Thursday Throwdown – Chippewa vs Dalton
Two of the state’s top small school teams will face-off on Thursday night in a huge Wayne County Athletic League match-up, as the Dalton Bulldogs make the short trip to Doylestown to take on the Chippewa Chipps. We are excited…
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Continue ReadingTwo of the state’s top small school teams will face-off on Thursday night in a huge Wayne County Athletic League match-up, as the Dalton Bulldogs make the short trip to Doylestown to take on the Chippewa Chipps. We are excited to dive in and look a little bit more closely at this game.
Both programs have enjoyed a lot of success in recent years.
Chippewa has won 5 straight DIII Wooster District championships, defeating Loudonville 51-50 in an epic championship game. The Chipps advanced all the way to the State Final 4 (before losing to Waynesville) after beating Champion by a score of 67-44 in the Regional Semi-Finals and Elyria Catholic 39-37 in the Regional Finals.
Dalton has advanced to the Regionals in DIV during their last 3 seasons. The Bulldogs were defeated by Cornerstone Christian 35-29 in the 2019 Regional Final, 55-47 by Buckeye Central in 2018 and 44-40 to Jackson Milton in the 2017 Regional Semi-Finals. They have also participated in state-wide events like The Classic in the Country at Berlin Hiland and The Bulldog Battle at Canton McKinley.
Both teams return All-Ohio players.
Celina Koncz has established herself as Wayne County’s top player during her time at Chippewa. The 6’0 Senior Forward does it all for head coach Denny Schrock. She is a multi-time WCAL MVP and is committed to play on scholarship at Ursuline College upon graduation. Last season, she earned 2nd-team All-Ohio honors and is well over 1000 career points.
Dalton counters with a 1st-team All-Ohioan in Makenna Geiser. The smooth guard is an excellent playmaker, creating a number of open looks for her teammates. Although Geiser doesn’t always score as much as Koncz on a nightly basis, she is also well over 1000 career points and can certainly fill it up when her team needs her to – which they will tonight.
The supporting casts are key.
Dalton has an experienced bunch, who has played in a number of those big-time contests over the past few season. A soon-to-be 4-year letterwinner – Camille Beatty – pictured above (Photo Credit: The Repository) is a sharp-shooter with a quick release and solid range.At 6’1, Tess Denning provides a legitimate scoring option in the post for the Bulldogs, who don’t see too many 6-footers in the WCAL or DIV tournament. Kelsey Shoup is a defensive specialist who needs to have a big game controlling Chippewa’s talented guards. Lauren Clos and Mia Weaver have both scored double-digits this year on a number of occasions.
Chippewa’s Taylor Thomas is expected to make her season debut tonight after missing the first 4 games of the year. She is a tremendous shooter who compliments Koncz well. If Thomas comes out of the gate knocking down shots, that will help her younger teammates relax and settle in. Sophia Cazzolli has been on fire from deep to start the year – serving as a pleasant surprise. Bel Rodriguez is a highly-touted freshman point guard who has done a little bit of everything in the early stages of the season.
Can Dalton get the monkey off of their back?
The “Makenna Geiser” era at Dalton has been full of successes. The Bulldogs have won more games than any other collection of teams in school history. They have battled and even defeated some of Ohio’s toughest programs. There is one that they haven’t beaten though – Chippewa. Many area basketball fans feel as if this is their best chance. The Chipps have a largely unproven back court – although they do probably have the best player on the court in Celina Koncz. If Dalton can contain her and make the other girls beat them – we could be looking at a new leader in the clubhouse for the Wayne County Athletic League…..at least until these two teams meet again in Dalton in January.