville) and Aaliyah Wirth (Triway), while Corri Vermilya of Loudonville passed the 2,000-point mark in a win against Clear Fork earlier this month.

League races heat up

After Smithville’s 36-34 victory over Waynedale this past week, both the Smithies and Golden Bears find themselves deadlocked with identical 7-2 records in Wayne County Athletic League, trailing Chippewa (9-0 in county) heading into the final month of the regular season.

This Thursday, that championship race might get more interesting as Smithville hosts conference-leading Chippewa. The Smithies, Waynedale and Chipps all had a share in the WCAL crown last winter. Waynedale will get its second chance at Chippewa as well, hosting the Chipps Feb. 15 to close out the regular season.

** With its thrilling overtime win over Triway, followed by convincing triumphs over Fairless and Northwest, Tuslaw finds itself tied atop the Principals Athletic Conference with CVCA, each with a 10-1 mark. The Mustangs, who have won five straight entering the week, host Canton South (8-3) in a crucial league contest this Saturday.

** Mansfield Senior has opened up its lead in the Ohio Cardinal Conference as the Tygers perfect 10-0 mark leads both West Holmes (7-1) and Lexington (6-4) in the final half of the year. A big week awaits the Knights will games against rival Wooster on Thursday and league-leading Senior this Saturday.

Battle-tested

The midseason point is a good moment for coaches to evaluate where their respective teams heading into the stretch run of the season. That’s exactly what Hiland second-year coach Brady Schlabach is doing after his team suffered its first two losses of the season — a 55-46 setback to Reynoldsburg and a 46-39 loss against Olmsted Falls at the Classic in the Country. And while it wasn’t the wins that his team was looking for Schlabach was pleased with the fight.

“We had some physical hard-fought battles at the Classic this weekend,” said Schlabach of the pair of D-I losses. “I was very proud of how hard we played and how we made comebacks in both games.

“Going toe to toe with two of the best programs in the state is no small feat. We are continuing to get better every day in hopes of making a run at the end of the year, and this weekend helped us in that aspect.”

Ashley Mullet is among the area's scoring leaders with 18 points a night, along with five assists per contest, while Mallory Stutzman (13.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Joplin Yoder (12.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg) help make up a dynamic top three in Berlin.

Breakout performances

Both Destiny Dulkoski and Breanna McCabe have double-double machines for Tuslaw. The junior frontcourt pairing each came through in a big way in a thrilling overtime win over Triway earlier this month as the Mustangs rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to force the extra session. McCabe had a team-best 29 points with six rebounds, while Dulkoski added 25 points, 13 boards and a pair of blocks. The experience of Dulkoski and McCabe, along with fellow returning starters Emma Rowbotham and Malia Mizeres has Tuslaw off to an 12-4, 10-1 start.

** Following her 10-point, 12-rebound night against Ashland, Wooster’s Grace Kostohryz now has 11 double-doubles on the season. She enters the week averaging 20.7 points and 13.1 rebounds a game.

** Kendra Berger has stepped up into a bigger role in the Norwayne backcourt this winter. Along with averaging 7.3 points a night, the junior has shined on the defensive end as she has been tasked with guarding some of the top guards in the area.

** Dalton’s Kendall Maibach has done a little bit of everything this season. Maibach leads the team in both assists and rebounds but has shown the ability to get the job done scoring wise as the junior guard had a season-high 18 points against Woodridge.

** Speaking of the Bulldogs, the team enters the week winners in three of their last five contests for first-year coach Chase Moyer.

** The Smithies have won eight of their last nine heading into their rematch with Chippewa this week, including wins over Shelby, Elyria Catholic and Waynedale. A key to that has been some scoring depth emerging around Keib, led by senior Cammi Wickens, who is averaging 9.5 points a night.

** Two of the biggest games of the season await undefeated Loudonville to close out the month as coach Tyler Bates’ squad battles Warrensville Heights (14-2) Tuesday, followed by Colonel Crawford (14-1) Jan. 31.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Girls Hoops: New-look Chippewa leading the way in loaded WCAL