Westminster takes down undermanned Gerstell Academy
Westminster took a loaded lineup into its home match Tuesday against Gerstell and used it to its advantage to record a 58-24 victory in a nonconference dual meet.
The Owls took advantage of seven forfeits en route to the victory. In addition, Westminster also scored pins from Connor Ruane at 120 pounds and Tyler Wilson at 215 pounds to aid its cause.
“We knew they weren’t going to have a ton of guys, but the guys they had were going to be tough. We had to wrestle hard every match,” Westminster coach Garrett Vandervalk said. “It only takes seven guys to win a dual meet match, and they had seven.”
Forfeits aside, Gerstell was ready for each contested match. The Falcons got a win at 138 pounds, in which Landon Bell defeated Ethan deGalicia via fall in 1:50. Ryan Ellis pinned Daviti Guliashvili 3:30 into the 190-pound match. Rowen Myers from Gerstell also pinned Mason Warnick 3:12 into their 165-pound bout.
The most dominant performance, however, came from Ruane at 120 pounds. Ruane built up a 12-1 lead before finally getting his opponent, Weylin Myers, on his back for a third-period pin.
“He was pretty good, but I knew I could work him,” Ruane said. “I finally found a way to turn him and I took advantage and got the pin.”
The biggest surprise of the evening was when Westminster’s Tyler Wilson bumped up a weight class to 215 pounds before finding a way to pin a much larger Adam Mohmand.
He threw him at the end of the match and that really helped,” Vandervalk said. “He’s not a guy that’s usually one to bump up, and him doing that took a lot of courage.”
Wilson said he had a strategy that helped him win the match.
“He was much bigger than me, but he kept standing up,” Wilson said. “I waited and then I got a nice slap-drop on him to take him down and pin him.”
Westminster’s Braden Vacca also recorded a major decision, 15-6, over Jack Bruffy at 157 pounds.
For Gerstell, the night was a tough one but also a learning experience.
“I don’t think we wrestled well tonight,” Gerstell coach Dennis Frazier said. “We were not aggressive. We sat around and waited too much, and it showed up in the score.”
Girls basketball
Manchester Vallet 43, South Carroll 40: Out-hustled, out-physicaled and out-rebounded.
Manchester Valley coach Heather
DeWees used those exact terms during a timeout to describe her girls as they were on the verge of blowing a double-digit lead to South Carroll. While the lead did slip away, the Mavericks’ fourth-quarter response was key.
Responding to a scrappy Cavaliers team with some adjustments and scrappiness of their own, the Mavericks left Tuesday night’s game with a 43-40 win and a new outlook on the team’s identity as the meat of the season quickly approaches.
“We needed this one,” said Manchester Valley’s Autumn Stottlemire, who finished with a game-high 15 points. “We’ve been we’ve been going through a lot of ups and downs and we needed this one to move forward.”
The first quarter turned into a game about which team could handle the press better as both teams looked to play aggressive defense, pressuring their opponents from all angles.
DeWees turned to a part of the Mavericks’ identity that has been prevalent since day one: the dynamic duo of Stottlemire and Reese Kresslein. The pair started off the game hot, leading the Mavericks on an 11-2 run.
“They both did a good job demanding the basketball. They did a good job finishing their layups,” DeWees said. “They are our leaders on the floor.”
But in the second quarter, the Cavaliers responded and the lead slowly shrunk. South Carroll whittled the deficit down to one on two separate occasions. DeWees switched from pressing to a zone defense that changed the looks and slightly slowed down the South Carroll run. As a result, the*
Mavericks went into the half with a hardearned nine-point lead.
“It’s all about changing defense, changing pace and making people uncomfortable,” DeWees said. “The goal is just to get people out of rhythm.”
Out of rhythm but not out of any fight to begin the third quarter, the Cavaliers came out of the break applying pressure. Leah Miller and Harley McKee led the way, not only hitting shots to trim the lead but forcing the Mavericks’ offense into a bit of a panic throughout the game-altering run.
The quarter could be best summed up with the final possession: As Kresslein was being swarmed by two Cavaliers, she threw the ball away attempting a risky pass across the middle of the court.
Miller stole the ball, fed McKee, then let out a loud “Let’s go!” as she watched the sophomore hit a floater at the buzzer to complete the comeback and give the Cavaliers a 36-34 lead heading into the fourth.
Desperate for a response, the Mavericks became the aggressors in a physical fourth quarter. Players on each side dove for loose balls and many hit the floor after hard contact on drives to the basket.
Ultimately, Stottlemire, normally a dangerous outside shooter, hit a couple of tough baskets inside and the Mavericks got the final stop of the game to escape South Carroll with the win.
— Timothy Dashiell
John Carroll 50, C. Milton Wright 22: Mary Buyse gathered her team behind the bench after the postgame handshake line to take a moment and debrief. Concern boldly painted each of their faces. But the C. Milton Wright coach told her team how firmly proud she was of the way they handled a tough and scary situation.
With less than two minutes left before halftime, a Mustangs girls basketball player suffered an apparent neck injury on a fall and was eventually taken out on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital. The player appeared to be moving her legs but no update on the severity of the injury was immediately available after the game.
The sudden, accidental play left a solemn hush throughout the gym.
Buyse deliberated with John Carroll coach Jim Stromberg, officials and athletic directors about next steps. The near consensus in the huddle was that it would be OK to cancel. Tuesday night was an inconsequential matchup between nonconference foes and at that point, looking like a runaway for the Patriots. But the onus falls on C. Milton Wright for the decision.
Buyse was comfortable with canceling at first but interjected, “Let me talk to my girls, though.”
The first-year coach went back to her team seeking input. “[She’d] kill us if we didn’t finish this game,” they said. “We’re finishing the game for [her].” Buyse was proud to watch her team rally around the player, finishing the second half with hearts heavy with concern.
John Carroll led 24-11 at the break in play and went on to win handily, 50-22. But it was clear, as both coaches admitted, the game felt inherently different following the 45-minute delay.
The first half beamed with intensity. The Patriots drove an up-tempo style while C. Milton Wright’s defensive effort kept the Mustangs within striking distance against one of their toughest scheduled opponents. Come the second half, cheers from the benches rung louder. Players were quicker to lift up teammates. Each C. Milton Wright point felt more meaningful.
It’s a tough ask in any sport for a team, mentally, to return to ready-to-play form after that sort of incident.
One official warned Buyse to ensure her team didn’t return with any sort of vengeance. She was taken aback by the notion.
“These girls aren’t like that,” Buyse said. “They’re friends with half the girls on that team. We know it was an accident. We have good sportsmanship; we’re gonna remain loyal to the game of basketball. Let’s finish the basketball game and we’ll play for her.”
John Carroll sophomore Pieper McCue led all scorers with 19 points. Kalissa Coats added nine. For the Mustangs, Sam Wolfkill had a team-best eight points and Emma Jankowiak contributed six.
After the injury-initiated break that sent both teams to their respective locker rooms, then a five-minute warmup period before getting back to the action, the game leaned purely on the fun of the sport.
“Afterward, you’re just playing to play,” Stromberg said. “Whatever happens [on the court], happens.”
“You saw the intensity leave the gym,” Buyse said. “They were the better team tonight by far. We did what we could. But I think our girls were out there enjoying playing basketball for their teammate.”
Other girls basketball scores: Aberdeen 58, Kenwood 43 Francis Scott Key 64, Liberty 43 Century 47, Winters Mill 21
Loch Raven 47, Edgewood 46
Boys basketball
Liberty 72, Francis Scott Key 40 Manchester Valley 66, South Carroll 56 Loch Raven 51, Edgewood 38