Warriors open it up in opener
Not bad for the first time out.
Waubonsie Valley girl's basketball team set the tone defensively in the first half and that set them up for an easy 73-42 win in the season-opener against St. Joseph on Monday night.
In the first half, the Warriors (1-0) forced St. Joseph into 21 turnovers as Waubonsie Valley switched up its defense from full-court pressure to a half-court trap at will. The Warriors actually caused more turnovers than points allowed as Waubonsie Valley went into the half with a 39-20 lead. For the game, the Warriors forced 29 turnovers.
"We definitely try to set the tone defensively every time we step on the court," Waubonsie Valley coach Kris Kalivas said. "We came out with such high energy and we were able to set up some nice traps. We were also able to score some points off of the turnovers, which helped."
Not only did the defense step up in the season opener, the bench played well and Kalivas was able to show how deep her squad is. For the game, the bench scored 36 and grabbed 12 rebounds. The majority of the assault came courtesy of Rachel Bostick in the second quarter.
Bostick, who did not start but normally does, scored all 15 of her points in the second frame and also grabbed 6 rebounds during that spurt.
"I like to play whenever I get into the game," Bostick said. "It doesn't matter if I start or come off the bench. I just want to go out there and contribute. I like to make an immediate impact and tonight I was able to do that."
The Warriors were also consistent from the field as they hit 7 field goals in every quarter and shot 28-for-61 from the floor for the game. The Chargers shot 12 of 36 from the floor and hardly had an open look all night.
"We were excited to come out tonight," Bostick said. "We were really pumped up and ready. This is something we waited for all year since the end of last year. To come out tonight and play the way we did really felt good."
Bostick had a team-high 15 points while Jessica Morice chipped in with 13 points and Catherine McClellan had 9 off the bench.
Darnissa Gray had a game-high 17 points in the loss for the Chargers (0-1).
"I think they were better than us, we knew this game was going to be a challenge coming into it," St. Joseph coach Ramon Daguinsin said. "Even though we lost, they are not 30 points better than us. We are young and we will improve."