Waubonsie gets phyiscal in rivalry win
An ice pack on Tami Morice’s cramped leg was a fitting postgame scene Thursday at Waubonsie Valley.
This truly was a backyard brawl.
In a loosely called game between rivals that like to play physically, No. 2 Waubonsie Valley got 14 points and 6 assists from Becky Williford and suffocating second-half defense to beat No. 7 Neuqua Valley 39-33.
“It was a pretty rough game, but both ways,” Waubonsie coach Kim Connell said. “It felt like at times the kids were pinballs out there.”
Waubonsie (15-1, 6-1 Upstate Eight Valley), which won its eighth straight, trailed 21-20 after a first half that featured seven lead changes. But the Warriors kept Neuqua off the offensive boards in the second half and surrendered just 12 points over the final two quarters.
“Neuqua, they’re always going to come out with a bunch of intensity. It’s a good, friendly rivalry,” said Williford, who played for Neuqua as a freshman with fellow Warriors seniors Erica Jordan and Rachael Ross. “We had to match their intensity or top it, because they really jumped on us in the first half.”
Williford’s 14 points were a season high in her 11th game back from an ACL tear, and she did it skating around Neuqua’s constant pressure. She hit the deck late, and Morice appeared in agonizing pain after a tie-up on a loose ball, but Waubonsie could exhale as both walked way unscathed.
“The nice thing about Becky since being back is she can distribute the ball,” Connell said, “but she can also score when we need her to score. That’s a plus, to have a point guard like that.”
Neuqua (15-2, 4-2) led 8-2 early and took a 28-27 advantage into the fourth quarter. Waubonsie finally wrested away the lead for good at 32-30 on a pair of Jordan free throws with 5:18 left, and Tia Brooks muscled in a pair of baskets for a six-point bulge. Waubonsie, despite a 1-of-6 slip-up late, was an uncharacteristically solid 14 of 22 from the free-throw line, doubling Neuqua’s 6 of 14.
Ross had 9 points and 10 rebounds and Brooks 8 points and 8 boards. Allison Hedrick had 9 points and 7 rebounds for Neuqua and Amarah Coleman tallied 6 points. But Megan Doody had just 4 points on 1-for-6 shooting. Neuqua was held south of 40 points for the first time this year, its nine-game win streak snapped.
“Teams are going to try to take Megan out, and that’s what they did,” Neuqua coach Mike Williams said. “Some of our other kids need to step up and make shots. For the most part they have this year.”