Maumee girls use suffocating defense, balanced scoring in 3-0 week

Charley Bischoff

By JEREMY SCHNEIDER

IMA SPORTS

Maumee girls basketball coach Rafael Soler said his team’s mission on defense is to make their opponents uncomfortable by harassing them all over the court.

The Panthers have made a living off of that this season, and it’s a big reason why they’re now 13-6 overall and 8-4 in the Northern Buckeye Conference. They went 3-0 last week, with non-league wins over Clay and Toledo Christian and an NBC win against Eastwood.

Whether it’s putting pressure on the ball, playing the passing lanes or forcing the opponent into other mistakes, Maumee’s defense is forcing 20 turnovers per game, including 13 steals.

Soler gave credit to varsity assistant coach Brad Kuron for being the one most in charge of the defense.

“He’s doing a good job of trying to switch it up, trying to give people different looks and different things they have to prepare for,” Soler said. “The main thing we’re trying to teach is just ball pressure. We’re trying to get after that ball as much as possible because that affects everything else that is happening on the court.”

The Panthers are making those turnovers count, too; they’ve scored more than 1/3 of their points off of turnovers this season.

Maumee was in prime form in a 62-48 win over Eastwood. The Panthers forced 23 turnovers with 15 steals and scored 23 points off of them.

Lucy Porter broke a school record with 10 steals. She also had 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Her night started slowly on offense, though, and her teammates were ready to step in. Taylor Smith had 15 points with three 3-pointers, Taryn Pyle added 11 points, and Myla Jordan and Charley Bischoff each had eight points.

“Lucy didn’t really have it going on at the beginning of the game, so she was getting other people involved,” Soler said. “Myla Jordan was stepping up, Charley was getting after it. We had other people see that we needed help.

“That’s one of the best things about this team, is that it just depends on who is it that night that’s going to be able to take that extra step.”

Much has been made of Porter’s scoring ability, and with good reason — she’s second in the NBC, averaging 17.8 points per game. However, she’s also averaging 3.0 assists and constantly looking for ways to get her teammates involved.

“There’s so much focus on Lucy; no matter who we’re playing, they know Lucy Porter,” Soler said. “Once she starts sharing the ball, it also opens up so much more for her, too. … She trusts her teammates. She’s one of the best at getting the ball moved around.”

The win over Eastwood secured a third-place NBC finish for the Panthers, the second straight season they’ve finished in the top half of the conference.

Maumee also had a 57-56 win over Toledo Christian on Saturday, and the Panthers started the week with a 58-30 win over Clay.

Porter had 21 points with three 3s against Clay, adding six boards, four assists and four steals. Myla Jordan added 10 points and seven rebounds as seven different players scored for Maumee.

This is the final week of the regular season for the girls. After hosting Rossford on Monday and Lake on Thursday, the Panthers will close out the regular season at Rogers on Saturday.

Thursday is also Senior Night, when Maumee will honor Bischoff and Porter.

Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers

Reach IMA at insidemaumeeathletics@gmail.com