Sports
Waterford’s Alli Kern Passes 1,000 Point Milestone Against Federal Hocking
By: Taylor Pacelli
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The Waterford Lady Wildcats bounced back after a tough, yet close loss to the Parkersburg Lady Big Reds on Saturday December 2nd, 56-52. Tonight the Lady Wildcats defeated the Federal Hocking Lady lancers at their home court 64-31.
The Lady Wildcats (1-1) have all returning players this season, with the exception of Jillian McCutcheon who was injured last year and graduated. While this gives Waterford an advantage, the Lady Lancers had multiple seniors graduate, needing their younger players to step up this season.
Right from the start you could tell Waterford was a better team than Federal Hocking (0-2). Just in the first quarter, Waterford walked away with 7 steals. Federal Hocking just couldn’t keep control of the ball. They were fouling left and right, while the Wildcats were shooting like there was nobody defending, ending the first quarter with a lead 23-5.
Waterford has always dominated when it comes to playing offense, however, Coach Jerry Close, mentioned how they need to work on more of their defensive skills:
“We have to box out, we have to stop turning the ball around and just work on little things that you need to improve early in the season.”
The second quarter caught senior Alli Kern by surprise when she earned her 1000th career point with 35.2 seconds left in the half:
“I mean I had no idea going into the night. During the game the girls were feeding me the ball a little so I was kind of wondering what was going on, but then I found out and I just couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”
Kern’s receiving her 1000th career point wasn’t just emotional for her teammates and family, but also for Coach Close:
“Alli is just a joy to coach. She does anything you ask her to do. It was really nice to see her achieve a goal that she’s had.”
Moving into the second half, the Lady Wildcats were up 40-14, but that didn’t stop the Lady Lancers from continuing to fight. The girls came into the game with so much determination, but it just wasn’t enough to defeat a team like the Wildcats.
In the third quarter it was easy to tell how the Lancers were just much smaller than Waterford. They struggled to get rebounds and hold possession of the ball. Fed Hock was making messy passes all around, passing the ball to the first person they saw.
The fourth quarter is really where the Lady Lancers were starting to get tired. The Wildcats were already up 54-20 and they seemed over it. They did make a few great shots, but in the end it wasn’t enough to beat the Waterford Lady Wildcats.
Kern led the team, putting 26 points on the board, while Megan Ball scored 15 points.
Next, The Lady Wildcats will play the Southern Tornadoes on Thursday, December 7th, while the Lady Lancers will go up against the Wahama Lady White Falcon’s on Thursday, as well.