Bowling Green senior point guard Lola Thompson scored 18 points and shooting guard Macyn Dean-Scheele scored 10 lead the Bobcats to a 34-30 non-league win over visiting Maumee Tuesday.
It was the second straight win for the Bobcats (2-1) after Dean-Scheele scored the game-winner at the buzzer to beat Lima Senior on the road Saturday.
In the win over Maumee (1-1), the Bobcats held a 26-19 lead after three quarters but the Panthers clawed their way back.
Dean-Scheele, sophomore guard Neverah Wintermote, and senior post Allie Fry had big field goals down the stretch and Thompson hit two free throws to ice the win for BG.
For Wintermote and Fry, it was their only points of the game but they came when it counted most. Sophomore guard Lila Vanneman also scored two points for the Bobcats.
For Maumee, sophomore Autumn Gugger scored 10 points, sophomore shooting guard Taylor Smith scored eight, junior point guard Lucy Porter scored six, sophomore power forward Izzy Yancy scored four, and senior forward Megyn Calopietro added two points. Smith had a third quarter triple to help the Panthers make their second half comeback.
Last year was BG girls basketball coach Jake Vanneman’s first season at the helm of a varsity program and as an alumnus, he believes there is a lot at stake with the direction his program goes.
The Bobcats finished 6-17 overall and 2-12 in the Northern Lakes League last year, and Vanneman has five letter winners returning hoping to make a run in the NLL’s new Cardinal Division. To do so, the Bobcats plan on picking up the tempo, and it’s paid off in their first three games.
“We aim to push the ball to get open looks but want to force teams to run offense and limit transition points,” Vanneman said.
The Bobcats got their first win on the road last Saturday afternoon, nipping Lima Senior, 41-39, as Thompson hit four three-point goals and scored 15 points.
BG led 36-29 entering the final stanza and had to hold off a late Spartan rally. Thompson hit a triple but the Spartans came back to tie the game at 39-all. However, Dean-Scheele scored on a buzzer-beater layup to preserve the Bobcats’ win.
Fry and sophomore guard Lizzie Amspoker scored four points apiece, senior guard Ashley Knoulton scored three points, and 5-foot-11 junior post Anne Konecny added two points.
To keep winning, Vanneman says the Bobcats will need to be more aggressive at “attacking the basket — we’ll work hard to get to the rim.”
Among the letter winners are Thompson, Dean-Scheele, and Fry. Thompson, who led the returnees in minutes last year, averaged 5.7 points and Fry averaged 4.5 rebounds.
Vanneman believes with a year of experience behind her Fry can make a bigger impact this year in multiple aspects of the game. Vanneman says Fry, who was the second leading rebounder last year, “has worked hard on her scoring.” The other returning post with varsity experience is Konecny.
Vanneman says Amspoker has “speed and strength” that will allow her to make an impact immediately. Other than Amspoker, Vanneman says his bench is “sophomores with no varsity experience.”
Vanneman believes BG can finish in the middle of the Cardinal Division, but adds that a “lack of depth will hurt us as the season wears on.”
The Cardinal Division includes previous NLL members Sylvania Southview, Springfield, and Napoleon and also newcomers Clay and Fremont Ross. Vanneman says he’s “excited” for the new-look schedule that has been created for his team.
“It’s always fun to build new friendly rivalries and compete with more teams,” Vanneman said.
In the Bobcats’ season opener, they lost at Tiffin Columbian, 57-31, with Dean-Scheele leading the way by scoring seven points, Thompson and Fry scored six apiece, and Amspoker scored four.
Lila Vanneman scored three points, Konecny scored two, and Knoulton added one point for the Bobcats.
For the Tornadoes, who hit 10 three-point goals, Marissa Allen and Alexa Beaston combined for eight treys in scoring 15 points apiece.
Abbie Felske scored 10 points, Maggie Rannigan scored nine points, Mikenna Kancler scored three, Caitlyn Free and Maria Kistler scored two apiece, and Mia Zeis added one point.
