Old SLL rivals face off in The Press’ Game of the Week

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

For four decades, Woodmore and Gibsonburg had some great battles in the old Suburban Lakes League, which was in existence from 1972-2011.
Now, with the Wildcats having joined the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division before last season, the two schools are back in the same league.
Separated by less than nine miles, the Wildcats and Lady Bears have had great starts to their respective seasons on the court, with Woodmore at 7-2 and 5-1 in the league while Gibsonburg is 6-3 and 6-0 in the conference.
With the SLL disbanded, Gibsonburg went to the Toledo Area Athletic Conference for seven years and Woodmore joined the Northern Buckeye Conference.
Woodmore coach Kyle Clair, who is in his 18th season coaching at his alma mater, talked about rivalry.
“Gibsonburg and Woodmore have always been a rivalry, in my mind. In the late ‘90s when I played at Woodmore, the Gibsonburg game was huge,” Clair said. “In my first few years as the varsity coach, we had tough battles with Gibsonburg and have always managed to keep them pretty regular on our schedule, as it should be with the proximity of the schools. Bo Evarts has done a great job with that program over the last few years and made them into one of the area’s best, so getting a chance to play them twice a year with the communities so close together makes for a great basketball environment. There is a lot of rich basketball history in both programs, and a lot of respect there.”
The Lady Bears are led by sophomore point guard Elly Evarts, who is among the state’s highest scorers, averaging 26.9 points per game, as well as 8.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
Emma Jividen, a 5-1 guard, and Ava Dawson are averaging both 6.3 points per game.
Evarts is in the back court with Jividen and Ansley Fleming, and Alayna Molter and Emily Henderson are post players.
Henderson is averaging 5.4 rebounds, followed by Taylor Rapp (5.1 rebounds) and Molter (4.4 rebounds).
“I think, offensively, we’re doing very, very well. Defensively, we’re still kind of a work in progress. This year, we’ve given up more points than usual, we’ve got some big games coming up with young, inexperienced girls that are getting better,” said Gibsonburg coach Bo Evarts. “The number-one goal is to win the league. So far, so good.”
Elly Evarts is in the midst of yet another great season.
“She started out slow in the 3-point shooting percentage. She’s shot about 50-60% lately. She had a couple of games this year where she had a good first half. She’s done very nicely,” said Bo Evarts. “She’s picked up a little on the defensive end. Assists and steals, done very well, we’re missing a few of our seniors.”
As for the Wildcats, they don’t have any particular players that stand out, but there are four that average between 7.6 and 9.6 points per game.
Ariana Florio, a 5-11 forward, averages 9.6 points and 8.0 rebounds; Kelsey Kaylor, a 5-7 guard, averages 8.6 points and 3.8 rebounds while Kara Schneider, a 6-0 forward/post, puts up 7.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and Camille Strong, a 5-7 guard, is averaging 7.6 points and 4.6 rebounds.
“It's a huge advantage because they can't focus on just one player. We talk all the time about how everyone has to be a threat on the floor,” said Clair. “We have several players that at any time can get us double-digit scoring, and our bench players have come in and been scorers when we've needed it.”
It should be a good game, which takes place on Thursday in Gibsonburg.
“Woodmore is always well-coached,” said Bo Evarts. “Every time you play Woodmore, they are always well-coached. They play hard, they’re battling some injuries. It’s tough, he’s had some injuries. On a given night they can beat anyone.”