Basketball: Tigers Sweep Minford in SOC III Doubleheader
Article presented by McDonald’s, I’m Lovin’ It! …
The Tigers and Falcons varsity basketball teams battled in an SOC III doubleheader Monday as part of rescheduled games due to the recent winter storms. Both Waverly teams battled from behind to pick up wins, 59-51 in the Girls’ game and 51-48 for the Boys’.
Girls: Waverly Win Creates a Tie Atop the SOC
John Bonifield was pleased with his team’s second half effort after trailing Minford 31-24 at halftime. “We caught a different gear in that 4th Quarter” said Bonifield on Litter Media RADIO. Before the game, the Tigers’ Head Coach said the 4th Period hasn’t been good for his team the last seven games. Waverly entered their game with Minford winning just once since January 8th. That was on the heels of an eight-game winning streak. So, it felt good to close out a game.
About the photo: Waverly’s Sadie Royster reaches for the sky celebrating the Tigers’ 59-51 win with her teammates at Minford.
“It kinda started in the third, we just didn’t let up” said Bonifield. “The belief came back. You could see it in their eyes in the 3rd Quarter. It was nice to see.”
Waverly came out of the break on a 16-6 run to tie the game at 40 on a three-pointer by Sadie Royster with 2:48 left in the period. Minford took a 46-42 lead into the final 8-minutes.
Paige O’Bryant hit a couple of free throws and hit a tying basket to knot the score at 46. The turning point came when Taryn Gillott nailed a triple from the left corner to put the Tigers up 49-46 and they held onto the lead the rest of the game. The sophomore was forced to sit out the third after taking a shot to the nose. She came back with a new found determination adding another to give Waverly a 5-point margin. “It felt really good” said Gillott, who dropped in 11. “It was a big shot. We really needed it.”
About the photo: Minford’s Lainey Howard and Makenna Enz try to close on Waverly’s Callie Knight as the Tigers climbed out of a 7-point hole.
“A team effort” said Bonifield. “When we play like that, we’re tough. Halftime wasn’t a rah-rah speech… Hey, we gotta get our heads on straight and they responded. I think the world of this group. They’re such a tight knit group. You could see that on the floor, So proud of them.”
“He gave us a good butt rippin’” said O’Bryant, adding “but we deserved it and we needed that. It felt like that gave us our motivation to go out there and work our hardest.” O’Bryant finished with 25-points.
Callie Knight had 13-points and said the Tigers got refocused during the intermission. “We were ready, we were locked in and really wanted to win bad. We all knew we needed to win. So we all just kicked it in and went.”
The win puts Waverly in a tie for first place in the SOC III with Wheelersburg with one game left. The Tigers (6-3/13-8) can claim a share of the conference with a win at Portsmouth West Wednesday. The Pirates will have to wait until Friday to wrap up SOC action when they travel to South Webster. Minford (3-7/11-10) closed out its regular season Monday.
Boys: Alexander’s 23 Lifts Waverly to 51-48 Victory at Minford
In the nightcap, Minford held a 28-27 lead at the break and the teams found themselves tied at 38 through three quarters. Waverly’s guards, Kage Alexander and Kaiser Keesee hit back-to-back three’s to put their team ahead 44-38. Gunnar Myers added a field goal and Alexander dropped a pair of free throws to close out the 51-48 win.
Alexander led all scorers with 23-points and the Falcons had three players in double figures – Colt Donahoe with 14 with Curtis Glenn and Tate Johnson scoring 11 apiece.
It was the Tigers’ first game in 9-days and the first of four games this week. Waverly (3-4/10-8) will host Eastern Brown Tuesday, travel to Portsmouth West on Friday and Lucasville Valley on Saturday. They’ll close out the regular season with a rematch with Minford on Tuesday February 17th at the Downtown Gym. Minford (1-6/4-14) hosts Valley Friday, Waverly on the 17th and closes out with the Pirates at Wheelersburg on February 20th.
