Waubonsie survives scare from Metea
The No. 3 Waubonsie Valley girls basketball team obviously wanted the momentum of beating No. 1 Bartlett on Friday to carry over to its next contest Tuesday night at Metea Valley.
That didn't happen.
But the Warriors found a way to survive and went home 36-32 winners against a team that went into the contest having won four straight and is finding momentum at the right time as the number of regular-season games left can be counted on a one hand.
"Coming off of Bartlett, we're not happy with the win. But it's a win," said senior Tami Morice, who led Waubonsie (19-2, 9-1 Upstate Eight Valley) with 11 points.
Both teams were well into double-digit turnover totals. Waubonsie's shooting performance kept pace with Metea (12-12, 5-6) but never went up in temperature.
The Warriors were 5 of 12 from the free-throw line and just 2 of 6 from there during the crucial fourth quarter. However, good teams find a way to win on off nights, and when Waubonsie absolutely had to come through it did.
"We've been all together since sophomore year. We have experience with staying calm and helping each other," Morice said. "We just needed to stay calm, stay in control and get the ball back."
Bria Walker scored a game-high 14 points for the Mustangs, 11 coming in the second half. She also sank two 3-pointers in the final eight minutes. One came with 1:33 left to play to pull Metea to within one at 33-32.
Gratia Brooks converted a layup with 53.7 seconds remaining to push Waubonsie to 35-32. The Warriors called an immediate timeout and in the time remaining kept control of the ball, forcing Metea to foul and eating clock at the same time. Erica Jordan's free throw with 29.1 seconds left would seal the final score.
Metea's Lori Obendorf also had a strong night with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
"When you hold a team to 36 points, you put yourself in a position to win. A couple of buckets didn't go and we had a couple of costly turnovers," she said.
The loss was a rare blip on what has been a successful second-half radar for the Mustangs, who have gone 6-2 since holiday tournament play.
"We have been playing well of late. We're coming together as a small group and confident that we can play with teams like Waubonsie," Kalivas said.
Waubonsie led 11-5 after the first quarter and 19-12 at halftime. Both teams shot 30 percent from the field during the third quarter, but the Mustangs were aided by a 6-of-6 showing at the free-throw line to outscore the Warriors 12-7 for the period. Metea trailed just 26-24 at the end of it.
Waubonsie jumps back into league play Friday night with a 7:15 game at East Aurora, followed the next day by a nonconference 1:30 p.m. home matinee against Oswego.
Metea is back on its home court 6 p.m. Saturday night against Hinsdale Central with Lake Park coming to town at 7:15 p.m. Monday.