Somewhere, the unlikely journey of the Westhill girls basketball team from young upstart to no. 8 seed to a first Section III Class B championship in 12 years was going to end. The Warriors just wished it had a few more chapters to author.
Down by as many as 14 points in the second half of Saturday’s Class B regional final against Section IV champion Susquehanna Valley at Colgate University’s Cotterell Court, the Warriors, led by freshman Delaney Martin, used terrific defense to pull back within one, only to see the rally fall short in a 47-41 defeat to the Sabers.
Martin had 25 points, carrying Westhill’s attack, but when she and the Warriors had ample opportunities to catch up to Susquehanna Valley in the waning minutes, it could not do so.
Twice on the way to the sectional title, Westhill had beaten opponents (Bishop Grimes and South Jefferson ranked within the state top five. By contrast, Susquehanna Valley was only no. 13 in the state rankings, but that mark hid just how good the Sabers were.
Early on, though, no one on SV’s squad could figure out how to defend Martin, whose eight first-quarter points helped Westhill streak to a 13-8 lead.
The Warriors were still in front, 21-20, late in the second period when the Sabers ran off eight consecutive points to close the half, three each from Shayna Lee and Holly Manchester.
Carrying that momentum over to the third quarter, SV didn’t let up until it had a 39-25 lead, having outscored Westhill 19-4 during that pivotal stretch.
Warriors coach Sue Ludwig called a time-out. She said that she told her players that either the game would turn into a one-sided romp, or a miraculous comeback, and that it was up to them to decide.
Westhill chose the latter path, promptly picking up its defensive pressure in a manner that was so effective that SV did not score a single point for more than 10 minutes, a drought that stretched deep into the fourth quarter.
On the offensive end, Martin still did most of the heavy lifting, but it was Morgan Elmer’s 3-pointer that began a 10-0 run that closed the third period. Mary Kate Washburn and Katelyn Karleski got points, too, and when Martin’s putback basket beat the buzzer, Westhill was within four, 39-35, with one period left.
“These girls have responded all year,” said Ludwig.
And then the stalemate started. Though the Warriors continued to shut the Sabers down, it couldn’t convert, either, other than free throws from Delaney and Mackenzie Martin that whittled the deficit down to one, 39-38, with less than two minutes left.
Finally, someone made a basket – but it was the Sabers’ Erin Nolan doing so, hitting a baseline jumper with 1:34 to play that broke the long SV drought.
Nolan’s free throw a minute later made it 42-38, but then Elmer drained a 3-pointer with 24.3 seconds left, again cutting the Westhill deficit to one, 42-41.
Forced to foul, the Warriors sent Shayna Lee to the line with 23.3 seconds to play, and she made both ends of a one-and-one. On Westhill’s ensuing possession, it turned the ball over, and when Paige Finch made both of her foul shots with 10.4 seconds left, the Warriors’ dream run was over.
Of course, this might just prove a starting point. Washburn and Delaney Martin are juniors. Karleski and Elmer are freshmen, and Mackenzie Martin is an eighth-grader. All will return in 2015-16, not as unlikely underdogs, but as a defending sectional champion.
“Now the bulls-eye is on us,” said Ludwig. “I’m so proud of these girls because of their hard work and belief in each other.”
