Schneider helping Wolves in title quest
The varsity girls’ basketball season in the Golden Empire League figures to be one of the most competitive in recent memory.
Pioneer, last year’s champions, have gotten off to a great start at 2-1 while league favorites Dixon are riding high at 3-0.
But one team that should not be discounted is the Woodland women’s varsity team as they look to make the league a threeteam race.
After a tough 48-26 loss in the opening game of league play, the Wolves have bounced back in a big way with massive victories of 37- and 20 points against Mira Loma and Casa Roble, respectively.
One of the reasons for the hot streak has been the play and leadership of senior center, Kaitlyn Schneider.
“She has probably been one of our most consistent players,” Woodland assistant women’s
coach Manuel Villanueva said. “She has had a couple of great games with a double-double in point and rebounds. Also, with her height, she has been able to get a lot of blocked shots. I think she has shown leadership by playing hard every game.”
This past Wednesday in the game against Mira Loma, Woodland needed to come out, and they are contenders with a win at home. Mira Loma has been struggling this season with a 0-3 record, and the Wolves made sure those struggles continued.
Schneider perhaps had one of her best scoring and most efficient games all season, putting up 26 points on 13 shots and being a menace in the Wolves trap defense. After a steal from one of her teammates, she was able to get easy baskets at the rim consistently.
“She is athletic enough to be able to get up and down the court quicker than most other girls, and against Mira Loma, she showed that,” Villanueva said. “She was in the backcourt of our trap, and she was able to sprint up the court and beat the Mira Loma defenders to the other end after a steal by one of her teammates.”
In the Wolves 20 point victory over Casa Roble on Friday, Schnider contributed 12 points, including a dominant second quarter run where she scored eight straight unanswered points.
“Kaitlyn has been really receptive to my coaching, and I think it has helped her improve quite a bit from the beginning of the season,” Villanueva said. “At the beginning of the season, she was getting a lot of rebounds and opportunities to score but would settle for a quick shot while being smothered by smaller defenders. We’ve worked on her taking her time or making a quick move to the basket for an easy layup or shot.”
This coming week Woodland hits the road to take on a Mesa Verde team, who will go into the game 1-2. The Wolves will hope to take care of business before their crosstown match against Pioneer Friday, in what will likely be a battle for second place in the league. Schnider, along with her teammates, will have to play even better in the Wolves’ next two games if they want a chance to win the league later in the season.
“It will be very important to have Kaitlyn continue to play at the level she’s played the last couple of games for us to have a shot at winning the league title,” Villanueva said. “Teamed up with Reyna Bautista on the blocks, she gives our team two solid scorers, rebounders, and defenders that the other league teams have to worry about. Against Pioneer, I think she’ll match up well. It will come down to how she can use her height and speed to her advantage.”