By Tim DeLouchrey
Sports Liaison
The WA Girls’ Varsity Basketball squad was crowned sectional champs on Saturday evening after a heart-filled win over the number one seed, Holy Name, by a score of 72-68.
Cathryn Sennott scored the first basket of the game, triggering a barrage of cheers from the WA crowd.
Quality interior defense from Holy Name caused WA to look outside in the first quarter, leading to two 3-pointers from Cathryn Sennot, and another one from Rebecca Sennot.
With the game tied at 12, freshman Camille Desrochers got a huge chasedown block on what seemed to be an open layup. The electrified crowd thanked her with “She’s a freshman!” chants.
At the conclusion of the first, WA trailed 16-15.
WA was racking up steals left and right in the first half, but were hampered by shaky rebounding. Cathryn Sennott opened up the second with an and-one layup. Though she would miss the free throw, the score put WA up by one.
Senior Anna Collins took a shot to the nose with 5:50 to play in the second. She went down, but was able to return later in the game.
With 4:07 remaining in the second, Holy Name took a charge on Hannah Hackley. They made great use of the following possession, scoring after three consecutive offensive rebounds. However, an 11-4 run by WA to end the half put the Ghosts on top 30-26. Cathryn Sennot opened up the second half with a two-point jump shot.
“People forget that it wasn’t just Hannah and Sam that got us here,” said head coach Russell Coward. “Cathryn and Rebecca have been with us for four years and are an important piece of our team.”
Holy Name responded with a 3-point play, which was followed by a 3-point play from Sam Hyslip. Hyslip’s strong score sparked the Ghosts to go on a quick 9-0 run that included a layup from Desrochers.
A fourth three pointer from C. Sennott put WA up 50-45 to start the fourth quarter. C. Sennott hit all of her 3 point attempts on the game, and finished with 17 points.
Senior Allia Connoly checked into the game midway through the fourth quarter and scored on back to back jumpshots to put WA ahead 60-48. However, a quick 4-0 run by Holy Name negated the scores.
With only 2:27 remaining, Holy Name banked in a 3 pointer. Hyslip responded with a three point play, but that would be the last of her 17 points. Hyslip fouled out on the following play with 2:06 to play.
The following Holy Name possession, Hackley took a hard shot to the nose, causing her to miss the rest of the game. Though Coward didn’t think it would keep her out of their next game, Hackley did lose a tooth.
With their two 1,000 point scorers out for the rest of the game, the Ghosts needed to hold on to their 5 point lead.
From there, it was all about free throws. The Sennott twins, as well as sophomore Karly Bigham, cashed in on plenty of free throw attempts in the final minute.
The Ghosts eventually pulled out a 4 point win over top seeded Holy Name. WA fans stormed the court to congratulate their team, and the girls were presented with the sectional title trophy.
Hyslip cited her post game emotions as, “pure excitement.” Hyslip added, “I love my team.”
The Ghosts will play Springfield Central on Tuesday at 5:45 at the Mass Mutual Center of Springfield.
