By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
No matter the score or the situation, the Wyoming girls basketball team can never be counted out of a game.
The never-give-up attitude of the Wolves was never more evident than Tuesday when they hosted Mona Shores. Trailing for most of the second half, the Wolves continued to battle and eventually a late flurry propelled Wyoming to a 47-43 win.
“It was just a great team effort,” said Wyoming Coach Jesse Vasquez. “These girls just never quit. They never give up. They play with a lot of grit and toughness. They are hard to count out.”
Mona Shores tried numerous times to pull away from the Wolves in the second half, but could never put Wyoming away. Mona Shores was up 24-20 at halftime and led 34-31 at the end of the third quarter.
Wolves kept battling back
Twice during the fourth quarter the Sailors were up by five points and threatening to pull away, but the Wolves continued to battle back.
With less than a minute to go in the game, Mona Shores was up 43-40. The Wolves, however, came up with a big defensive stop and sophomore Tamia Gayles was fouled on a three-point shot on the offensive end of the floor. Gayles connected on the first two free throws, but missed the third attempt. Wyoming senior Ta’tyan Hardiman was there to pick her teammate up as she gathered in the rebound and then converted it for a basket putting the Wolves up 44-43 with 42 seconds remaining.
The Wyoming defense then came up big again forcing a Mona Shores turnover with 27 seconds remaining in the game. Mona Shores eventually fouled the Wolves and sent Gayles back to the free-throw line with 17 seconds remaining in the game. Gayles then drained both free throws giving the Wolves a three-point lead.
On the ensuing Mona Shores possession, the Sailors were fouled and went to the free-throw line, but missed both shots. Hardiman then split a pair of free throws for Wyoming with five seconds remaining to secure the win.
A total team effort
Like they have all season, Wyoming relied on a total team effort to earn the win. The Wolves had a balanced effort on offense as senior La’Anna Griffin and junior Shakya Anderson led the Wolves with 12 points apiece. Gayles added nine points, followed by sophomore Michaela Moore with seven points, sophomore Myah Nabors, four, and Hardiman, three.
“Sophomore starters relied on a lot”
“We start three sophomores and we rely on them a lot,” Vasquez said. “Michaela Moore, Myah Nabors and Tamia Gayles are young players, but they step up for us each and every night. Like all of our players they keep scrapping and never give up. We also have some great assistant coaches and they do a great job of coaching our players all the way up.”
The Wolves also received a big effort from Anderson. One of several key players who come in and provide big contributions off the bench, Anderson not only scored in double figures in points on offense, but also provided strong rebounding and defense.
“Shakya is a scrappy player,” Vasquez said. “She came off the bench and did a great job for us. We have a pretty deep team. We have a lot of players who can do a number of things for us. Anything can happen with the arsenal of players that we have.”
With the win, Wyoming improved to 14-4 overall and 9-2 in the OK Green Conference. The Wolves are tied for second place in the conference with Zeeland West, two games behind Muskegon who’s in first place at 11-0.
“All the credit goes to the kids,” Vasquez said. “They played very hard. They just kept fighting back. We still have a couple more weeks left and the state tournament left so we have a lot to play for still.”
