IAC / NTL GIRLS BASKETBALL: FAST START PROPELS WAVERLY TO 53-29 WIN OVER ATHENS IN VALLEY CHRISTMAS TOURNEY TITLE GAME (24 PHOTOS) (2019-12-28)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportATHENS - Waverly opened the game with a 10-2 run, and never led by less than four points the remainder of the contest on its way to a 53-29 win over previously-unbeaten Athens here Saturday night in the championship game of the annual Valley Christmas Girls Basketball Tournament.
"Our hope was to get off to a fast start. It hasn't been a common thing for us this season," said Waverly coach Bob Kelly. "We've been a late-starting team, so it was nice to get out to a good jump."
"They came out with a fast start. They hit some jumps shots, and executed a couple transition baskets," said Athens coach Brian Miller.
"They're a tough team to give a lead to like that," he noted. "We battled back and cut it to four, but they made some more shots, and some more transition baskets.
"They are a good basketball team," added Miller.
Sophomore Olivia Nittinger netted a career-high 16 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead Waverly, while senior Gianna Picco, who hit a pair of treys, and junior Sidney Tomasso scored eight points apiece, senior Paige Lewis has seven points, freshman Kennedy Westbrook added six points, and senior Morgan Adams and sophomore Lourden Benjamin chipped in with four points apiece.
"It so big when we get contributions like that, it opens up other things," said Kelly. "The girls shot the ball very well tonight. It always nice when it goes in, and you can feed off that."
After Lewis and Athens junior Rachel Stephens traded buckets in the opening 30 seconds of the game, Picco and Lewis drained 3-pointers, and Tomasso turned a steal into an uncontested lay-up to make it 10-2 with 5:37 remaining in the first quarter.
Sophomore Caydence Macik turned a pair of offensive rebounds into four points to cut the Lady Wildcat deficit to 10-6 with 2:57 remaining in the first quarter, but Waverly closed out the opening eight minutes with a 7-2 spurt, triggered by Nittinger's first 3-pointer of the game, to take a 17-8 lead.
Athens trimmed the deficit to five points, at 23-18, thanks to a pair of mid-range jumpers by senior Haley Barry and a 3-pointer by junior Kayleigh Miller, but a 3-pointer by Nittinger and a free throw by senior Morgan Adams in the final minute gave the Lady Wolverines a 27-18 lead at the half.
Waverly held Athens to just 10 points in the second half, thanks in part to a minor defensive adjustment by Kelly.
"We were using the zone in an effort to stay out of foul trouble, because we've been having some trouble with that," he said. "It was just a way to try to keep everyone in the game.
"But, when we get wide, and we get moving in the zone, it's pretty effective," noted Kelly. "We switched it up a little in the second half. We went to a 2-3, rather than a 3-2, just to defend their post play a little better, and to get to that open shot they were getting in the corner.
"I think that definitely helped us," he added.
Miller said Tomasso's play on the defensive side of the ball was a big difference in the game.
"I think Sidney (Tomasso's) length at the top of the 3-2 zone gave us a lot of problems," he said.
"She also gave us problems in their press," added Miller. "She's all over the place, and makes up for other girls' mistakes very quickly. Whether it's a pass or a dribble penetration, she closes down that gap pretty quickly."
After Adams and Miller exchanged buckets early in the third quarter, Picco drained a 3-pointer to trigger a 10-0 run that also included back-to-back driving lay-ups by Westbrook, and a 3-pointer by Nittinger to make it 39-20 with 3:05 left in the third quarter.
Barry halted the Waverly run momentarily with a 3-pointer to make it 39-23, but Waverly answered with an 11-0 run over the next five minutes to extend their lead to 50-23 with 4:58 remaining in the contest.
Kelly said his team's pressure defense took a toll.
"I was pleased with our pressure," he said. "We thought we could wear them down, and I think we did in the second half."
Miller led Athens with 10 points and two steals, while Barry had seven points and two assists, and Macik added six points, five rebounds, and two assists.
Stephens hauled down 10 rebounds for the Lady Wildcats, and junior Megan Collins dished out three assists.
Waverly improves to 5-2 with the win, while Athens drops to 5-1.
"We'll take this as a learning experience," said Miller. "This will help us build toward the second half of the NTL season."
Athens travels to Canton Friday, while Waverly returns to action Jan. 6 when it hosts Union-Endicott.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Olivia Nittinger. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
