WALPOLE — Although he most likely wished in any other case, Walpole ladies basketball coach Dave Wall knew his workforce’s giant halftime lead Wednesday night time in opposition to Bishop Feehan was most likely too good to be true.
And, predictably, Feehan started chipping away within the third quarter.
But Walpole leaned on its senior management, withstood Feehan’s shot, and answered the adversity like a champion to carry on for a 44-33 win in a nonleague tussle between two of the perfect groups within the state.
Walpole improves to 8-1, whereas Feehan misplaced for the primary time this season to drop to 8-1. Both squads have respectable state title aspirations, Walpole in Div. 2, Feehan in Div. 1.
“Any time you’re playing a great team, and that’s what Feehan is, I said at halftime, ‘They’re going to make their run. That’s what happens,’ ” Wall stated. “Two good teams, there’s going to be runs, both sides. It’s kind of … don’t panic. With six seniors, they didn’t panic. They stepped up when I needed them the most.”
One senior who stepped up in that fourth quarter was Brooke Walonis. After a Charlotte Adams-Lopez 3-pointer lower the Walpole result in its lowest level because the second quarter (34-28), Walonis swished a straightaway triple, then made a pleasant lower and layup to assist push the result in 41-28. The lead was by no means below double digits the remainder of the way in which.
“This game meant a lot to us,” stated Walonis, who led all scorers with 15 factors. “I think it was kind of a measuring stick, and we just wanted to put it away at the end. Our defense was awesome all game, and we wanted to make sure they weren’t going to go on a late run and just finish it.”
Walpole’s protection was certainly superior. The Timberwolves successfully shut off every part within the lane within the first half, and Feehan missed all 10 of its 3-pointers as Walpole constructed a 22-8 lead on the break.
But Feehan’s run got here in that third quarter. Madelyn Steel scored all 9 of her factors in that quarter, together with six straight as Feehan sliced the deficit to 34-25 by the fourth.
But Walpole had a balanced effort, as Bella Bingham had eight factors, Izzy Adams had 10 and 5 rebounds, and Grace Ryan hit two huge second-half threes.
As huge of a win as this was, Wall didn’t need to put an excessive amount of inventory in it.
“It’s way too early. The way we looked at it, and it’s the honest-to-God truth, where’s the pressure?” Wall stated. “With the power seedings, neither one of us was going to go too high or too low based off a win or loss. I looked at it as a really good thing for girls basketball, to be honest with you. This place was jammed out. That’s pretty cool. Two really good teams, people were invested. We got to measure ourselves against them. Do I think we’re (11) points better than them? No, I don’t. But, tonight, we played hard and pulled it out. I’m proud of my kids.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com
