Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
STEWART — 65-36.
When Waterford and Federal Hocking met back on December 27, the Lancers showed no mercy and handed the Wildcats their worst loss of the season at the time.
It’s funny how much can really change in six weeks.
Monday was the biggest game of the season for both teams with a share of the TVC hanging in the balance and Waterford turned into … well, vintage Waterford.
Despite the absence of head coach Jerry Close, the Wildcats (12-8, 8-2 TVC) dug deep and had one more weapon in their repetoire, exacting revenge with a 59-56 stunner over the Lancers.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
“[Close] was going to be out for this game, but he texted us all day long until he couldn’t anymore, just motivating us as much as possible,” Waterford’s Ava Hurley said. “He told us to come into the game and leave everything we had on the floor since we knew what was on the line. This game was really for him and being able to FaceTime him afterwards telling him we won was such a special thing.”
With their program leader missing the game, and Brynlee Pottmeyer dealing with foul trouble throughout the night, Elsie Malec put on her superhero cape and went to work.
She cut through the Lancers’ defense like a hot knife through butter, creating any shot she wanted to and knocking them down. She eventually finished with 25 points and five rebounds.
“Being able to have another guard step up in the way that she did was such a huge factor for us,” Pottmeyer said of Malec. “Her leadership has been so huge for us this season, and her scoring the ball the way she did undoubtedly led us to the victory.”
Federal Hocking (12-7, 6-3 TVC) controlled the game out of the gates behind the duo of Brenlee Cottrill and Takira Walker, maintaining a lead throughout the first quarter.
However, Malec splashed a 3 to beat the buzzer and cut FH’s lead to 11-9.
The Wildcats took the lead at 12-11 to open the second, but Walker connected on back-to-back shots, followed by score from Rorie Tabler to cap a 7-1 run for an 18-12 advantage.
However, Malec and Hurley splashed consecutive 3’s to tie the game.
Later tied at 20-20 with only a handful of seconds remaining, Waterford got a defensive stop, allowing Malec to can a triple at the buzzer to take a 23-20 lead into the break.
PHOTOS: Images from Waterford’s win over Federal Hocking
“Rewatching the first matchup, you could easily tell that we got lost in their pressure. We were speeding up our offense to match their pace and defensive pressure they were putting on the outside,” Pottmeyer said. “We settled down and handled everything so much better this time around and had a lot of different players score. Getting the ball inside helped us so much and our perimeter defense was much better.”
Pottmeyer, who sat with three fouls in the first half, opened the third with a pair of back-to-back buckets that helped stretch the lead to 29-24.
But she was quickly whistled for her fourth foul, and the Lancers took full advantage.
Walker knocked down a trio of shots, and Cottrill and Laura Blower found the bottom of the net to swing momentum back to FH’s bench, tying the game at 36-36.
But again, Malec drilled a jumper to beat the buzzer, putting Waterford ahead 38-36 heading to the fourth.
The Wildcats remained in the lead, scoring the first five points of the fourth quarter to stretch the advantage to 43-36. In effect, Federal Hocking started to press, forcing multiple turnovers to climb back into the game. But the Wildcats continued to have an answer on the other end behind Malec, Hurley and Shaeli Hayes.
“Shaeli has gotten so much as a player for being a freshman, as has Zoey Smithberger, who is one of the smartest players on the floor,” Hurley said. “She knows where everyone is going to be before they get there, so she’s going to get you the ball in a great position. Shaeli gets a ton of rebounds and plays physical. They both were a little timid in the beginning of the season while they figured things out on the varsity level, but they’re both a huge part of the team and we wouldn’t have won without them.”
The Lancers cut the deficit to 53-49, and later 57-54, following a triple from Walker that made her the latest member of the 1,000 point club.
But Malec iced the game with her 24th and 25th points at the free throw line, securing a share of the TVC-Hocking title for the sixth straight season.
“This win definitely builds a lot of confidence. It’s definitely a game that we played to the best of our abilities,” Pottmeyer said. “It was a complete team effort from scoring to rebounding to passing, and everyone’s energy, whether on the floor or on the bench, remained high all game. It’s great to win a share of the conference and we’ll keep this momentum for our last two games before the tournament starts.”
After Malec’s final numbers, Hurley added 11 points while Pottmeyer finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
For Federal Hocking, Walker finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds while Cottrill had 15 points, four boards and four assists.
Waterford returns to action on Saturday in a home date against Marietta while Federal Hocking rebounds that same day at Bishop Hartley.
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