Waubonsie Valley holds on for tight win against Oswego
Keiera Ray found her shot at redemption on the last shot.
Waubonsie Valley's sophomore had missed three free throws in the final two minutes, opening the door for Oswego to steal a win or force overtime. And Ray knew her girl was getting the ball.
On a drive into the lane, Oswego missed a jumper heavily contested by Ray and a fellow Waubonsie defender, and the Warriors held on for a 52-50 win on Tuesday in Aurora.
"I was so relieved she didn't make that shot," said Ray, who also had 9 points and 10 rebounds. "I just had to play the best defense I possibly can for the last 16 seconds. I knew those misses could cost us the game."
Waubonsie (15-2), which only trailed once in the game, played like a team not lacking for motivation. Oswego (15-2) came in heralded among the best teams in the Chicago area. Ray, like many of her teammates, has AAU friends on "neighborhood rival" Oswego.
Waubonsie gets chief rival Neuqua Valley on Saturday, a fact not lost on three ex-Neuqua Warriors.
"I told my team, 'This is our week,' " said former Wildcat Erica Jordan. "We'll be ready for that one."
In a back-and-forth, fast-paced first half, Waubonsie grabbed control the last five minutes. Oswego took its only lead at 20-18 on a three-point play by Brittany Collier with 6:02 left in the second quarter. But Waubonsie finished the half on a 12-2 run. Ray put back her own miss and scored on a drive sandwiched around a Becky Williford transition basket.
Williford scored 9 of her 13 points in the third quarter, her breakaway layup with 4:25 left giving Waubonsie its biggest lead at 38-27.
Four times Oswego pulled within 4 points and once as close as 3 in the fourth quarter, but Waubonsie had an answer each time. Jordan did much of that answering, scoring 9 of her 12 points in the fourth.
"That's the best game Erica's played all season," Waubonsie coach Kim Connell said. "I was proud of how we kept our composure."
Waubonsie led 52-46 with 1:11 left, but Samiya Wright hit a jumper and after Ray missed the front end of a 1-and-1 Collier scored to make it a 2-point game. Collier stole the ensuing Waubonsie inbounds pass, calling timeout while falling out of bounds.
Oswego got another timeout with 16 ticks left to set up a final shot, which the Winthrop-bound Wright missed under heavy pressure. Time ran out as the ball caromed out of bounds.
"Our hearts were racing there," said Waubonsie's Tanysha Walls, who had 13 points, "but I think we're a pretty mature team, even though we're young. We've learned how to keep our composure until that last buzzer."
Collier had 15 points and Wright 12 for Oswego, whose only loss prior to Tuesday came to Geneva.
"We didn't execute the out-of-bounds play exactly how we wanted to do it," Oswego coach Chad Pohlmann said, "but Samiya ended up getting a drive to the basket. It could have gone either way. I thought there was some contact, but it goes both ways. We had a chance. It was a good ballgame and Waubonsie is an excellent team."