Nate Schneider
Sports Scene
A quarter way through the season has not shown the best the Ithaca boys basketball team has to offer.
While the defensive effort has been there, porous shooting and untimely turnovers have been the main culprits in a couple losses as the Yellowjackets sit at 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the Tri-Valley Conference West.
Ithaca has posted wins over Shepherd (48-23), St. Louis (55-30) and Michigan Lutheran Seminary (52-41) in addition to losses to Hemlock (52-43) and Saginaw Valley Lutheran (50-42).
“We had a 15-point first half lead against Hemlock and blew that game,” Yellowjackets coach Jim Thompson said. “A lack of discipline and knowing the situation cost us. We forced some things and before you know it, a 15-point lead turned into us losing the game.”
The Yellowjackets are still adjusting to life without the graduated 6-foot-6 duo of All-Staters Levi Lehman and Isaiah Hoag, but return several talented backcourt players highlighted by senior leading scorer Joey Bentley. Sophomore Peyton Smith is in his second year on varsity as a point guard, while junior Tom Steward is listed as a forward but stretches defenses as the team’s best perimeter shooter. Junior forward Baylee Chaffin is also among the top returners and will be counted on heavily.
“We just need to find our way offensively and hit some shots,” Thompson added. “We’re not turning the ball over a lot, but we’re doing it at bad times late in games. And we’re playing solid defense. So really, we just need to figure out how to make some shots so we can start scoring in the 60s.”
Yellowjacket girls struggling with Belles out
Ithaca had its season take a downward turn before it ever began when senior center Kayla Belles, a 6-foot-3 Michigan State commit and three-time All-Stater, tore her ACL over the summer during a camp at Adrian College.
Instead of being a contender to perhaps make a deep postseason run, the Yellowjackets were forced to regroup and rely on more inexperienced players.
Ithaca has struggled through seven games, posting a 1-6 record. But there are signs of improvement as two of the last four losses have been by four and five points, respectively. Additionally, Ithaca is coming off its first win of the season as it downed a strong Michigan Lutheran Seminary team 44-41 at home on Dec. 21.
“Being without Kayla is something we knew going into the season,” Yellowjackets coach Ty Warczinsky said. “To the girls’ credit, they’re taking everything in stride and continuing to improve as you can see by our recent games. And Kayla has been awesome for us at every practice and game, being a leader despite not being able to play.”
Ithaca is led in part by sophomore point guard Sam Vermeesch and sophomore forward Emma Belles, both in their second year on varsity. Senior Lauren Sheets has a 24-point game this season, while junior Lindy Litwiller has come on strong the last couple games.
The Yellowjackets continued their season Dec. 29 when they played at Shepherd.
Ithaca poised for strongest season in years
After being down on numbers in recent seasons, the Ithaca wrestling team has roster depth and the talent to be competitive this season.
The Yellowjackets headed into the holidays 4-0 in duals with a 20-wrestler roster, up considerably from where it had previously been under head coach Daryl Dawe.
“We’re filling weight classes and have a lot of returners that are really wrestling well,” Dawe said.
Dakota Hamilton (11-3), Tristan Sparks, Guillermo Macias (11-2) and Ethan Shaw (11-3) are among the top wrestlers for Ithaca thus far.
“We started on November 15 and usually when I go upstairs to the practice room for the first time there are maybe five or six kids up there,” Dawe said. “This year, there were like 12 wrestlers. And that doesn’t include the kids on the football team who joined us later. So I was ecstatic. And once the football players joined us, it transformed the room and made it a lot more competitive.”
Ithaca resumed action at the Bob Threloff Invitational hosted by St. Louis on Dec. 29.