WAYNESBORO – There’s a common term to describe a win characterized by less-than-stellar performance.
It’s called winning “ugly.”
You might say the Waynesboro Maidens varsity basketball team won that way on Friday night inside the Waynesboro Area Senior High School gymnasium.
The Maidens led 9-8 at halftime and then couldn’t buy a basket in the second half. Still, somehow Waynesboro found a way to win. Nikki Davis drained a three-point field goal with 1:56 to play in the game and the Maidens’ defense swarmed to the ball to prevent the Warriors from getting off decent shots.
Final score: Waynesboro 24, Gettysburg 18
It wasn’t quite like the Maidens’ 51-28 win at Gettysburg earlier in the season.
But it was a win, and when you think back to the team’s four-game losing skid back in December, it’s the rose that smells like a rose no matter what the name – it’s a win.
“At the end of the day, that’s all that matters,” said Waynesboro’s first-year head coach Tyler Stoner, who last year was an assistant coach under Tom Hoffman on the boys’ varsity basketball team. “I felt like we were a little trigger-shy. We normally take shots we can make. When we take those shots, especially against the zone, we usually fare better than we did tonight. We were not taking advantage of opportunities.”
It was as if an unseen force was holding Waynesboro back. If it wasn’t a missed shot, it was a turnover. Fortunately, Gettysburg was struggling just as much as the Maidens. Otherwise, the outcome could have been reversed.
Gettysburg led 6-4 at the end of a lackluster first quarter. Waynesboro took a 7-6 lead on a layup by Davis. Then, the Warriors made a shot, followed by a follow-up basket by Gracie French that gave the Maidens a 9-8 lead at the break.
Gettysburg’s offense came alive early in the third quarter as the Warriors raced out to a 14-9 lead thanks to back-to-back buckets by Sofia Royer.
Waynesboro came back to tie the game at 14-all. Breanna McIlquham’s medium-range field goal knotted the game, but the Warriors made it 17-14 on a three-pointer by Addison Caywood. It was 18-14 moments later, and the way things were going for Waynesboro, it felt like a double-digit deficit.
“Just the game flow made it seem much different,” Stoner said of Waynesboro’s royal struggles to score points. “Baskets were hard to come by.”
But, somehow, some way, the Maidens made shots at the most critical times. The possession that ignited things came with 5:27 to play in the contest. Marissa Hedin came down with an offensive rebound on a possession that saw not one, not two, not three, but four “second-chance” shots.
She didn’t make the shot, but she was fouled an made one of two free throws to make it 18-17.
Then came Davis’ three-pointer that broke the bubble of doubt and uncertainty as to Waynesboro’s fate in this rematch.
In the end, the Warriors were unable to score a point in the final six minutes of the game. But it was still a one-possession game. Davis made one of two foul shots to give Waynesboro a 21-18 lead and still a one-possession game.
With 40 seconds left, Charlotte Rhodes also made one of two free throws to make it a two-possession game. Gettysburg came away empty, and Rhodes was fouled and made both charity tosses with 22.8 ticks remaining.
Awaiting the Maidens is a three-game week beginning Monday against Big Spring in Pack the House Night. Waynesboro plays at Shippensburg the following night and then hosts Greencastle-Antrim next Friday.
