MOUNT VERNON – The Mount Vernon girls basketball team more resembles a hockey team so far this season.
Well, at least when it comes to substitutions.
The Yellow Jackets have been using full line changes at the midway point of each period in each of their first two contests rather than the more conventional one or two changes at a time.
“We have a solid 10 athletic girls this year,” junior Sydney Lyons said. She scored a team-high 13 points in a 53-41 win over Ashland to open Ohio Cardinal Conference play on Friday, Nov. 27.
“It works really well for us,” Lyons added. “We can go as hard as we can for four minutes and then put the next group in, and they can play as hard as they can for four minutes and we get a break, and the energy is up the whole game.”
Lyons has been in the second group with Olivia Reddy, Mac Schlosser, Emilee Burke and Addi Christopher. The first group has been Cora Lepley, Stella Bainbridge, Eli Trace, McKenna Brokaw and Lexi Shaffer.
“I have 10 girls and I go down the list and say every one of them deserves some playing time— they really do,” Mount Vernon coach Doug Savage said. “It’s really designed to keep good team spirit.”
Savage came up with it during the preseason as a way to get all 10 of his full-time varsity players some action during scrimmages.
“I figured I’d do it for a few scrimmages,” he said. “So I just kept staying with it.”
So far, he’s liked the results. But he’s not sticking with it steadfast.
“Not everybody believes in it,” Savage said. “I guess I’m not sure if I believe in it or not. I usually just play seven, eight or nine girls. I’ve seen it done. I’ve always wondered if I’d have 10 kids that can do that.”
He deviated from it at times against Ashland. Lepley picked up her second foul before the 4-minute mark of the second quarter and was subbed out.
The Jackets opened the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run to push the lead to 12 after leading 33-32 through three. When the midway point of the period came, there was no mass substitution. Schlosser and Lyons came in first, then Reddy a little later.
Savage employed the substitution practice during scrimmage time in the past, but hadn’t previously used it during the season.
“We just didn’t have as many kids that were ready for this (last year),” he said. “I didn’t have 10 girls that could be competitive at a varsity level.”
Brokaw and Bainbridge scored 10 points apiece for the Jackets (1-1, 1-0) in the win over Ashland.
Klara Paramore led Ashland (0-3, 0-1) with 14 points.
Scheduling changes
Scheduling will be a fluid situation for athletic directors this season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mount Vernon already had games against Westerville Central and St. Francis DeSales nixed. Westerville Central, which was originally supposed to be the Jackets’ season opener, has been rescheduled for Saturday, Jan. 23, at 3 p.m. Mount Vernon opened the season at Fredericktown instead. The DeSales game has been canceled.
Mount Vernon’s game at Olentangy Orange to close the season on Tuesday, Feb. 9, has been moved to Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m.; after the Ohio Capital Conference suspended league competition until Friday, Dec. 18.
