January 12, 2006

sports

Nick Eastman fighting for the ball during the Bulldogs’ 58–57 win at home over Troy Christian last Friday.

Bulldog sports roundup

Compiled by Lauren Heaton

Boys basketball beats Troy
They had to work a full-court defense and fend off seven 3-pointers and nearly two dozen turnovers, but the Yellow Springs Bulldogs came out on top with a 58–57 win over the Troy Christian Eagles at home on Friday, Jan. 6.

The Bulldogs improved to 4–1 overall this season.

The Eagles controlled the start of the game, but the Bulldogs soon tired of the arrangement and forced 2 turnovers; after easy layups by Issa Walker and Anthony Carter, the ’Dogs took a 14–12 lead in the first quarter. The Bulldogs worked hard to widen their advantage in the second period, but the gap remained the same, with YSHS up 27–25, at halftime.

It was the Bulldogs’ defense versus the Eagles’ offense, with the Bulldogs losing ground on possession but maintaining the ability to shut down the Eagles’ scoring opportunities. Brad Benning-Clark ran the ball for the ’Dogs, and worked with Walker and Ryan Silvert to get open shots from inside the paint. Nick Eastman got aggressive under the basket and started pulling down rebounds, while the Eagles stayed right on the Bulldogs’ heels.

Troy hit a fifth 3 pointer to go up 45–41 at the end of the third quarter, and the Bulldogs looked like they might be in trouble.

But the ’Dogs had a 56–54 lead with 12 seconds left when they called a timeout. Troy fouled Benning-Clark, who made both free throws to put the home team out of reach.

Benning-Clark scored 18 points. Walker had 14, Silvert had 12, and Carter had 10.

Girls basketball splits games
The YSHS girls basketball team pulled out a close 45–41 win against Madison Plains at home on Thursday, Jan. 5, and then lost 43–24 to Troy Christian on Monday, Jan. 9.

The Lady Bulldogs are now 8–3 overall.

The contest between the Lady Bulldogs and the Madison Plains Golden Eagles was neck and neck from initial toss to final buzzer. Neither team connected on their shots at the start, and the first quarter ended with YSHS leading 7–4. The second quarter’s excitement was down under the basket, with the Bulldogs’ Carly Bailey and the Eagles’ Molly Dinneen battling in the paint. Ashante Robinson scored 7 of her 10 points that period to put the Lady ’Dogs up 18–14 at halftime.

Megan Burrick and Tenia Scarver opened the second half driving to the basket for a couple of easy layups to help extend the Lady Bulldogs’ lead by 10, before the Golden Eagles came soaring back to tie the game at 37 in the final quarter. Jessica Kellar hit a 15-foot jump shot to regain the lead for YSHS, but the Eagles got within 2, at 43–41, with 12 seconds left. Alisha Walker made a final steal with four seconds left. Megan Burrick was fouled and made two free throws to clinch the victory.

“I felt that both the inside play of Ryder Comstock and Tenia Scarver’s ball handling made a huge difference down the stretch of this game,” coach Alex Autry said. “These young ladies never gave up, even when the Eagles made their run in the fourth. They stayed focused and played as a team.”

The Lady Bulldogs got behind early against Troy Christian and never turned the corner. Troy out-rebounded the Lady Bulldogs. Tenia Scarver scored 10 points, Carly Bailey scored 8, Megan Burrick had 4 and Ryder Comstock scored 2.

Girls swim to eighth place
Swimming at the Wayne Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 7, the YSHS girls team placed eighth out of 12 teams and scored 119 points, while the boys team finished seventh out of 11 teams with 57 points.

In relay events, the Yellow Springs girls 200 medley relay of Miriam Barcus (backstroke), Olivia Dixon (breaststroke), Jenny Barnett (butterfly) and Michaela McCuddy (freestyle) placed 10th. The girls 200 freestyle relay (McCuddy, Liz Zaff, Claire Triplett and Eve GunderKline) placed 11th, and the girls 400 freestyle relay (Barnett, Barcus, Dixon and GunderKline) finished fifth.

For girls in individual events, Barcus doubled up in the distance freestyle races, placing sixth in the 200 free with her best time of the season, then came back to finish eighth in the 500. GunderKline placed seventh in the 200 individual medley and third in the 100 breaststroke. Olivia Dixon swam her best time of the season to finish tenth in the 100 breast. Barnett placed eighth in the 100 free and fifth in the 100 backstroke.

For the boys, the 200 medley relay team of Jacob Wishart (back), Brandon Carver-Halley (breaststroke), Sam Borchers (fly) and Peter Carver (free) placed ninth while the same four boys swam to third place in the 400 free relay.

In the boys competition, Carey Dixon finished 12th in the 200 free. Carver-Halley finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke with his best time ever. Wishart was third in the 500 free and fourth in the 200 free. Borchers placed eighth in the 100 backstroke.

Contact: lheaton@ysnews.com

Aquatic Club to sponsor Winter Swim Clinic

The Yellow Springs Aquatic Club, which sponsors the Sea Dogs swim team, will sponsor a Winter Swim Clinic on Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:15–4:15 p.m., at the Antioch pool, beginning Jan. 23.

Any child up to 12 years old who can swim a full length of the pool without assistance is eligible. Enrollment is limited to the first 25 swimmers who preregister.

To reserve a space, call Cheryl Meyer at 767-7574.

The eight-week clinic costs $60 for one child per family and $50 for the second child of each family. Scholarships are available for those who can demonstrate need.

Youth basketball teams to play 1st home games

The youth traveling basketball teams in the Kenton Trace Conference will play their first home game on Sunday, Jan. 15, at Yellow Springs High School.

The fifth-grade girls game starts at 2 p.m., followed by the sixth-grade girls at 3, the fifth-grade boys at 4 and the sixth-grade boys at 5.

There are almost 50 players participating this year in the program. Local residents are encouraged to come out and show support for the teams.