Lady Wildcats beat DWS
2nd Round of State Tournament at Stratford Academy in Macon, GA
WSA: 39 Deerfield-Windsor: 26
Deerfield-Windsor put its 23-4 record on the line against the Lady Wildcats of Westminster as the #1 seed out of Region 3-AAA. Featuring an athletic squad with excellent guard play and 5 seniors, D-W looked for its 24th win against WSA after putting away Tattnall Square Academy in their first-round state tournament game.
But Westminster had other plans. With a quick bucket on a nifty pass from freshman Amber Davis to wide open sophomore Lena Romahn, the Lady ‘Cats set the bar high and never trailed in this one.
WSA Head Coach Greg Wilson remarked, “We talked so much this week about trying to limit their athletes’ ability to get into the paint and cause problems for our defense. I was pleased that we did such a remarkable job in executing our game plan, especially offensively.”
While the defensive game plan may have been a highlight, D-W could not seem to slow down junior post Samantha Trobaugh as she hit from close, medium, and long-range on her way to a 22-point effort.
“Sammy can be tough to match up with because she’s 6-feet tall, handles and shoots the ball like a guard, but can post you up like a post,” said Wilson.
Trobaugh also had 9 rebounds in the effort. Senior guard Anna Hearon chipped in 6 points and 6 rebounds, including several key free throws that helped put the game out of reach for D-W.
“When Sammy gets going like that, look out. Our players know to just get her the ball and she will deliver more times than not.”
While D-W did manage to make a second half run and cut the WSA lead to 4 points, a 3-point play by Trobaugh finished them off as Westminster made an 11-2 run to close out the game.
“This win means so much for our program. We have 5 seniors who have worked so hard for this, and this type of finish just makes everything worth all the extra effort. We made a commitment as a team in our locker room following a tear-inducing, heart-breaking buzzer-beater loss in the first round of our region tournament to Bulloch Academy in Dublin last year, and the results of that commitment were seen here tonight,” said Wilson. “All those sprints, all those summer league games, all the weight-lifting, all the conditioning workouts … no one was complaining about all of that after tonight. Everyone realizes those components are necessary if you want to experience success in this game.”
D-W finished their fine season 24-4 and the Lady ‘Cats extended their 19-8 season by advancing to the state’s Final Four in Milledgeville to be held at Georgia College and State University. This will be Westminster Girls Basketball’s first-ever trip to the Final Four in the school’s 41-year history.
“This should be an amazing week for our players,” said Wilson. “They deserve a special experience.”
WSA will match up with #1-ranked Arlington Christian, who is 117-1 since joining the GISA back in 2008-09 and is 3-for-3 in state title quests, having won their first 2 at the AA level before moving to AAA last year and winning the state title for their third year in a row.
