Lady Rangers looking to climb the ladder in the TAAC

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

Aggressive, suffocating defense.
It’s part of the foundation for any good basketball team, and Northwood coach Andy Dickey’s team is living up to that billing, forcing 21 turnovers per game while allowing its opponents to shoot just 20% from the field.
The Lady Rangers, who are 5-1 and 1-0 in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference, have one blemish on the season, a 43-23 loss to Evergreen. In Northwood’s five victories, it has held its opponents to 29 points or fewer and won each game by at least 12 points.
The key victory was a 44-19 win over Ottawa Hills, one of the top teams in the TAAC, a game in which Natalie Thompson had a game-high 14 points.
Another impressive win was a 46-26 triumph over Lima Central Catholic, a game where Autumn Schroeder led all scorers with 19 points and Thompson added 11. It was the final game of the season for Carissa Davise, a 5-11 forward who tore her ACL in the game. (Davise was third on the team in scoring with an average of 9.3 points before her injury)
Dickey said things are just beginning to peak for his team.
“We’re hitting our stride a little bit, and we had some good practices over break,” he said. “We’re feeling really, really good.”
He also talked about the win over the Lady Bears, who were picked to finish second in the conference behind Toledo Christian, the state runner-up in Division IV last season.
“That was huge for us. Ottawa Hills has one of the best coaches in the Toledo area in Sean Mercer,” said Dickey. “We knew that game was going to be a dogfight because Sean knows how to get anyone ready to play basketball. We were going to put a lot of pressure on the guards, dominate the glass and hope to be up double digits at halftime. The girls went wild.”
“(Assistant coach) Bobby McDonald knows how to game plan and get the girls ready,” he said.
Schroeder leads the team in scoring with an average of 13.3 points, followed by Thompson (11.8) and Bree Bolden (6.3), who is filling in for Davise.
“Bolden has been taking the reps (in the post) and is doing extremely well. She’s not as tall as Carissa, but she’s our league champ in the shot put and holds the girls weight-lifting records,” said Dickey. “She put some time in the offseason to work on some basic post moves. She’s a great athlete.”
Schroeder, who is 5-9, is joined in the backcourt by Thompson, the 5-7 point guard, and the 5-6 guard Cassidy Genson. Eden Schoch is a 5-8 guard/wing and Bolden is a 5-9 forward. Lexi Haas and Kadience Karmol have also seen their share of time on the court.
“We have scrappy kids. Autumn Schroeder is physical and by far the toughest girl on the team. She helps down low with that. Natalie Thompson and Cassidy Genson, they just glue to people. Natalie is probably our best defender; Cassidy is probably our quickest guard –– she can tear people up with her lateral movements, and part of it is because they’re soccer players,” said Dickey. “She’s able to run the floor back and forth. Those two put pressure on the (opposing team), and sometimes with Autumn, we run our presses.
“Lexi Haas and Eden Schoch, we’re teaching them to play good defense and not to foul. Autumn and Natalie are in the top 25 in steals in Ohio, the girls are putting some nice numbers together. Bree, Autumn and Natalie are averaging over five rebounds per game.”
Dickey said he’d characterize Thompson as an unsung hero.
“She’s someone who is putting up about 10 points per game. When I talk about the most consistent player we have, and someone who, when you want that quarterback on the court, the player that seems like she doesn’t get shaken, that’s her,” said Dickey. “She stepped up her freshman year when Autumn was expected to be our point guard and she broke her ankle. Natalie hasn’t batted an eye.
“She doesn’t complain, and she has the respect of her teammates and coaches. Autumn, Natalie, Lexi, Bree and Cassidy, they’re a special group. Natalie is probably one of the best players I’ve coached in my career,” said Dickey.