IAC GIRLS BASKETBALL: WAVERLY TOPS WHITNEY POINT, 49-32, FOR THIRD STRAIGHT LARGE SCHOOL TITLE (24 PHOTOS) (2019-02-14)
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports ReportDRYDEN - Senior Wendi Hammond had the hot hand early, helping state-ranked Waverly to an early lead it never relinquished in a 49-32 win over Whitney Point in the overall IAC Large School championship game here Thursday evening at Tompkins-Cortland Community College.
The Lady Wolverines, now 19-1 and ranked 24th in Class B, have won three consecutive Large School titles.
"I'm proud of the girls," said Waverly coach Bob Kelly. "It's our third championship in a row, and that's an accomplishment they should be proud of.
"I think it's a testament to the girls, the time they've put in and the commitment they've made," he noted. "They work hard every day, they listen, and they get along very well.
"It's a team that's been a real pleasure to be around," added Kelly. "The unselfishness we've seen from this team has been tremendous, and it's been fun to watch."
It was Waverly's second win in 24 hours, and games on successive nights seemed to take a toll on the Lady Wolverines, who made just 2 of 18 shots from behind the three-point arc, and turned the ball over more than 20 times.
"I think a lot of it is that we were tired, playing last night, and playing on a big court tonight," said Kelly. "And, the style we play adds to it.
"Plus, seeing a junk defense is part of it ... we don't see (the triangle-and-two) very often, but I thought we handled it pretty well," noted Kelly.
"I thought Wendi (Hammond) hit some big shots early. She recognized she needed to take shots, and she took them," added Kelly.
Kelly said the fact the two teams have played seven times in the the last three season, including the last three IAC Large School title games, was a factor as well.
"(Whitney Point) is a team we see very frequently, so they are very aware of what we do," he said.
Whitney Point's Amy Stevens score the first two buckets of the game to give the Lady Golden Eagles a 4-0 lead with 5:34 remaining in the first quarter.
Junior Paige Lewis answered with consecutive buckets to tie the game at 4-4 with 4:55 remaining.
The Waverly press began to take a toll on Whitney Point, forcing a turnover that resulted in a lay-up by junior Morgan Adams to make it 7-4.
After a free throw by Stevens, Hammond drained a 3-pointer to give Waverly a 10-5 lead with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
After a bucket by Whitney Point, Hammond came up with a steal and found Tomasso in transition, resulting in an old-fashioned three-point play to give Waverly a 13-7 lead with 35 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Hammond buried a 3-pointer in the opening moments of the second quarter, then knocked down a long jumper to make it 18-7 with 6:36 left in the first half.
Moments later, Hammond turned a steal near mid-court into an uncontested lay-up to extend the lead to 20-7.
Waverly maintained a 13-point lead until Whitney Point posted an 8-2 run in the final 1:26 of the half to close the gap to 26-18 at the intermission. The run was punctuated by a 3-pointer off the glass by Stevens at the halftime buzzer.
Hammond, who scored 12 of her game-high 16 points in the first half, opened the second-half scoring with a long jumper to give the Lady Wolverines a 28-18 lead.
Whitney Point closed the gap to 31-24 with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter, but missed out on a golden opportunity to cut further into the deficit by making just 1 of 6 free-throw attempts in a three-minute span.
After a bucket by Olivia Driscoll pulled Whitney Point within five points, at 31-26, with 1:10 left in the third quarter, Waverly senior Lauren Newman made a free throw to make it 32-26.
With 19 seconds left in the third quarter, sophomore Sidney Tomasso turned a steal in the frontcourt into an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Lady Wolverines a 35-26 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Hammond opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a defensive rebound and a coast-to-coast drive for a lay-up to make it 37-26 with 7:38 remaining in the game.
Whitney Point's Cassidy Sturdevent answered with a bucket against the Waverly press, but Alex Tomasso turned consecutive steals into a lay-up and two free throws to give Waverly a 41-28 lead with 6:46 left in the game.
Two minutes later, Sidney Tomasso gave Waverly a 15-point lead, at 43-28, with two free throws.
Waverly stretched its lead to 16 points, at 45-29, on a baseline jumper by Adams with 2:35 left in the game.
Lewis scored the final two buckets of the game to provide the final margin and give Waverly its biggest lead of the game.
Alex Tomasso added 10 points in the win for Waverly, while Sidney Tomasso and Lewis added eight points apiece, and Adams chipped in with six points.
Stevens led Whitney Point with 13 points.
Waverly returns to action Feb. 22 when it hosts Susquehanna Valley in the quarterfinals of the Section IV, Class B playoffs.
------
IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Morgan Adams. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
