A first for Westminster Christian
When the shots weren’t falling for Westminster Christian, its defense was a constant. When the Warriors finally got a few shots to go down, it was enough to carry them to their first regional title.
The Warriors downed their Randall Road rival, Harvest Christian, 42-30, to win their own Class 1A girls basketball regional Friday night, the first regional championship in any girls sport for the school. They advance to play Willows Academy at the Willows regional on Monday.
Westminster (20-8) was shooting less than 15 percent through three quarters but still led, 24-23. Then the Warriors hit their first 4 shots of the fourth. The last of those, a 3-pointer by McKaila Hays, gave the Warriors a 33-23 lead.
The Lions (16-11) got back within 4, but could get no closer and the Warriors slowly pulled away.
Hays led all scorers with 13 points. Whitney Vanden Bos added 8 for the winners
“Our defense was the key, because when we do defense, the offense just comes with it,” said Hays.
Kylee Knox had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Sydney Doby added 11 points and 15 boards for the Lions, who made it to a regional final in their first season as members of the IHSA. The Lions’ 8-person roster consists entirely of freshmen and sophomores.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that playing at home helped,” said Westminster coach Ken Flickinger. “We had a great crowd that kind of energized us in the second half.
“We were nervous, kind of tight, a little pumped up. We tend to shoot better than this, but our defense has bailed us out all season, and that run we had in the second half was huge for us.”
Westminster made just 1 of 18 shots in the third period, but came out on fire after the quarter break.
Hays made a short jumper, Liz Meschewski scored inside, and Vanden Bos made a steal and fed Meschewski for a layup. Then Hays buried a 3-pointer from the corner and the Warriors had the biggest lead of the game to that point.
Knox had 3 points during a 6-0 run that got the Lions back to within 4, but with a chance to get closer, they missed 2 short shots. The rebound went out of bounds off Westminster, but Hays stole the inbounds pass and passed to Vanden Bos, who nailed a 3-pointer at the other end.
“We were very excited to be here, and the girls fought tonight,” said Harvest coach Kelly Friestad. “We were the underdogs, but they fought.”
Meschewski and Porsche Griggs added 6 points apiece for Westminster. Meschewski and Claire Speweik each had 6 rebounds.