Bath’s Anne Oliver shoots overtop Shawnee’s Grace Freiberger during a recent game at Bath High School. The chemistry between Oliver and Claire Foust has guide a talented Wildkitten team.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
BATH TOWNSHIP – When it comes to being unselfish, longtime Bath girls basketball coach Greg Mauk says this year’s team exemplifies that trait.
That enviable trait helped guide the Wildkittens to a 6-0 start on the season, prior to Friday night’s game at the Bath Holiday Tournament that finished after The Lima News’ deadline.
According to Mauk, it all centers around seniors Claire Foust and Anne Oliver.
Foust, a 6-foot-1 post player, averages 14.2 points and 14.5 rebounds per game. Oliver, a 6-foot forward, averages 13.8 points per outing.
However, Mauk said the success of this year’s squad runs much deeper than just the statistics.
“This is a unique group of players. It’s a group of kids that really doesn’t care on who gets the credit,” Mauk said. “They just enjoy one another. They pull for one another. They have each other’s backs, and they play that way.
“They go out and compete every night. They do it in practice too. These kids practice hard. We expect that out of them. That’s something I don’t have to prod them to do. That’s really important when you have a group of kids that do that on their own. It starts with those two kids (Foust and Oliver).”
Mauk said Foust and Oliver have been good role models for the younger players. He said their impact on the team started to pay huge dividends.
“I think when you’re not only a good basketball player but you’re a good person, the younger kids on the team have a great example to follow,” Mauk said. “They always have great attitudes about things. They work hard at what they’re doing. And they’re competitive. What better examples could you ask for as a coach?”
On Monday, Bath defeated Delphos Jefferson, 42-16. Jefferson came into Monday’s contest with a 6-0 record.
What made the win over Jefferson even more impressive was the way the Wildkittens kept Jefferson’s Lyv Lindeman in check, holding her to 10 points.
The Tiffin University-bound Lindeman came into Monday’s contest averaging nearly 26 points per outing. As a team, Jefferson shot under 20 percent from the field, due in large part to Bath’s defensive pressure.
Oliver said there is chemistry on the basketball court between Foust and her.
“We’ve been playing together for six years. So, if she (Foust) gets double-teamed down low, she knows to kick it back out, and I have the green light to shoot it,” Oliver said with a grin.
Oliver took her share of 3-point shots this season. She made 11 of 29 shots behind the arc for 37.9 percent.
“I think we do a really good job with each other,” Foust said about the chemistry between her and Oliver. “We always know where the other one is. If Anne slips, she knows I’m going to be there. If I’m getting doubled down low, I know she’s going to be open at the top (of the key).”
Foust points to the development of the younger players as a key to this season’s success.
“I think the younger kids are starting to come around,” Foust said. “Some of them are more experienced, but I think our freshmen are doing a good job. We have one freshman (Mara Davis, 5-foot-3 guard) out with an injury, but other players have really stepped up. I think Izzy McDermott and Kelsie Carlson are doing a great job. They’re starting to get comfortable, and they know their roles on the team.”
McDermott, a 5-foot-6 sophomore guard, has averaged 7.2 points per contest. She is shooting 48.3 percent from the field.
Mauk said he was impressed on how McDermott progressed this season.
“Izzy McDermott is coming. We were sitting on the bench (during this past Monday’s game), and I turned to my assistant coach and said, ‘She’s starting to get it. She’s starting to come into her own,’” Mauk said.
Carlson, a 5-foot-8 sophomore forward, has averaged nine points per game.
When it comes to the defensive end, Faith Clark, a 5-foot-3 junior guard, is the one Mauk calls upon to defend the opposing team’s top perimeter player.
Clark has averaged nearly two steals and 2.5 assists per game to go along with her 2.2 points per outing.
“She is an unsung hero,” Mauk said about Clark. “We put her on their best player, and she just gets after it.”
Defense has been Bath’s mainstay this season. Bath holds its opponents to 33.3 points per game.
“Coach (Mauk) says that sometimes the best offense is a good defense,” Oliver said.
Offensively, Bath averages 51.5 points per game.
“Coach (Mauk) tells us to let the offense work itself around, and it will eventually come to you if you just wait for it. So, being patient on offense and trying not to rush things is the key,” Oliver added.
