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Sports
By Patrick Browne
For the second consecutive game, the Lady Wykons were without their starting point guard, Danica Shamion. Shamion suffered an injury in the first game of the season and is anticipated to return in early January. In the interim, Danica’s sister, Lacey, has stepped into the starting role. Lacey is showing all the signs of future leadership and is working hard to keep the team on track, but the team is not the same.
In the absence of their on court leader, the Wykons were unable to secure the victory for their second game in a row, losing to the Gremlins of Houghton 57 to 31. The loss comes on the heels of a two point loss, 53-to 51 versus the Copper Kings of Calumet.
Despite never letting up in their intensity, the 1 and 2 Wykons are having difficulty matching up. The Houghton Gremlins, 2 and 1 heading into the contest, are a good team, led by a number of players who are solid athletes and able to each score 10 plus points every game.
From the start the Wykons fell behind. Haiden Gill and Sidney Storti both came out shooting and scored four apiece in the first frame, but the Wykons trailed 19 to 11 at the end of the first quarter. Their opponent built a 26-19 at the half and the game was still within reach coming out of the locker room. Houghton came out strong in the third quarter and outscored the Wykons by 14 points to build on a lead they never relinquished.
With one game remaining prior to Winter Break, Shamion continues to recover and will get a window of time to get back into condition prior to returning on Jan. 2.
“I’m getting better,” Shamion stated, “I’m doing my exercises and I’m getting stronger each day.” That’s good news for the Wykons who have been giving it their all, but will receive a welcome boost when their point guard can return to regular play.
“The girls played some good basketball in the first half. Our effort on defense was good and we stayed aggressive on offense. We just didn’t play with the same intensity in the second half. Houghton plays tough defense and we couldn’t stop their transition game,” Coach Shamion reported.
Sidney Storti and Haiden Gill led the Wykons with 10 points apiece, while Lacey Shamion contributed six in the loss to the Gremlins.