Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
STEWART — Elsie Malec didn’t score in the first half.
In a tie game early in the third quarter, that’s when she made her timely appearance. Malec scored eight points as part of a 15-3 Waterford run that broke the game open.
And, although Federal Hocking made a late rally in the fourth, that run in the third created the necessary distance to push the Wildcats (2-0) past the finish line to a gritty 62-55 victory over the Lancers in TVC action on Thursday.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
“We knew this was going to be a battle. This was just our second game of the season, and the fourth for Fed Hocking, so that makes a little difference when you haven’t spent much time on the court,” Waterford coach Jerry Close said. “Fed Hocking is such a good program with a lot of talented players. We turned the ball over way too much, and a lot of that had to do with the way they played defense, which is credit to them. But our girls figured it out down the stretch and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Last year, the two split their season series. So they both understood how important it was to get Thurdsay’s first matchup.
The play on the court backed up that notion.
Addison Jackson buried a pair of early 3’s while Takira Walker and Brenlee Cottrill connected on field goals to seize early momentum and give Federal Hocking (3-1) a 14-11 first quarter lead.
The Lancers used a track-meet-style of pace, while emptying the entire bench to offset the inside presence of Waterford’s Avery Wagner.
While they neutralized her in the second, that allowed Avery Smithberger and Brynlee Pottmeyer to make their impact felt.
The duo attacked inside, scoring five points each in the frame and shouldered the load to keep pace with the Lancers, sending the game into halftime with a 27-27 count.
PHOTOS: Images from Waterford’s win over Federal Hocking
“They forced us to play fast in the first half, and that’s what they do,” Close said. “We missed a lot of layups and our free throw shooting wasn’t any good either. It came down to us having to slow ourselves down because we were rushing a lot of shots that we didn’t need to, so we had some adjustments we needed to make during halftime.”
Tied 29-29 in the third, that’s when Malec began to take over.
She continued to drive to the basket and get fouled, knocking down four of her six attempts. Then, she found the open lanes and cut to the basket, hitting two shots near the rim.
That, paired with Wagner being a force underneath — while hitting a pair of shots and connecting from deep — equaled the aforementioned scoring run and put the Wildcats ahead 44-32.
“That burst from her was incredibly huge, and we needed it at that moment,” Close said of Malec. “I think she started the game a little bit nervous and dealt with a little bit of foul trouble. But she’s a really good slasher, found her rhythm and played a really good second half.”
However, the Lancers weren’t going away quietly as Jackson and Orsborne each connected from distance to help trim the lead to 48-40 heading to the fourth.
From that point on, it was a series of trading buckets.
Cottrill and Orsborne scored all 15 points for the Lancers, and as hard as they tried, they couldn’t keep Malec, Wagner and Kendall Sury from matching them shot-for-shot. The Wildcats maintained a two-possession lead throughout the final eight minutes to close out the victory.
“We had all momentum in the third, but gave up that run to end it and it was a ballgame again. But these early learning lessons will pay off as the season goes,” Close said. “Three of our girls never came off the floor, and battled through some late fatigue. That’ll be the case a lot of times this season as we continue to get better and develop our depth. It takes time and there’s still a lot of season ahead. We’re only going to get better as the season goes.”
Wagner finished with a double-double of 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Wildcats. Sury added 13 points and Malec had 13 points of her own.
For Federal Hocking, Cottrill finished with 16 points and five rebounds while Orsborne had 15 points. Jackson buried four 3’s for 12 points and Walker added 10 points.
Waterford returns to action on Sunday at Ohio Dominican University against Unioto, while Federal Hocking rebounds on Monday in TVC action at Belpre.
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