FREDERICKTOWN – Teamwork has been the key to a breakout season that has lifted the Fredericktown girls basketball team from the cellar to second place in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
Before the start of this season, the Freddies looked back on three years of hard work, frustration and only four league wins in that span. That includes the 2018-19 season, when they were winless in the KMAC. A 59-51 victory against visiting East Knox on Wednesday, Feb. 10, lifted the Freddies to a 17-5 overall record. Their 11-3 mark in the KMAC only trails undefeated Cardington.
“There’s not any selfish play here,” Fredericktown coach Tim Maceyko said. “You see us moving the ball. People are scoring. You can’t key on one person. Over the last 17 games, we only lost to Worthington Christian and Cardington, two top ranked programs. You’ve got to feel good about where we are.”
The Freddies took control against the Bulldogs on Wednesday led by Gabby Daniels, who hit five field goals in the first quarter, scoring 10 of her 18 points for the game. Her performance lifted Fredericktown to an early 17-4 lead.
“In the first quarter, we really executed the offense,” Daniels said, “We all try to score and do our best. We work together very well as a team.”
Next, it was teammate Audrey Bouton’s turn, fighting for rebounds and scoring nine of her 11 points in the middle two quarters.
“You’ve got to pull together or else it’s not going to work,” Bouton said. “You’ve got to keep your hands up on defense. (Offensively,) it’s just passing back and forth and making moves.”
Finally, senior Jacklyn Nussbaum finished it out for the Freddies, scoring six of her 14 points in the second half.
“I like to try to do everything I can for my team,” Nussbaum said. “I feel like if I don’t do all I can, I’m letting (my teammates) down. I really love this team and I’d do anything for every single one of those girls.
"We have a lot of good chemistry on this team. We all are friends. We work in the offseason. We communicate with everybody. We literally try to get everybody the ball. If we see that someone doesn’t have a point, we try to help them get a point.”
Nussbaum also played a key role in Fredericktown’s aggressive defense that held off the scrappy Bulldogs (9-12, 6-8), who outscored the Freddies 23-11 in a final quarter charge. The Bulldogs had three scorers in double figures: Shanda Melick, who scored 15 points; along with Laura Keith and Alexandria Magers, who added 12 points each.
“We’ve been waiting for a season like this since my freshman year,” Nussbaum said. “Now for our team to rise up is such a great feeling.”
