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Sports
By Patrick Browne
The Lady Wykons opened their basketball season on Dec. 5 with an exciting 47 to 40 victory over the Mountaineers of Iron Mountain. Coach Eric Shamion once again had his team ready to play and the victory over a perennial powerhouse is an early indicator the team will be difficult to beat this year.\
The Wykons fell behind early and the game appeared, for a short time, to be all Iron Mountain. The Mountaineers pressed the ball from the jump and the attack style defense had the Wykons uncharacteristically committing bad passes and losing possessions without getting quality shots.
“We didn’t handle the pressure very well,” stated Shamion.
West Iron fell behind by eight in the opening minutes of the game. As the quarter neared an end, the Wykons fought their way back when Kaitlyn Smith hit two threes. The Wykons trailed by only one point, 14 to 13, as the second quarter began.
In typical fashion, when the Wykons had time to regroup, they came back into play with more focus and defensive adjustments. In the second quarter the Wykons methodically took control of the ball, and held the Mountaineers to just three points. Seanna Stine, Haiden Gill and Danica Shamion all hit threes for the Wykons as the team outscored Iron Mountain 12 to 3 to head into halftime with an eight point lead, 25-17.
The Mountaineers came out aggressively in the second half and cut into the Wykon lead. Coach Shamion reflected, “The second half was sloppy at times.” Despite the less than stellar play by both teams, each time the Mountaineers pulled within a possession the Wykons countered with a bucket. In the third quarter both Danica Shamion and her sister Lacey scored while Kaitlyn Smith knocked down her last three of the night to keep the Wykons on top. Iron Mountain scored 11 points in the quarter to the Wykons 7 and, heading into the final frame, West Iron held a slim lead, 32 to 28.
In typical fashion and was characteristic of this well coached team last year, Shamion had his girls play their best in the final quarter of play. The Wykons ‘refuse to lose’ approach to basketball sparked the team to score 15 fourth quarter points even as the Mountaineers scored 12. Five different Wykons scored in the final quarter of play and the ladies from West Iron took care of the ball, appearing to relish the pressure of the tight game.
Haiden Gill scored twice in the final quarter while Danika Shamion demonstrated why any team she is on will be difficult to beat, scoring four points when the pressure was greatest. When the buzzer sounded the Wykons had a record of 1 and 0 on the season and had sent a message they are ready to compete once again this season.
“It’s always nice to win the first game, but Iron Mountain made us earn it,” stated Shamion.