The Wolverines had multiple opportunities to tie or take the lead with less than a minute remaining and turned the ball over each time without registering a single shot. The final turnover led to a Kennedi Winslow transition basket that sealed the Orioles’ win.

“We had opportunities to win or take the game over,” Sheffield coach Tony Richards said. “We’ve got to learn how to win. It’s all part of the process.”

Rocky Grove took a 21-20 lead into the fourth quarter and stretched it to four on Stormi Taylor’s early 3-pointer. Sheffield closed the gap to two points four points, but couldn’t get the stop-and-score to tie or take the lead. The Wolverines lost one of their top offensive threats when Allison Schmader, who had already knocked down a pair of threes, fouled out with 2:14 to go.

“She’s our best shooter,” Richards said. “That was one less option we had.”

Sheffield’s Alyssa Dunham (24) puts up a shot over a host of Rocky Grove defenders.

Alyssa Dunham cut the deficit to 32-30 with 1:23 to play. The Wolverines fouled Amy Ruditis with 55 seconds left and caught a break when she went 0-2 from the line. Rocky Grove corraled the rebound on the second miss, but Sheffield forced a turnover and brought the ball to their end with 30 seconds remaining.

An errant pass sailed out of bounds to give the ball back to the Orioles, but the Wolverines forced another turnover with 12 seconds left for a final opportunity. Another errant pass ended with the ball in Winslow’s hands and she raced to the other end of the court for a game-sealing layup.

The Wolverines are back in action Friday when they welcome former coach Brandon Troutman and his Kane Wolves to the Ralph J. Santo gymnasium. The varsity only contest is set to tip-off at 6:30 p.m.

——

ROCKY GROVE (34)

Ruditis 3-3-9-9, Winslow 6-2-2-14, Reed 4-0-0-8, Taylor 1-0-0-3, Ripple 0-0-0-0, Harris 0-0-0-0, Total 14-5-11-34

SHEFFIELD (30)

Schmader 2-2-2-8, Grubbs 2-2-2-7, Goldthewaite 0-0-2-0, Lauffenberger 2-0-0-4, Dunham 5-0-0-11, Gregerson 0-0-0-0, Total 11-4-6-30

By Quarters

Rocky Grove 6 11 4 13 – 34

Sheffield 8 3 8 10 – 30

3-point FGs: Rocky Grove (1)-Taylor. Sheffield (4)-Schmader 2, Grubbs, Dunham.

– – –

MAPLEWOOD 63, TIDIOUTE 25

Angelina Sabella had nine points and three blocks, but it wasn’t enough as Tidioute dropped a Region 2 battle with Maplewood.

Nakiesha Krouse added eight points and is now 22 away from 1,000 in her career. Kelsey Nuttal also had nine rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Tidioute travels to Austin today for a boys/girls doubleheader.

– – –

MAPLEWOOD (63)

Roser 1-3-2-1-12, Thomas 2-0-2-2-6, Elmer 2-4-0-0-16, M. Mangus 1-0-0-0-2, Moorhead 3-0-0-0-6, C. Mangus 0-0-0-0-0, Atkins 1-0-12-9-11, Vardell 1-0-0-0-2, Doolittle 3-0-2-2-8

TIDIOUTE (25)

Krouse 1-2-0-0-8, Proctor 0-1-0-0-3, Nuttall 1-0-2-1-3, Sabella 4-0-2-1-9, Drukenbrod 0-0-0-0-0, Barnes 0-0-0-0-0, Hulse 0-0-0-0-0, Curtin 1-0-0-0-2

By Quarters

Maplewood 21 24 15 3 – 63

Tidioute 5 5 9 6 – 25

Three-point FGs: Maplewood (7) – Elmer 4, Roser 3; Tidioute (3) – Krouse 2, Proctor