Waterford takes down rival Fort Frye

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BEVERLY, Ohio (WOUB) – The Waterford Wildcats (17-1, 8-0) faced their cross-river rival, the Twin States League’s Fort Frye Cadets (13-3, 4-3). Both teams put on a defensive clinic, but Waterford won the contest 35 to 30.  

Waterford has been undefeated since a heart-crushing loss to Sheridan, a team Fort Frye has played and defeated.   

Coach Close knows that this rivalry pits electric teams against each other. “Both teams are good defensively, and that’s what you look for in this rivalry.”  

Fort Frye finished conference play with a winning record in the TSL, while Waterford still has two more games in the TVC-Hocking. The Cadets are second in their conference, one game behind Marietta. The Wildcats are comfortably in the lead of TVC-Hocking.   

The pace of the game was slow to start the first, as both teams put their defense on display. Fort Frye would extend their lead near the end of the opening quarter. The four-point advantage wound up being the largest lead in the first half. as the Cadets would gain a four-point lead over the Wildcats. The first quarter would end with a nine-to-eight lead in favor of the Cadets.  

The second quarter played out similarly to the first. Waterford’s Ava Hurley would make two free throws to tie and take the lead. Shortly followed by a layup from the Wildcats’ Avery Wagner, to extend the lead to three. But, the Cadets responded with a three to tie the game. Fort Frye’s three-point shooting was a trend. They totaled five made threes throughout the game, leading to half their total points scored. 

Avery Smithberger said the team knew the Cadets were going to be tough to defend at the arc, “Coach [Close] always tells us when we play Fort Frye that you have to guard the threes, so we just emphasize getting out and having help sides.”  

The first half ended with Waterford up 18-16.  

Waterford came out of the locker room with a newfound energy, scoring six unanswered points. This propelled Waterford to the largest lead of the game, 24 to 16.  

The final period of regulation was anyone’s game, with both teams playing hard and gritty basketball.  

But the Waterford offense was able to keep pace with the Cadets’ attack.  Both teams would score six points in the quarter, which kept the score spread the same as the third.  

 Waterford ultimately won the game 35 to 30.