Girls basketball: Cold third quarter ends Newark Catholic’s undefeated run
Thursday, March 7, 2024
By Scott Gerfen
sgerfen@cbussports.com
Newark Catholic’s Kai Holmberg (center) and Waterford’s Avery Smithberger battle Mar. 7 at Pickerington North. Photo: John Hulkenberg
With its unbeaten streak and a trip to a Division IV regional final on the line, the Newark Catholic girls basketball team appeared confident with a six-point halftime lead.
Ten minutes later, the Green Wave looked like a much different team in their regional semifinal contest Thursday night against Waterford at Pickerington North.
“Offensively and defensively, we were just lost,” senior guard Mayci Sayre said. “Offensively, I felt like we couldn’t run a play, and defensively, I think the atmosphere had a little bit to do with that because it was so loud. We just lost focus, and that third quarter led to the end of the game.”
Waterford outscored Newark Catholic 18-2 in the third quarter on its way to a 53-42 victory.
Newark Catholic’s Fini Kaiser goes up for a shot during the Green Wave’s regional semifinal game with Waterford Mar. 7 at Pickerington North. Photo: John Hulkenberg
The Wildcats (22-3) move on to Saturday’s regional final against Berlin Hiland, which defeated Portsmouth Notre Dame 58-23 in the other semifinal at Pickerington North.
“The tough thing is we have to tell our kids it’s crazy when you lost your only game of the regular season, and it’s your last game,” said Newark Catholic coach Rob Smith, whose team finished 24-1. “That’s what we have to live with. I told them you can’t blame anybody and to forget about tonight. We just didn’t get the job done as a group.”
The Green Wave used a 6-0 run in the second quarter, with field goals from Sophie Peloquin and Fini Kaiser to go up 22-14, and had opportunities to extend the lead into double figures but couldn’t.
Peloquin and Kaiser each finished with a team-high 12 points.
Newark Catholic’s Mayci Sayre (left) goes up for a shot while Waterford’s Avery Wagner defends Mar. 7 at Pickerington North. Photo: John Hulkenberg
“We missed some wide-open people and missed some shots,” said Smith, the Division IV Central District Coach of the Year. “So much, we rely on (senior point guard) Kylie (Gibson) getting hot. Sometimes that can kill you, because when she didn’t get hot, unfortunately, we started panicking, even though we still were within striking distance.”
Gibson finished with five points, and Sayre scored her six points in the fourth quarter on 3-pointers, one with 2 minutes, 21 seconds left cut Waterford’s lead to seven.
Newark Catholic couldn’t find a way to stop junior guard Kendall Sury, who finished with 23 points.
“She just circle-cut us a bunch,” Smith said. “We tried to face her off a little bit, but they spread us out, and that was the tough part. They stayed really aggressive on our guards in the third quarter.”
Junior forward Avery Smithberger also finished in double figures for Waterford with 12 points.
Newark Catholic defeated Waterford 62-61 on Jan. 29 in a regular-season matchup.
Newark Catholic coach Rob Smith reacts to a play on the court during the Green Wave’s regional semifinal with Waterford on Mar. 7 at Pickerington North. Photo: John Hulkenberg