Sports
Waterford Wildcats Claw Passed Trimble Tomcats
By: Rebekah Markovitz
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The top two teams of the TVC-Hocking faced off tonight, but only one team took home the win. The Waterford Wildcats came into the game undefeated in their conference, and the Trimble Tomcats only had one conference loss under their belt. That loss was against Waterford, and Trimble came in hungry for a rematch. However, in the end, Waterford pulled away for a big win with the final score 61-47.
Having previously lost to Waterford 69-48, the Tomcats went into the game with a plan to defend Waterford from shooting three pointers, according to Coach Howie Caldwell. Caldwell thinks they did fairly well having only allowed seven three-pointers all game.
Although they did follow the game plan well, they lacked in other areas that caused them to lose the game. Waterford’s defense put intense pressure on Trimble’s offense. Wherever the Tomcat’s passed the ball, there was a man who was hot on their backs and ready to steal the ball back. Waterford stole the ball a total of 10 times in the second half, forcing Trimble turnovers and limited scoring opportunities.
Unfortunately for the Tomcats, they were not able to put the ball in the net with the few opportunities they had, often having to score from the outside. Trimble only scored one point in the third quarter off a foul. Once the ball left the hands of a Tomcat and spun towards the basket, a Wildcat was the first to put another hand on the ball. Waterford was everywhere beating Trimble to rebounds. They had 35 total rebounds, with Jordan Welch (10) and Travis Pottmeger (8) the top two players with the most rebounds.
Waterford capitalized on these rebounds and turnovers with quick transitional drives to the basket. Waterford was taller on the inside and was often on the floor after making aggressive efforts to get the ball in the net. They scored the majority of their points with this style of play and was especially successful when they had an 18-1 run in the third quarter.
However, the whole game was not like this. After the first half it looked like it would be a close back and forth game. The first quarter ended Waterford up at 16-15 and the half ended tied 32-32. When one team made a basket, the other team answered. The first half had high intensity and it never dwindled throughout the fast-paced game. Trimble played a lot of catch and run in the beginning, passing the ball on many occasions at least five times before shooting. This helped them maintain possession, but ultimately did not hold up the entire game.
Coach Haldwell explained that Trimble was missing something in the second half. He said, “We had no go to guys in the third quarter to step up on the inside and make the shot and to stop the avalanche from occurring.”
Trimble went into the last quarter down 17 points at 50-33, and did not score their first basket until six minutes into the quarter where the ball was tipped in by Waterford. With three minutes left, the game looked like a different game. Waterford began to calm down a bit, pass more, and remain composure while Trimble threw in a last chance effort to close the gap. They began to pass less and drive to the basket. They put up eight points on the board in a minute and 30 seconds, and with 40 seconds left in the game, Colton Coey had a three pointer, but it was not enough.
This game put Trimble’s record at 9-2 and Waterford remains undefeated in the conference at 11-0. Trimble will play New Hope Christian at home on Feb. 3.