New London shows strengths in FC rout

NORWALK — Visiting New London got everything it wanted. Beyond the 60-17 win over host St. Paul in a Firelands Conference game on Thursday, it was the areas that the Wildcats executed that stood out to head coach Eric Mitchell. New London (3-1, 2-0) dominated the glass in rebounds and were unselfish almost to a fault in the victory inside Harvey Keller Gymnasium in Norwalk. The Wildcats will need to be in top form in both areas if they are to win their first conference title in 21 years. "That was probably the biggest thing we talked about coming in, and even at halftime we complimented the girls on how well we rebounded," Mitchell said. "And we should. We're a big team, and we know that. "But early on, it's early in the season still, but going back to scrimmages, we weren't crashing the boards with the size we have. They weren't willing to go in there, but now these last two games, they've really been doing that — and it makes a difference." The result was never in question. New London opened the game with a 16-0 scoring run over the first 5:23 and never looked back. Leading scorer Emilee Rowland opened the game with a quick basket, then later added back-to-back scores to make it 13-0. Gracie Thomas, Pailee Wilson, Valery Henry, Madison Rowland and Olivia Yetter also scored in the 19-3 first quarter, giving the 'Cats points from six different players. In the second quarter, the 'Cats put the game further out of reach by outscoring the Flyers by an 18-0 margin. Yetter and Thomas each scored twice, consecutively, to start the quarter for New London. Wilson also added two baskets, while Emilee Rowland and Alyssa Henry also scored in the quarter. "The thing I like with this team already this year is there is a lot of unselfishness," Mitchell said. "It's not Emilee going out there and getting 17-to-20 points — because we don't need her to. I love my senior leadership with her and Alyssa, but then a player like Olivia comes off the bench and scores 10 points. "We told them to talk to each other … if someone makes a great pass to you, let them know it," he added. "Build that team camaraderie for the season. I liked the way we shared the ball, and I really liked our tempo and pace. St. Paul runs a 2-3 defense, and it's something they've been good at for years. If we could beat it down the floor, we thought we could get easy baskets, and I think we did a nice job with that." St. Paul (1-2, 0-1) scored 10 points in the third quarter. Senior Megan Lesch had five of those points, including a 3-pointer. Annie Friend also made a three, while Ella Kalizewski also scored. Friend and Lesch each led the team with five points, while Kalizewski had four and Addy Rospert scored three. For New London, Emilee Rowland finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Thomas had 10 points and nine rebounds, while Wilson had eight points and 10 rebounds. After a 55-27 loss at Smithville on Nov. 24, the 'Cats have won three straight games by an average score of 55-32 over Monroeville, Edison and St. Paul. "Smithville is a team I could see at state in Dayton, they are that good," Mitchell said. "That was supposed to be a January game that we moved up to the season opener to help them out. But to go back-to-back nights to start the season and get a win at Monroeville the next night, we were very happy. "On Monday (vs. Edison), we started fast. But I want to see that fast pace at the start of the third quarter like we do at the start of the game. We have to get to that point. We want to be able to start the second half the way we have started off our games so far." NEW LONDON (3-1, 2-0) Raeann Mitchell 1-0—2; Madison Rowland 3-0—7; Alyssa Henry 1-0—2; Emilee Rowland 5-4—14; Valery Henry 2-3—7; Olivia Yetter 4-1—10; Pailee Wilson 4-0—8; Gracie Thomas 5-0—10. TOTALS 25-8—60. ST PAUL (1-2, 0-1) Annie Friend 2-0—5; Megan Lesch 2-0—5; Ella Kalizewski 1-2—4; Addy Rospert 1-1—3. TOTALS 6-3—17. New London 19 18 15 8 — 60 St. Paul 3 0 10 4 — 17 3-point FGs: (NL) M. Rowland, Yetter; (SP) Friend, Lesch.