WCAL girls basketball shaping up as wide-open title chase

There was no question heading into this season, the Wayne County Athletic League is the area’s premier conference or league. Featuring four of the area’s best teams and a fifth that is well-coached and feisty, it was going to be hard for anyone to come out unblemished.

On Jan. 8 Waynedale handed Norwayne, the last unbeaten in the league, a 51-42 setback. That means that one game separates the Bobcats, Golden Bears, Chippewa and Dalton.

“The league is extremely tough this year,” Norwayne coach Jake Shoup said. “I think the fact that these teams know each other so well and game plan accordingly really makes for challenging games, especially down the stretch here coming forward in the second half of the year.”

For the Bobcats, who are eyeing another deep OHSAA playoff run, it’s a gauntlet that will only serve to prepare them for bigger goals. Sitting at 11-1 overall and 7-1 in the league as of Jan. 12, Norwayne has scored key wins over league rivals Dalton (60-52) and Chippewa (48-40) but has some even bigger games looming. On Jan. 14 the Bobcats play at Triway. On Jan. 19 they play at Hiland, then wrap up the season with the Bulldogs, Golden Bears and Chipps in three of their last four games.

“For us personally, we need to focus on setting the tone as pace-setters offensively and allow our defensive stops to turn into offense by getting in transition more consistently,” Shoup said.

And what has stood out to Shoup so far about the league?

“The value of experience with some of the very good teams in our league,” he said, “and evidence that teams with upperclassmen leadership and mature teams are having a lot of success.”

For the Chipps, who are 8-5 overall and 6-1 in the league, they have earned key wins over Hiland (52-41), Dalton (51-42), Waynedale (37-29) and Elyria Catholic (58-47). Making the Chipps even more prepared and tougher down the stretch are some tough losses to Canfield (46-40), GlenOak (58-49), Highland (56-45) and Laurel (60-39).

At 12-3 overall and 5-2 in the league as of Jan. 12, Waynedale is no stranger to a tough slate of games under coach Rick Geiser. The Golden Bears have wins over Rocky River (51-32), Tusky Valley (49-46), Louisville (45-28) and Ohio Cardinal Conference-leading Ashland (43-42).

The Bulldogs continue to come of age after nearly upending the Arrows 61-56 on opening day. They have continued that strong play to the tune of 10-3 and 5-2 in the WCAL as of Jan. 12. Dalton has earned wins over Waynedale (47-33), Louisville (49-44) and Marlington (49-41).

Outside of the top four teams in the WCAL, Smithville continues to rebuild after graduating a ton from last year. The Smithies are sitting at 6-6 overall and 3-4 in the league, just missing a couple of wins. They lost to Triway 44-46 and Columbia 42-34 but have earned wins over Orrville (46-26) and Tuslaw (62-26).

Rounding out the WCAL are Hillsdale (6-6, 3-5 WCAL), Rittman (2-11, 1-6) and Northwestern (0-13, 0-9).

Principals Athletic Conference

Leading the way in the PAC is Northwest with a perfect conference record of 6-0 and an overall mark of 11-1 as of Jan. 12. Triway is second at 5-1 in the PAC and 6-4 overall, Orrville (7-6) is 4-2 in conference play, and Tuslaw (2-12) is 1-5 in the PAC.

The Titans have been anchored by wins over Mogadore (50-40), Canton South (33-25), West Holmes (55-45), Tuslaw (41-37), Orrville (52-40) and Manchester (38-25). Orrville will look to bounce back from a 54-48 setback to its rival Wooster when it travels to Fairless Jan. 14.

Ohio Cardinal Conference

Ashland leads the way with a record of 11-1 overall and 7-0 in the conference. Wooster, coming off a win over rival Orrville, is 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the OCC. West Holmes is 4-8 overall and 3-4 in the conference.

For the Knights, a 50-43 win over Wooster stands out, as they also knocked off Dover 53-45 and, more impressively, gave WCAL-contending Waynedale (40-31) a run for its money.