Girls basketball: Waubonsie Valley, Benet advance to East Aurora sectional final in opposite fashion
The third time was the charm for Waubonsie Valley’s girls basketball team.
After suffering a pair of losses to eventual DuPage Valley Conference champion Naperville Central, the Warriors (31-3) earned the victory that mattered most.
Senior guard Danyella Mporokoso poured in a game-high 35 points to lead the second-seeded Warriors to a 62-50 victory over the third-seeded Redhawks in Tuesday’s Class 4A sectional semifinals at East Aurora.
With the win, Waubonsie Valley will face top seed Benet Academy in Thursday’s sectional championship for the fourth consecutive season.
Waubonsie used a fast start to its advantage.
Ahead 5-3, the Warriors used a 16-4 run to open a double-digit advantage.
Mporokoso, who missed her first 3 shots, found the hot hand, making 7 straight field-goal attempts, including a pair of 3-pointers to give the Warriors a 21-7 lead midway through the second quarter.
Mporokoso tallied 13 of her 22 first-half points during the Warriors’ 21-9 second-quarter surge that ended with an assist on Maya Pereda’s 3-pointer in the final seconds to make it 33-14.
“Getting off to a great start was very important,” said Warriors coach Brett Love. “We wanted to come out and strike early. We couldn’t hold on the last time (against Naperville Central), so we wanted to tighten up a few things and follow the plan.”
That plan included stingy, hard-nosed defense, fueled by senior guard Arianna Garcia and junior Syncere Williams, who helped limit Redhawks standouts Trinity Jones and Erin Hackett to 5 combined first-half points.
“We came out as hard as we’ve ever played,” said Garcia, who added 12 points. “I don’t think they (Redhawks) were expecting that as much.”
Led by Jones, who finished with a team-high 19 points, Naperville Central pulled within 7 at 40-33 with 1:57 left in the third quarter.
Williams (9 points, 5 rebounds) finished the quarter with a layup in the final seconds to push Waubonsie’s lead back to 10 at 45-35.
Garcia’s three-point play and Mporokoso’s 3-pointer helped extend the lead to 51-35 early in the fourth quarter, and the Warriors maintained their double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
“If we’re open, we’re open,” said Mporokoso. “On defense, we had two good defenders (Garcia and Williams) against two good offensive players. I’m happy it worked out in our favor.”
Annabelle Kritzer added 9 points and 10 rebounds for the Redhawks.
“We dug a hole too big,” said Redhawks coach Andy Nussbaum. “We had a great season, winning conference and beating them (Warriors) twice. They just outplayed us tonight. We got beat by a good team.”
In the first semifinal contest, Benet Academy (27-4) rallied for a 49-48 victory over fourth-seeded Bolingbrook (25-5).
Trailing 48-45 after the Skylar Wakefield’s layup for the Raiders with 3 minutes remaining, the Redwings turned to their defense and experience down the stretch.
Bridget Rifenburg’s left-hand layup cut the deficit to 48-47 with 1:28 remaining before Bolingbrook misfired on the other end, and senior Emma Briggs’ up-and-under move resulted in an inside bucket to give Benet a 49-48 lead with 54 seconds left.
“It all starts on defense,” said Briggs, who scored a game-high 20 points. “Everything on offense starts with our defense. We knew we had to get stops.”
That included an all-out hustle play from junior guard Ava Mersinger, who dove on the floor for a loose ball and called a quick timeout with 27 seconds left.
“We’re a gritty team,” said Briggs. “We want those 50-50 balls.”
After Benet missed a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left, Bolingbrook had one more chance to win but turned the ball over in the final seconds.
“We had a foul to give,” said Benet coach Joe Kilbride. “Emma (Briggs) said afterward that she was trying to foul but the refs didn’t call it.
“I was very proud of their composure because they stayed with it. It’s a perfect example of what it takes to win a game like this.”
Rifenburg chipped in with 15 points, while Lucy Tierney added 7 points for Benet.
Kennedy Williams paced the Raiders with 16 points, while Sydney Dodd added 10 points.
“I think the difference was just turnovers,” Williams said of her team’s 6 miscues in the final quarter. “They rushed us and we didn’t finish.
“Coach (Christopher Smith) told us in the locker room that we had a good season, and it goes to show you how good of a team we are — to lose by one to the top-ranked team in the state.”