Women's Basketball Wrap Up: One Season to Remember

Hiram, Ohio -- With the season coming to a close on February 23 after a 65-52 loss at Kenyon in the NCAC tournament Quarterfinals, the Hiram Women's Basketball team wrapped up a historic season.

The Women's basketball team finished 12-14 overall and 6-10 in the conference this year. Their 12 win season tied the record for the most wins in a single season. This year's team was awfully close to breaking the record, needing only two wins in their last seven games, but it unfortunately slipped out of their hands. Nevertheless, the season ended with a historic run that made history.

The Women exceeded expectations this season. Hiram was actually selected to finish in eighth, the second to last place, in the NCAC preseason poll. The team itself had personal expectations to improve their record from the 14'-15' season of 7-19 overall and 3-13 in the conference. They also desired to receive a bid into the NCAC tournament.

The women achieved all of this and so much more. The girls improved their record, made the NCAC tournament and tied the single season wins record. The women also place three entire spots higher in the conference standings at the end of the season, placing in fifth place. Another significant statistical increase from the 14'-15' season to the 15'-16' season is that their free throw shooting percentage increased a full 11 percent. Undoubtedly, the women more than exceeded their expectations going into the year.

The Terriers were led by Mercedes Jones, who averaged 15.3 points per game, and Kaylee Shockley, who averaged 10.8 points per game. These statistics earned them both All-NCAC honors as well as a Sports Journalism superlative for MVP players (Jones with five votes and Shockley with two votes). These were two key players in the Terriers offense who had breakout seasons, stepping up their roles as sophomores this year.

Other superlatives voted by the Sports Journalism class included:

Most serious post game interviewee: Dana Perrotta (3) and Mercedes Jones (2)
Best post game interviewee: Coach Hays (3), followed by Kaylee Shockley (2)
Best practice interviewee: Allison Vannoy (2)
Most fun player to watch: Allison Vannoy (Unanimous)
Blue collar, scrappy, workhorse award: Dana Perrotta (Unanimous)

The team will be congratulating four seniors in May at graduation: Sierra Day, Brianne Goodrich, Rachel Ellis and Sarah Berger. These four seniors will be missed for their leadership on the team and charisma. The four seniors combine for a total of 6.6 points per game.

Returning for the Terriers is their entire starting lineup from this year, leaving only good news for their future. Additionally, Junior Kayla Yost, who torn her ACL, will be returning to the Terriers offense next year. Yost was a major part of the Terriers' offensive threat and a 5-3 record in the beginning of the season, playing in 8 games and averaging 11.5 points per game during that time frame.

Look for the Terriers to be a major threat next year in the NCAC and expect them to be chasing even more than just one record next year.

Doc Stuke's First Football Game: The Injury That Ended A Career

It was a Monday night in November of 1987. The Boy's Club in Massillon, Ohio is where the final game was played. Dave Strukel, a 5 foot 11 inches, sophomore had just missed the opportunity to play for Masillon's varsity team after being cut at the last moment a year prior. Now, Dave Strukel turned to intramural basketball and joined his fellow band friends and older brother, Dan, on a team called "Toxic Waste". At 17 years old, Stukel was the youngest member of the team, yet led them with 16 points per game. He wore #33 on his royal blue and gold jersey for his favorite player of all time, Kareem Abdul Jabar.

Toxic Waste was only 2-10 on the season, gaining their only two wins by forfeit. Stukel and Toxic Waste knew that they were the underdogs coming into that night game, as they faced one of the most athletic teams in the league called the "Skinny Boys".

Strukel said that, "The Skinny Boys were so popular that they had a fan club at every game they played".

He was not incorrect. At the Boy's Club that night, there were about 15-20 people, comprised of his classmates, some of which were high school girls.

As soon as the tip off was completed, there was a spark that ignited in Strukel.

Strukel recalls and said, "I was scoring like crazy...they thought that I couldn't shoot and left me open". Despite being down nearly 20 points from the start of the game, Stukel did not care. With three minutes left in the first half, he had already scored 22 points and was well on his way to the best night of his career. Then suddenly, the world came to a screeching halt in those last few minutes.

Toxic Waste was on a rare fast break against the Skinny Boys with the ball in the hands of their all-star. Strukel was coming up the left side of the paint with one of his teammates on the far right wing crashing towards the hoop.

Dave recalls the moment and said, "I saw him on the block but I wasn't passing the ball. I was hot with 22 points. You know how that is ballers. You don't want to pass the ball".

Strukel planted at the top of the foul line and brought the ball up by his left ear when the defender stepped up to guard him. Although what Stukel did not realize is that the defender was not stopping as he was going full force to jar the ball loose. The defender landed a blow to Stukel's head, just above the left eye sending him backwards from the hoop. Still keeping his pivot foot down, he shot it in and off of the glass.

When he turned around to start moving back to the other side of the court, he realized that he was gushing blood. The referee yelled for him to get off the floor as blood was pouring all over the rubberized surface of the gym floor.

At this moment in recollecting, Strukel laughed saying, "It is a good thing that we didn't have cameras at that time because I would have had so many pictures taken. All the girls were screaming ew".

Despite the golf ball protruding from his eyelid, he did not go to the hospital. Strukel went home with his brother and just put a bag of peas on his eye.

When their mother got home, she prompted them both on what happened. Dave, being the jokester that he is, responded with all he knew was that there was no foul called.

Dave finished the night with 24 points in his final game of his basketball career. Despite the injury, Strukel still says that he has no regrets.

When asked "if he could do it all over again, would he pass the ball?", he did not hesitate and responded with an affirmative "No way".

On the Verge of History

Hiram's Women's Basketball team is close to setting a record

With a win tonight, the Hiram Women's Basketball team will break the school record for most wins in a single season. The Terriers, who just recently broke a four game losing streak on Senior night this past Saturday, are 5-6 at home and 5-5 on the road, for an overall record of 12-12. A win in their final game will propel them over .500 winning percentage, but it will not come easy.

The Terriers will be taking on Denison, who is 9-1 at home and 8-2 on the road, for an overall record of 20-3. Denison also just recently sealed the first place spot in the NCAC with their win at Kenyon. Leading Denison's offense is Junior, Jordan Holmes, who is averaging 15.3 points per game with a dominating shooting percentage of 61.9 percent from the floor. An additional six players on Denison's roster heavily contribute to their offensive threats, posting up averages that range from five to nine points per game.

Freshman Guard, Erica Johnson, spoke about the importance of shutting down Jordan Holmes of Denison. Johnson said that, "We need to work on our defense. We're going to be fronting them and then working on our help side defense. So we just need to make sure that we work on that in practice".

Kaylee Shockley led the Terriers in their last game against Oberlin with 20 points. Mercedes Jones will also be a necessary component in the Terriers' game plan. Mercedes is the team's leading scorer, averaging 15.7 points per game and shooting 45 percent from the floor.

When asked about how Mercedes will be incorporated into the team's strategy against Denison, Johnson said that, "It's important to get both inside and outside looks, so we just have to make sure that when Mercedes is open, ... [we] get the ball into her pretty fast".

With a win tonight, Hiram will end the season one game above .500 and place in the fourth, fifth or sixth seed, pending the remaining conference play for the other teams. With a Denison win tonight, Denison would advance to 21-3 overall and there would be no change in seeding.

There are no significant injuries in the game tonight. Tipoff is at Denison University and is set for 6 tonight.

A second half to remember

Hiram, Ohio - Only one win left! Hiram's Women's Basketball courageously fought to the very end of tonight's game versus Oberlin College. The Terriers won 53-50 in a comeback fashion with a large fan base of family and friends for Senior night. Hiram had multiple scoring contributors. Kaylee Shockley led the team with 20 points followed by Mercedes Jones, who had 12 points herself.

When asked about what was the turning point in today's game, Head Coach Emily Hays said, "I felt like... I'll be honest. It all kinda went together!" followed by unanimous laughter around the room.

After a rough start in the first quarter, shooting only 13.3 percent as a team, and an average second quarter, Hiram went into the locker room down 24-18. After the half, we saw a completely different team as the Terriers came out energized and focused. They slowly began chipping away at Oberlin's lead. The girls narrowed Oberlin's lead to six points at the end of the third quarter and then turned up the heat. Hiram caused nine Oberlin turnovers in the fourth quarter and quickly converted them into points.

Despite Oberlin shooting 53.8 percent from the floor compared to Hiram's 28.3 percent, Hiram was able to pull off a three point victory with the help from their defense. Oberlin had 34 turnovers while Hiram limited their own to only 14 turnovers. Hiram also played smart with their fouls by only sending Oberlin to the line for four foul shots the entire game. On the other hand, Hiram had 19 foul shots, from which they converted 15 points.

Hiram (12-12) is now 5-6 at home and 5-5 on the road. With tonight's win, Hiram gains a one game advantage over Oberlin in securing the sixth spot in the NCAC. Hiram is also one win away from breaking the most wins in a single season record. Hiram plays their final game at Denison on Wednesday at 6. Oberlin College (10-13) now drops to 5-5 at home and 5-6 on the road and will play Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday.

Looking for a crucial win on Senior night

Hiram, Ohio - The Hiram women's basketball team is still on the verge of setting the single season wins record despite their recent slump. The Terriers are 4-6 at home and 5-5 on the road, rounding out an overall record of 11-12. In order to break the record, Hiram must win both of their last two games of the season. It all starts with a crucial win here tonight on Senior night. The Terriers are on a four game losing streak and will be looking to break that. Sophomore Mercedes Jones has been leading the charge for the Terriers, scoring points in the double digits in the last five games, with a high of 28 points. 

Tonight's opponent is Oberlin College. Oberlin is 5-5 at home, 5-5 away and has an overall record of 10-12. In the last time these two teams faced, Hiram jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter until halftime, but came out a different team in the second half. Oberlin routed Hiram by a score of 55-35. Rebounding was also part of the issue in the last game as Oberlin out rebounded Hiram 51-27. It will be interesting to see how both teams respond since the last time that they matched up.

With a win tonight, Hiram will maintain their sixth rank in the NCAC while simultaneously suppressing Oberlin's attempt to reach the sixth spot. This game is crucial for both teams due to the season coming to a close and seeding for the tournament right around the corner. 

There are no significant injuries going into tonight's Senior night. Tipoff is at Price Gymnasium at 1.

Hiram's Women's Basketball suffers a disappointing loss

Hiram, Ohio - The Terriers battled hard but could not hold off Wooster as they fell 65-50. The first two quarters were a constant battle back and forth. In fact, Hiram jumped out to a two point lead after the first quarter and held a five point lead during the second quarter. The remainder of the second quarter favored Wooster as they climbed back, took the lead and never let up. It seemed as if the final play of the half, when Wooster's Anna Gibbs drained a buzzer beating three-pointer, was the final blow to the Terriers. Leading the offensive charge for the Terriers was Mercedes Jones with 16 points, followed by Savana Lowery's 12 points.

When discussing Hiram's second half performance, Coach Emily Hays said, "We are a young team, so consistency is huge. It's something that we are still trying to find".

Wooster made a statement right out of the locker room after halftime by going on a huge run to take a commanding lead over the Terriers, which never wavered. Lauren Hancher lead the Fighting Scots with an incredible 32 points, shooting 14-22 from the floor. Wooster also shot a full 10 percent higher as a team than Hiram, finishing with a shooting percentage of 45.5 percent.

Emily Hays summed up the Terriers' issues by saying, "[We] need to start believing in ourselves...It's not just Xs and Os, but more so it's a mental type of game."

Hiram is now 11-12 overall with a conference record of 5-9. Wooster improves to 6-16 overall, with a conference record of 2-11. The Terriers will take on Oberlin College at home on Saturday in their second to last game of the season.

Getting back on the right track

Hiram, Ohio - The Hiram women's basketball team is looking to get back on the right track tonight by breaking their three game losing streak with a win over the conference's last place team, Wooster. The Terriers are 4-5 at home and 5-5 on the road, for an overall record of 11-11. With only three games remaining in the season and two wins needed to break the most wins in a single season record, a win in tonight's game would give the women a very good chance to achieve their goal. Mercedes Jones has been the Terriers' dominating scorer over the last four games. Jones is averaging 17 points per game in the last four games.

Tonight's opponent is the Wooster Fighting Scots, who is 4-6 at home and 1-10 on the road, for an overall record of 5-16: the Fighting Scots are currently on a 13 game losing streak. These teams met two weeks ago, which ended in a 61-53 Terrier win in overtime. Mercedes Jones was a key factor in the last time these teams met with a double-double. Jones had 18 points to go along with her 12 rebounds.

A win tonight would put Hiram one step closer to achieving their ever so elusive goal of breaking the single season wins record. A win would also give Hiram some momentum heading into the remaining two conference games to try to boost their standings rank as the difference between fourth place and seventh place is only a two game lead. A loss tonight for Wooster would eliminate all hopes for them to escape the last spot in the conference.

There are no significant injuries going into tonight's game. Tipoff is at Hiram College's Price Gymnasium and is set for 6 tonight.