Scheuermann’s big day stifles Wolves

WINFIELD - Winfield-Mt. Union had all sorts of trouble with six-foot-three-inch Taryn Scheuermann and the eighth-ranked (2A) Van Buren Warriors on Saturday. The Warrior post scored 39 points against the younger Wolves squad and W-MU fell 59-24.

Scheuermann had it going early and often. She had nine points in the first quarter and Van Buren bursted out to a 13-5 lead.

W-MU had a tough time getting shots up against the Warrior defense in the second quarter. W-MU scored just four points in the period, three of which came on a thre-pointer from Jami Wilkerson. Scheuermann added 13 more to tally 22 in the first half, and Van Buren led 27-9 at the break.

W-MU had their best offensive output in the third quarter, but were still outscored 15-10. The Warriors poured it on in the fourth and eventually walked out with a 35-point win.

Despite the defeat, W-MU head coach Mitch Wachs says he was happy to see how the team battled against a heavily favored Van Buren squad.

'I've learned that I like our fight (and) I like our competitiveness,” Wachs said. 'And I learned we've got a lot of things to work on. I think we're going to be very competitive as we get into a part of our schedule that's not so brutal. I think this is going to do us a bunch of good, if we'll let it … and I think it will, with this group.”

Liana Sweezer scored seven points on 3-6 shooting to lead W-MU. Jenna Buffington scored five points and also finished with eight rebounds, there steals, two assists and a block.

Jami Wilkerson, Kyndal Townsley and Jobey Malone scored three points apiece in the loss. Molly Miller had two points and Madie Anderson finished with one. Kayla Edwards didn't score, but co-led the team with two assists.

Scheuermann went 15-30 for her 39 points. She also had a team-leading five blocks. Isabel Manning had a nice game as well, going for 11 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.

'It's hard to handle our big one,” Warrior coach Matt Zietler said after the game. 'And these kids are smart enough to know until you stop her, we're going to keep coming to her. You get her one on one with someone and it's pretty tough to handle her.”

Zoe Best scored four points in the win. Madison Bartholomew had two points and seven steals. Ella Jirak had two points, and Chloe Davidson had one point and five assists. Grace Davidson didn't score, but finished the night with nine steals and five assists.

Van Buren moved to 2-0 with the win, and will hit the road to play West Burlington on Tuesday, Nov. 27. W-MU fell to 0-2 and will host Pekin on that same night.