Sylvia Maxwell and Jasmine Wood brought their summer games to the winter and with it have helped to heat up the hardwood for Lansing Waverly in the early going of the 2011-12 high school girls basketball season.
Both Maxwell, a senior guard, and Wood a senior forward have nurtured confidence into their perimeter game in leading the Warriors to 5-0 with a 2-0 start in the Gold Division of the Capital Area Activities Conference.
Sylvia Maxwell netted 12 of her team-high 17 points in the second half.
“My Dad and I worked on my shot over the summer. I was taking 1,000 shots a day,” explained Maxwell.
Now when defenses collapse on her Maxwell can shoot over them .
“I have confidence every time I shoot,” Maxwell explained. The senior netted a team-leading 17 points in Waverly’s 70-51 win over Jackson Northwest Friday night.
Wood, meanwhile working the post and displaying a touch from the perimeter tallied 16 points while grabbing 13 rebounds and swatting away six of the Mounties shots.
“I feel like I played well tonight,” Wood said with a big grin.
The senior measures her games by her hustle, ability to run the floor and rebounds. Add to that confidence in shooting from the wing and the forward can be a defensive nightmare for opponents.
Lansing Waverly jumped out to a big lead en route to a 70-51 win over Jackson Northwest.
“Waverly has depth and size and was able to push us around a little,” said Jackson coach Ryan Carroll. “Waverly can play, but I was proud of the way our girls stayed with it.
The Mounties, trailing 34-16 at the half, came out with a confidence to start the second half, along with a hot shooting hand from Taylor Moore. Jackson cut the deficit to 10 twice in the third quarter, but Warrior full-court pressure subdued the uprisings.
“Tonight we came out with the most intensity to start a game then we have all season, scoring 10 of the first 12 points” said Waverly girls basketball coach Erik Kutas. “We had some mental lapses, but overall it’s the best we’ve played all year.”
Waverly also was the recipient of strong guard play from Victoria Milton. The senior tallied 14 points while dishing out six assists and grabbing seven rebounds.
“The style of offense we played tonight is what we’re looking for, now we just need t be more consistent.,” Kutas explained. “Our defense also need to be better.”
Filed under: Basketball - Girls, Lansing Waverly
