Wadsworth survives to beat Ellet in Ohio high school girls basketball opening night action
WADSWORTH, Ohio – Wadsworth girls basketball head coach Andrew Booth could only watch as Ellet’s Caitlyn Holmes released a 3-pointer in the final seconds on Wednesday night.
When the ball hit the rim and bounced off, giving Wadsworth a 62-59 win over Ellet on the opening night of the girls basketball season in Ohio, the head coach was able to let out a sigh.
“I can’t say that for print,” Booth said jokingly of what he was thinking when the ball was in the air. “I thought Lyla (Wilson) did a good job not let her get closer. She at least had a hand up and made it somewhat contested. And (Holmes) was probably due for a miss, let's put it that way.”
Wadsworth (1-0) had led by 15 in the fourth quarter before a furious rally by the Orangemen cut the lead to just one in the final minute on the last basket of the game by Holmes.
Then with Ellet trying to pressure and then foul, Brooke Baughman was able to find Wilson under the basket for a layup that gave the Grizzlies a 3-point lead.
“For us to make that last play there where Baughman got it, had the head up, saw Wilson there to get us a little bit of a cushion, that was big,” Booth said. “So we'll take the W and learn a bunch of lessons.”
Wilson led the way for Wadsworth with 29 points and 12 rebounds.
“She was able to get herself in open areas because they weren't playing man defense and the big thing is she finished.,” Booth said. “We've been on her about focusing because sometimes she's so much bigger than anybody else and she'll just toss it up there real quick and it doesn't always go in. But I thought tonight she was really dialed in. I thought she did a great job of catching first and then getting her eyes up on the square and finishing.”
The 6-foot-1 senior post player dominated on the offensive glass for the Grizzlies, which led to multiple second chance baskets.
“She loves to get in the weight room and she's not afraid to get physical,” Booth said. “God gave her some great gifts in terms of her size and her strength and she's a kid we haven't had for a while with that size in years. And she just makes a difference on both ends of the floor and I'm happy for her because no one works as hard as she does. We have a team full of hard workers, and she's right up near the top."
Wadsworth's Lyla Wilson goes up for a shot in a win over Ellet on November 22, 2023. Photo credit: Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports
Ryan Isley, SBLive Sports
Ellet led by two at halftime and Wadsworth came out with a different fire in the third quarter, outscoring the Orangemen 30-13.
“I think we did a much better job with our pressure,” Booth said. “I think we turned them over a little bit more in the third quarter. I thought we were more sound, and our fundamentals of how we wanted to pressure them.”
For Ellet, showing the toughness and determination in the fourth quarter to stay in the game and make a comeback showed its head coach what his team is made of after losing to this same team 56-20 last season.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my girls,” Ellet head coach Nick Harris said. “Last year, this Wadsworth team with the same lineup pretty much, came to us and rolled over us. The second half (last year) we wilted, we weren’t able to answer the bell, we just weren’t there yet mentally, physically, emotionally. This year they showed they are a completely different team.”
Holmes led all scorers with 35 points and the opposing coach knew it was coming after Holmes was held to just seven against Wadsworth last year.
“She's obviously phenomenal and we talked about she has the capability of going for 30,” Booth said. “Last year she got in foul trouble. I think she only had seven so I kind of figured a kid with that competitive spirit was going to try to get a little payback. And she did that. Luckily, it was 35 and not 38.”
-- Ryan Isley | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveoh
