Smithville gets gritty win over Dalton, closes in on first WCAL title since 2013

SMITHVILLE — A year ago, Smithville entered its final Wayne County Athletic League game of the season with seven league losses. It eventually went on to finish fifth in the eight-team league.

Now, the Smithies are one win away from a league championship with one WCAL game to go.

Smithville continued one of the most impressive one-year improvements in recent area history, holding off Dalton for a 44-36 league win. The Smithies can clinch a share of the WCAL championship with a win at Rittman next week. It would be Smithville's first league title since 2013.

"It's not one individual; it's a team thing for us," Smithville coach Eric Nickles said. "I think tonight we moved the basketball really well. We put kids out there who can score, and they compete at a high level. We needed to dig deep. We knew Dalton was going to come out and play really hard, and they did. They're well-coached. They do a really nice job. But I'm proud of our kids."

It's been a dramatic improvement for Smithville (18-2, 11-2), who doesn't have a senior on its roster. But it does have five high-IQ starters who got huge minutes as underclassmen. Three of those players hit double figures against the Bulldogs — junior Naomi Keib and sophomores Madi Singer and Aly Wickens.

Keib once again dominated in the post, drawing double teams and fouls routinely on her way to a 15-point, nine-rebound night. She went 9-of-10 from the foul line in the win.

"We thought we had a little bit of a size advantage on them going into the game, and we kind of wanted to establish that early on," Nickles said. "(Keib) is a physical post presence. Thankfully, she's on our side. She does such a tremendous job of posting and kicking out and making the right read and getting people open shots as well."

Wickens was also all over the place on both ends, finishing with 15 points and six rebounds.

"We thought Aly had potential to play like that, and she's been playing like that (all season)," Nickles said. "I think people need to take notice of how well she's playing. She gives us such hustle plays all over the place. She plays really hard, and she's bought into that."

Meanwhile, Singer controlled the game at point guard during an efficient offensive night, scoring 12 points while knocking down two threes, including perhaps the biggest one of the game — a long-range shot with 4:46 left that gave Smithville a 34-26 lead to get some breathing room.

Junior Cammi Wickens spent the night guarding Dalton standout senior Ella Lunsford, limiting her to one field goal.

"We trust Cam guarding the best," Nickles said. "(Lunsford) kind of lit it up (at Dalton earlier in the season). Cam takes that stuff personally, and she did a great job tonight."

Smithville's team defense shined once again, limiting Dalton (8-11, 6-7) to three points in the second quarter. The Smithies never trailed in the second half, even as Dalton trimmed their lead to 29-26 entering the fourth quarter. The Smithies got points from Singer, Keib and both Wickens sisters during a 9-3 run to start the final quarter, and the 'Dawgs never seriously threatened after that.

While her team didn't get the result it wanted, Thursday was a special night for Lunsford, scoring her 1,000th career point in the fourth quarter on a free throw. She became just the second player in Dalton history to score 1,000 points, according to records available to the program, joining Makenna Geiser.

"Congratulations to her," Dalton coach Katie Miller said. "A lot of times you have to play four years of varsity basketball to be able to do it. It says a lot about your ability as a freshman, and you have to get better each year because teams scout you and prepare for you and each year gets a little bit harder."

Lunsford, who is headed to play college basketball for Division II Ursuline, finished with eight points. Kylee Johnson led the Bulldogs with 10.

With the tournament on the horizon, Dalton may not enter its bracket in Division IV with the most sparkling record, but it will enter as one of the most battle-tested, facing the toughest top part of the WCAL in a long time, along with playing a challenging non-league schedule.

Smithville has the league title within its sights, but is also focused on the tournament, entering its Div. III bracket as the top seed.

"We know what our end goal is, and that's to make it as far as we can in the tournament," Singer said. "We're all really motivated to do that."

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Girls Basketball: Smithville one win away from WCAL title share