Seeds in hand, Wooster basketball teams ready for postseason play
For the Wooster High girls it was a matter of respect. For the General boys, it is about earning some.
The Wooster girls (13-5) earned a No. 3 seed in the Division I Medina Sectional/District, where they will play their opening sectional game against a 4-13 North Olmsted squad Feb. 23, at 7:30 p.m.
The boys, 7-9 after winning three of their last four games, were seeded 10th in the Canton Division I Sectional/District. The Generals will play 10-9 Boardman, the ninth seed on Monday, Feb. 28, at 6:15 at the Canton Civic Center.
Wooster coach Mike Baus was pleased with the draw his girls earned.
Westlake, 16-3, was the No. 1 pick in the 13-team tournament. Lorain (13-4) was second and North Ridgeville (12-5) was the fourth seed.
“We’re pleased with our seed,” said Baus. “We thought it was fair and that we earned a little respect from Medina area teams. The second- and third-seeded teams stayed away from Westlake, so Westlake and North Ridgeville are in the top half of the bracket and we’re in the bottom part of the bracket.”
One of the difficulties Wooster faces in this tournament is it’s loaded with few common opponents.
“We’ll have a chance over the next week; we’re going to scout every night so we’ll see everyone at least once,” said Baus Sunday evening. “We’ve talked with some of our contacts and we’ll get tapes from teams who have played (potential opponents). Between tapes of games and seeing them at least once, we feel we’ll be prepared for them.
“We feel like we’re jelling at about the right time,” he added. “Our game with Orrville (a 62-56 win) was like a tournament atmosphere with a loud crowd, a good crowd. It was a game that can actually help prepare us for tournaments. Last Saturday we went to Canton and played Canton South and beat them by 21, but it was also a stepping stone. It was real physical and it took us awhile to adjust. In hindsight, it could help us in the tournament because we haven’t seen physical play like that in awhile.”
Wooster had its final regular-season and Ohio Cardinal Conference game Thursday (Feb. 17) against Clear Fork. The Generals, 9-4 in the OCC, are in third place in the conference as they have won three in a row and four of their past five.
“The nice thing this year is they have been improving each day and they are willing to learn more each day,” said Baus. “Some teams are ready for the season to be over; this group is not in that category. They are looking to make a run and anxious to keep learning.”
Should the Generals get past North Olmsted, they would play the winner of Brunswick (8-9) and Avon Lake (7-9) on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 7:30 p.m.
The boys, on the other hand, head to Canton’s Civic Center for a showdown for Youngstown Boardman with the 10th seed in hand and looking to build on their recent momentum.
“I feel from the preliminary information we’ve gotten it’s a good match-up for us,” said head coach Craig Martin. “Boardman is 2-7 in the Federal League, but we know any Federal League team is going be a quality team, so we have to be ready to play.”
Jackson was the top seed with a 13-3 record, with Timken (14-2) second, Perry (12-5) third and Canton McKinley fourth (10-5) in the Canton Sectional/District.
“We’re the 10th seed, but after (McKinley), the 7-8-9 seeds are 7-8 or 9-7 – there is a lot of parity and closeness of records,” said Martin.
Should Wooster beat Boardman, the Generals will play Jackson, which had a bye, on Wednesday, March 2, for the sectional title.
Martin is hoping the Generals have turned a corner by winning three of their past four games.
“We feel like we’re coming together,” said Martin. “We’ve won 3-of-4 and 4-of-6, so we feel we’ve been playing well. We’ve been in every single game. We’ve had losses where we couldn’t get that stop or score when we needed it.
The Generals played West Holmes (Feb. 15), and will play Ashland at home (Feb. 18) and Akron Ellet at home (Feb. 19).
The Wooster girls (13-5) earned a No. 3 seed in the Division I Medina Sectional/District, where they will play their opening sectional game against a 4-13 North Olmsted squad Feb. 23, at 7:30 p.m.
The boys, 7-9 after winning three of their last four games, were seeded 10th in the Canton Division I Sectional/District. The Generals will play 10-9 Boardman, the ninth seed on Monday, Feb. 28, at 6:15 at the Canton Civic Center.
Wooster coach Mike Baus was pleased with the draw his girls earned.
Westlake, 16-3, was the No. 1 pick in the 13-team tournament. Lorain (13-4) was second and North Ridgeville (12-5) was the fourth seed.
“We’re pleased with our seed,” said Baus. “We thought it was fair and that we earned a little respect from Medina area teams. The second- and third-seeded teams stayed away from Westlake, so Westlake and North Ridgeville are in the top half of the bracket and we’re in the bottom part of the bracket.”
One of the difficulties Wooster faces in this tournament is it’s loaded with few common opponents.
“We’ll have a chance over the next week; we’re going to scout every night so we’ll see everyone at least once,” said Baus Sunday evening. “We’ve talked with some of our contacts and we’ll get tapes from teams who have played (potential opponents). Between tapes of games and seeing them at least once, we feel we’ll be prepared for them.
“We feel like we’re jelling at about the right time,” he added. “Our game with Orrville (a 62-56 win) was like a tournament atmosphere with a loud crowd, a good crowd. It was a game that can actually help prepare us for tournaments. Last Saturday we went to Canton and played Canton South and beat them by 21, but it was also a stepping stone. It was real physical and it took us awhile to adjust. In hindsight, it could help us in the tournament because we haven’t seen physical play like that in awhile.”
Wooster had its final regular-season and Ohio Cardinal Conference game Thursday (Feb. 17) against Clear Fork. The Generals, 9-4 in the OCC, are in third place in the conference as they have won three in a row and four of their past five.
“The nice thing this year is they have been improving each day and they are willing to learn more each day,” said Baus. “Some teams are ready for the season to be over; this group is not in that category. They are looking to make a run and anxious to keep learning.”
Should the Generals get past North Olmsted, they would play the winner of Brunswick (8-9) and Avon Lake (7-9) on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 7:30 p.m.
The boys, on the other hand, head to Canton’s Civic Center for a showdown for Youngstown Boardman with the 10th seed in hand and looking to build on their recent momentum.
“I feel from the preliminary information we’ve gotten it’s a good match-up for us,” said head coach Craig Martin. “Boardman is 2-7 in the Federal League, but we know any Federal League team is going be a quality team, so we have to be ready to play.”
Jackson was the top seed with a 13-3 record, with Timken (14-2) second, Perry (12-5) third and Canton McKinley fourth (10-5) in the Canton Sectional/District.
“We’re the 10th seed, but after (McKinley), the 7-8-9 seeds are 7-8 or 9-7 – there is a lot of parity and closeness of records,” said Martin.
Should Wooster beat Boardman, the Generals will play Jackson, which had a bye, on Wednesday, March 2, for the sectional title.
Martin is hoping the Generals have turned a corner by winning three of their past four games.
“We feel like we’re coming together,” said Martin. “We’ve won 3-of-4 and 4-of-6, so we feel we’ve been playing well. We’ve been in every single game. We’ve had losses where we couldn’t get that stop or score when we needed it.
The Generals played West Holmes (Feb. 15), and will play Ashland at home (Feb. 18) and Akron Ellet at home (Feb. 19).
Published: February 16, 2011
