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Sports
By Patrick Browne
IRON RIVER — The West Iron Lady Wykons finished their regular season with an 11–11 record after defeating the Hancock Bulldogs 35–29 on Feb. 27. The Wykons once again played every minute of four quarters and refused to let up until the final buzzer. The team is ready for the postseason and stands to do well in the District Playoffs which begin on March 4 with a game against Iron Mountain (7–15).
While the Wykons were excited to even their record going into the postseason, their 35 points represented the second-fewest points scored in a game this season.
Coach Eric Shamion was excited to get the win but recognized the need to put more points on the board.
“It’s nice to win our last game of the season and get us back to .500,” he said. “Our defense was good, but we need to have more output on offense if we want to have success in the District [playoffs].”
Neither the Wykons nor the Bulldogs were scoring as the game began. West Iron fell behind 10–9 after the first quarter, but fought back and took the lead heading into the half, 20–16. In a very uncommon quarter of high school basketball, only seven total points were put on the board in the third quarter, but the Wykons managed to increase their lead to 24–19 heading into the final eight minutes of play.
Four Wykons put up points in the final eight minutes, with Seanna Stine scoring four of the team’s 11 points. When the buzzer sounded, West Iron had won and gained a modicum of momentum heading into the postseason.
Senior Danica Shamion once again led the team with 16 points, while Stine put up six, Kaitlyn Smith five and Sidney Storti four.