FREDERICKTOWN – Gabby Daniels has been a steady force for the Fredericktown girls basketball team over the last couple of seasons. That consistency was on full display when the Freddies knocked off Mount Gilead 51-42 in Knox Morrow Athletic Conference play on Tuesday, Dec. 15.
“That’s usually her role,” Fredericktown coach Tim Maceyko said. “She has a tendency to get to the right spot and the girls know to look. She has a really high I.Q. when it comes to that. She gives you everything you could ask for.”
Daniels had game-highs with 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead Fredericktown, which snapped a three-game skid with the win.
“She has a knack for just knowing where to be,” Maceyko said. “Whether it’s defense or on the boards or getting to the rim on offense, she just has this natural ability to get to the right spot.”
Daniels credits her rebounding ability to the work the team does in practice.
“That’s what you do: You hit the boards and get rebounds and go to your outlet and go right into the play,” she said. “We really work hard (on that) in practice. You get rebounds, you get more shots; you get more opportunities (to run your offense).”
On the other bench, Mount Gilead coach Bob Scott is still looking for somebody to steady the boat when things get rocky.
“We lost a couple of kids from last year,” he said. “Maddie Fitzpatrick steadied us and kept us under control in (difficult) situations. We’re still figuring that out. She’s gone and there’s nothing we can do about that. Madilyn Elson could step into that role. But she’s a sophomore and this is her first year playing varsity. So she’s still learning how to do this.”
MG came in hot, riding a five-game winning streak that included three games in league play after dropping its first game of the year at Danville.
“There was a matchup issue,” Scott said of the Freddies. “We knew that was an issue coming in. They did the best to play to their strengths and got up in our face a little bit and pressured us.”
The first quarter was back and forth much of the way. Grace Sipes turned a steal in the backcourt into an easy layup to give the Freddies a 17-15 lead, and they never trailed again.
Sipes scored all eight of her points and tallied all five of her steals in the first quarter to help Fredericktown.
“That was phenomenal,” Daniels said. “She just turned (the game) completely over. Getting (those steals) is a confidence boost. She’s so good at anticipating, getting out and jumping the ball. She did a great job.”
The Freddies finished with 18 steals for the game, led by Sipes and Taylor Overholt, who had five apiece. Overholt also added six points, three rebounds and three assists to her ledger.
“I was happy with all of the kids,” Maceyko said. “Other than the turnovers early in the first quarter, the second quarter we settled in. We knew we had a size advantage, so we kept pounding the ball and it paid off.”
Elson and Candace Millisor led MG (6-2, 3-2) with 14 points apiece. Elson had five assists and three steals, and Millisor had four rebounds and four steals.
Aubrey Thomas led MG on the boards with eight rebounds to go with five points; and Kylie Irwin had six rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists.
Daniels was also solid against the Freddies' next opponent, Granville Christian Academy. She scored 13 points to lead Fredericktown over the host Lions, 51-22, on Thursday, Dec. 17 in Granville.
Jacklyn Nussbaum tallied 10 points and Audrey Bouton scored nine points for the Freddies (3-3, 1-2), who led 17-2 after one quarter and 28-5 at the break.
Darynne Zellar poured in 13 points and Riley Schirtzinger added nine points to lead the Lions (0-5).
