Waterford’s defense.
The Wildcats played a defense that deflected passes, ran down loose balls and blocked shots. And a defense that had enough energy left to stop the late-charging Redskins 48-46 in the inaugural Division VII state final Saturday at UD Arena.
“Their defense was more aggressive this year than it was last year,” Fort Loramie coach Carla Siegel said.
The Redskins had the ball for the final 44 seconds, but they never got off a clean shot. And on their final attempt to score they committed a turnover with seven-tenths of a second left.
Ariel Heitkamp’s inbounds pass from the baseline with 2.9 seconds left was intended for Avery Brandewie. She charged down the left side of the lane, but the pass was deflected by Kendall Sury back toward Heitkamp. Before Heitkamp could establish her feet inbounds, the ball was in her hands for a turnover.
The Redskins trailed with the exception of a 7-6 lead in the first quarter. They rallied from a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter and cut Waterford’s lead to 47-46 on Victoria Mescher’s layup with 1:03 left.
This was a rematch of last year’s Division IV title game when Fort Loramie defeated Waterford 42-29. But the Wildcats returned four starters to two for the Redskins. This time they played one of the two most competitive of the seven state finals.
“You guys just saw an awesome game,” Siegel said. “Thirty-two minutes back and forth. Tremendous heart from this team. I appreciate the seniors, and I think they just left everything on the line today.
“I love the way our team battled. Down they kept fighting back, kept fighting back. Very impressed with the the way the game was played by both teams.”
The biggest difference maker was Waterford 6-foot-4 senior Avery Wagner with 16 points, four blocked shots and four assists. Mescher found ways to score inside against Wagner for 19 points.
“I used my pivots and used pump fakes to hopefully get her off her feet,” Mescher said. “I feel like I did that successfully sometimes. I just knew that she’s a shot blocker. So we had to figure out other ways to work around it.”
The Wildcats double-teamed Loramie leading scorer Avery Brandewie, the Southwest District player of the year. She scored eight points but had 12 rebounds and four steals.
Aiding Wagner was Surry with 15 points. And the Wildcats made 7 of 16 3-pointers, including three that banked in.
“Wagner had a great game today,” Siegel said. “She was unstoppable there for a while. Sury always plays great. But I just think them hitting all those threes was probably the game.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
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