AUSTIN – The best medicine for a loss? A win. Coming off of a tough conference loss to DuBois Central Catholic at home on Friday night, the Sheffield Lady Wolverines took to the road Saturday, wasting no time in routing Austin, 44-15.

“That was the best defensive effort we’ve had all season, I’m proud of the way these girls worked together. We had things go our way in the full court and half court phases of our defense, and it really set the tempo for the afternoon,” said Sheffield coach Brandon Troutman.

Troutman credited the work of Destiny Wynn, Mya Grubbs, Lexi Lyon, Emily Leichtenberger, Rosemary Nelson, and Lily Lauffenburger for their efforts on the front end of the press. Their quick hands and pressure allowed “Marissa (Grubbs), and Eliza (Davidson) to sit back and pick off passes, force bad passes, and cause numerous turnovers on traveling calls,” according to Troutman. Wynn had six steals, in all Sheffield had 19, while forcing 31 turnovers.

Sheffield also had a monster game on the glass, collecting 55 rebounds. Lyon had 15 to go along with 16 points, Mya Grubbs nine rebounds (11 points), and Davidson eight rebounds and three blocks on the afternoon.

Racing out early to a 13-1 lead in the first few minutes of the game, Sheffield was able to control the pace of the game, and despite a tough start shooting, was never really threatened. “We left a lot of points on the floor early on in the first quarter, it’s something that’s hurt us all year, kept us from a few more ‘W’s’ in my opinion,” Troutman said, “despite our early struggles, we stayed the course, and really got into a nice rhythm in the second quarter.”

Taking a 27-12 lead into the half, Sheffield was left wanting more, and they got it right out of the gate in the second half. “We had a sequence right before the half where we got four shots in the last ten seconds, shots we definitely had to fight to get off,” Troutman explained, “in the locker room, we all felt that we should have been a little further ahead, like we left a few opportunities out there. I challenged the kids to go out and put the game away, another struggle we’ve faced – and they came through in a big way.”

The Lady Wolverines returned to their full court pressure early in the third quarter, getting another hot start, before working on some basic defense through the remainder of the game. In doing so, Sheffield limited Austin to just three second half points. The lone Austin field goal came in the third quarter, the only bucket by Lady Panther standout Jordan Brewer. “The girls did a nice job on containing her.”

“Everything we put on the scoreboard tonight was a direct result of our willingness to buy into playing defense, and doing it well, I’m very proud of these girls. They’ve worked hard, it’s nice when things come together like they did today,” added Troutman.

Sheffield improves to 2-10 on the season, 0-3 in the AML. They return to league play Tuesday at Johnsonburg, and look to break a 36-game in conference losing streak that dates back to January 21, 2014.

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SHEFFIELD (44)

Allison Schmader 0-0-0-0, Destiny Wynn 3-0-0-6, Mya Grubbs 5-0-0-11, Rosemary Nelson 0-1-2-1, Lily Lauffenburger 1-0-0-2, Marissa Grubbs 1-0-0-2, Emily Leichtenberger 0-0-0-0, Eliza Davidson 0-2-2-2, Alyssa Dunham 2-0-0-4, Lexi Lyon 8-0-2-16, Hanna Pierce 0-0-0-0, Mareena Bailey 0-0-0-0, Totals 20-3-6-44.

AUSTIN (15)

Brewer 1-0-4-2, Setzer 1-3-6-5, Mitchell 1-0-0-2, Watson 1-0-2-2, Latimore 1-3-6-5, Totals 5-6-18-15

By Quarters

Sheffield 13 14 10 7 – 44

Austin 5 7 2 1 – 15

3-point field goals: S – My Grubbs. A – None.