Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WELLSTON — Two titles down, two more to go.
It’s no secret what Waterford’s goal is after how last season ended. And two games into the tournament, the Wildcats have left a trail of destruction and are awaiting their next victim.
Waterford (23-1) forced 25 turnovers and had two huge runs to open the second and third quarters, running away from Notre Dame by a 59-29 final in a Division VII district final — the program’s third district crown in the past four seasons.
CREDIT: Sam Walsh/SOSA
“It definitely feels good to win this game and bring back another district to the program,” Waterford’s Kendall Sury said. “There’s an expectation we have every single year, so it’s great that we can bring this back to our community and show them we’re ready to compete at [the] regional [tournament].”
The win makes 13 straight for the Wildcats, who have unlocked a new level of intensity and perspective since their loss to Sheridan on Dec. 30.
Since that date, they’ve given up just 28 points per game.
“Coach always says that you can either learn from a loss or choose to not learn and stay complacent,” Waterford’s Avery Wagner said. “There’s a lot that we really learned from that game that we’ve carried with us ever since. It gave us the realization that we can be beaten and lose at any time. So we take every game more seriously and come in more competitive.”
From the opening tip, Waterford’s defense was locked in. It forced four turnovers while Sury, Avery Wagner, Avery Smithberger and Brynnlee Pottmeyer all scored to open a 10-4 lead.
Wagner and Smithberger scored again before ND’s Bree Hicks buried a triple to bring the Titans to within 14-7 after eight minutes of action.
However, the Wildcats hit high gear in the second.
The defense applied full-court pressure, and with that strategy came turnovers that turned into points. Pottmeyer buried a triple and Wagner converted inside, pushing the lead to 19-7.
Continuing to move the ball and rattle the Titans (15-9), Wagner’s dominance was too much to handle as she scored eight more points that capped off a 17-0 run to open up a 31-7 lead.
It allowed them to shift into cruise control until the final buzzer.
“Our defense was really good tonight, and it transitioned into our offense,” Sury said. “Getting all of those turnovers helped us really calm down on the offensive end, run through our plays and helped us get the right looks for a shot.”
Wagner finished with a game-high 21 points and Pottmeyer added 13 points for Waterford. For Notre Dame, Jaysa Bryant finished with 10 points.
While Notre Dame’s season comes to a close, Waterford advances to a Division VII regional semifinal at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Logan High School against Fisher Catholic.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start, but we decided to turn up the pressure in the second quarter and that made all the difference,” Waterford coach Jerry Close said. “I thought we rotated a lot better and got more aggressive. Now we’re off to the regional and every game is only going to get a little more difficult since everyone is here for a reason. So we have to be ready. Fisher Catholic has some really nice players, so we have to defend and take care of the ball.”
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