Girls basketball: Wadsworth beats Stow to clinch share of SL National title

WADSWORTH — Lauren Decker and Natalie Maddox took their turns climbing the ladder to cut down the Suburban League National Conference championship net, posed for a team picture and moseyed past coach Andrew Booth's office — a.k.a "Man Cave Annex" — to the locker room. The Wadsworth girls basketball team was in a celebratory mood Saturday afternoon after beating Stow 45-26 for its first SL National title share since 2021, and it's easy to forget sometimes that teenage girls do teenage girl-like things when they're happy. You know, like recording themselves dancing and posting to TikTok. It's all the rage these days, apparently. "We were making a dance," a smiling Decker said. "We just wanted to dance. ... We do it randomly and we're in the mood, I guess." "We're TikTok famous," Maddox boldly proclaimed with a sheepish grin before recanting almost immediately. "No, we're actually not." At the very least, the Grizzlies (17-2, 11-2) are famous in Medina County. They have two state championships (1997, 2016) and 904 wins since the OHSAA first sponsored the sport in 1975-76 and are currently the second-ranked Division I team in Ohio by MaxPreps RPI. Their return to the top of the SL National standings has been satisfying, as the four-year league title drought was the program's longest since 1984-90. That even held true for Decker, who won four league championships with the volleyball team. Wadsworth can clinch outright Wednesday at home against Solon (10-9, 6-7). "I mean, it's my last year, obviously, and I've never had one (in basketball) before," Decker said. "This is pretty great to accomplish in my last year for the league." Having already beaten Stow 35-19 on Dec. 20, the Grizzlies knew what they had to deal with in their first game without starting wing Julia Maddox, who was in a walking boot after rolling an ankle Wednesday against North Royalton. The Bulldogs (3-14, 1-12) played physical defense and slowed the pace to a crawl as Wadsworth struggled to gain separation until the closing minutes of the first half. That's when Natalie Maddox took over, finding sweet-shooting center Marah Minor and defensive wizard Leah Blake for back-to-back back-breaking 3-pointers that turned a 14-13 game into 20-13 at the half. Decker grabbed the baton from there, scoring 10 of her game-high 17 points in the second half to turn the margin into a rout. "Stow, they're very physical, so we really just had to use our speed against them because they're bigger than us," Maddox said. "We have more speed, I think. "We just prepare to be shot-ready. We all talk to each other to make sure you know you're up for the next pass if you're open." Stow committed 29 turnovers and shot only 24 times, approximately 18 hours after its boys team hoisted only 21 field goal attempts yet beat Wadsworth 31-30. The Bulldogs could not get the ball to standout center Kennady Dodds (11 points) in the first half and ultimately coughed up a 14-0 run that spanned the second and third quarters. Outside of Decker's 17 points, the Grizzlies got six points, three rebounds and five steals from point guard Natalie Moser, six points and three dimes from Maddox, five points, two assists and three steals from Blake and five points off the bench from Tenley Mendel. The Grizzlies were efficient, making 17-of-34 field goals, 4-of-10 3-pointers and 7-of-9 free throws. Booth has had dozens of net-cutting experiences, so he held the ladder stable as each player climbed for their small prize. Moser, who has zero interest in being the center of attention, was up and down so quickly that Booth deadpanned that was the fastest she'd moved on a basketball court all season. The smiles were deserved for a team that has returned the Grizzlies to elite status. So, too, were the TikTok dances. "It's great," Decker said. "All the experiences that have happened with this team, I'm just glad to come out on top." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Wadsworth 45, Stow 26 STOW &emsp;&emsp;10 3 6 7 — 26 WADSWORTH &emsp;&emsp;12 8 14 11 — 45 Stow — Allie Knouff 2-0-4, Maya Cooper 2-1-6, Kennady Dodds 4-1-11, Melina Frailey 0-0-0, Korrianne Dodds 2-0-5, Sophia Zettwoch 0-0-0, Aubrey Callahan 0-0-0, Ani Sarafian 0-0-0, Alexa Ray 0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-2-26. Wadsworth — Leah Blake 1-2-5, Lauren Decker 6-4-17, Marah Minor 1-0-3, Natalie Maddox 3-0-6, Natalie Moser 3-0-6, Tenley Mendel 2-1-5, Natalie Gill 0-0-0, Analise Lucey 1-0-3, Daniella Ripplinger 0-0-0, Mila Polczak 0-0-0, Lucy Roesnick 0-0-0, Marissa Rankin 0-0-0, LyndiGray Tetzel 0-0-0. TOTALS: 17-7-45. 3-point goals — Ke. Dodds 2, Cooper, Ko. Dodds, Blake, Decker, Minor, Lucey. Rebounds — Stow 19 (Cooper 6), Wadsworth 12 (Decker 4). Assists — Stow 4 (Ko. Dodds, Zettwoch, Knouff, Cooper), Wadsworth 8 (Maddox 3). Records — Stow (3-14, 1-12), Wadsworth (17-2, 11-2). Junior varsity — Wadsworth 21, Stow 13 (2 quarters).