Wildcats drop home game against Federal Hocking
Federal Hocking’s Brenlee Cottrill looks to pass as Waterford’s Avery Smithberger defends during Thursday’s game at the Harry Cooper Annex. (Photo by Aaron Lee)
Waterford’s Laykyn Jones drives into the paint during Thursday’s game against Federal Hocking at the Harry Cooper Annex. (Photo by Aaron Lee)
Federal Hocking’s Brenlee Cottrill looks to pass as Waterford’s Avery Smithberger defends during Thursday’s game at the Harry Cooper Annex. (Photo by Aaron Lee)
Waterford’s Laykyn Jones drives into the paint during Thursday’s game against Federal Hocking at the Harry Cooper Annex. (Photo by Aaron Lee)
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WATERFORD - So far this year, the Waterford Wildcats have been on a tear, opening their season with five straight wins of 15 points or more. On Wednesday, Waterford's run ended, with the Wildcats dropping a home game against the Federal Hocking Lancers, 44-38.
The Wildcats got out to an early lead in the first quarter. Elsie Malec drained a three. Then, Laykyn Jones stole the ball from the Lancers, got fouled, and made both shots. Federal Hocking's Brenlee Cottrill responded with a three point play. Jones had a block and a 3 moments later. Avery Wagner tacked on another triple before the end of the quarter. Going into the second, Waterford led 15-11.
Early in the second, the teams went back and forth with 3-pointers. First it was the Lancers' McKayla Nelson, then Malec, then back to Nelson. The score then stood at 19-18 Federal Hocking.
Wagner managed a rebound and a putback on a Waterford free throw attempt. After that, Cottrill made two 3's to go up 25-22. She continued to go off, ending the quarter with a steal and a layup. Cottrill contributed five field goals in the second quarter and had three steals in the half. Going into the intermission, the score stood at 31-24 Lancers.
The Wildcats continued to trail in the third, but started to pull within striking distance. A nice pass by Leah Ryan found Wagner waiting under the basket for 2. Waterford's Ali Franchino hit a buzzer-beater to make the score 33-31 Federal Hocking going into the final quarter.
A basket by Kendall Sury allowed Waterford to take a momentary lead at 34-33. That lead was quickly snuffed out by a trifecta by Nelson. Wagner responded with a two-point shot to pull within one.
After a scoring lull, Waterford found itself down 41-36 with two and a half minutes to go after a mid-range jumper by Takira Walker. Once the Lancers got the ball with around a minute left, they played keep away to drain the clock. Federal Hocking won by a final score of 44-38.
Cottrill had a game-high 19 points in addition to five rebounds and steals. Wagner had 15 points, eight rebounds and one steal.
After the loss, the Wildcats fall to 5-1. The Lancers improve to 7-2.
Waterford head coach Jerry Close said of the game, "We gotta get tougher. We just let a team come in here and bully us, and that's what happened tonight. We let 'em push us around, and that's what happens. You gotta hold your ground, and we didn't do that tonight."
Contact Aaron Lee at alee@newsandsentinel.com