WAYNESBORO—The Waynesboro Maidens varsity basketball team arrived in Middletown on Wednesday, Feb. 5, riding a six-game win streak but lost 67-26 to the Blue Raiders.
But instead of deflating its morale and sending Waynesboro into a nose dive for the season’s final two games, the Maidens bounced back very nicely. Waynesboro overcame an 18-8 deficit in the second quarter and ended its game against Carlisle on a 21-1 run. The final score of 49-36 was in stark contrast to the loss to Middletown in the Maidens’ final home game of the season.
The win was important in two ways. The first is that Waynesboro assured itself a winning season, having improved to 12-9. Second, head coach Tyler Stoner’s team, who finished the 2023-24 season with an 11-11 record, Waynesboro still has a shot at making the District 3-6A tournament. The Maidens are ranked 18th, with the top 16 qualifying for the playoffs.
Waynesboro needs help, but it helped itself against the Thundering Herd in a gutsy team effort.
“They responded like a 6A team that’s fighting for their playoff lives,” Stoner said. “I knew that by winning (against Carlisle) with a matchup against Chambersburg we knew a win gives us a chance to get in. We reeled it in at the right time for sure.”
The Maidens way back actually began when Breanna McIlquham sank a three-point field goal to make it 18-11. But the only way to realistically have a chance at making the game competitive was to slow down (hardly stop) Carlisle’s sophomore power player Isa Heckman. Heckman scored nine points in the first quarter alone.
However, thanks to some smothering defense by the blue and gold on Cancer Awareness Night, Carlisle was hit by the turnover bug. Following a turnover at 5:32 of the second period, Waynesboro’s Marissa Hedin made a putback shot, and after Carlisle capitalized on missed shots on back-to-back Maiden possessions, with a bucket by sophomore Delaney Schmick, Waynesboro strung together nine consecutive points.
Hedin fed Braelyn Pearson-Moore with a nifty pass inside to start the surge. Aly Shockey made a field goal but missed the ensuing free throw; however, after both teams slumped over the next two minutes, Shockey broke the dry spell with two points. McIlquham then hit another three-pointer to give Waynesboro a 22-20 lead.
It was 22-21 at halftime.
“We knew that the team that got off the bus (in Middletown) wasn’t us,” Stoner said. “When we got home, we didn’t watch the film. We talked about some things we could have done better, but we also knew that the next two games were more important to dwell on the loss. We have to keep looking forward an take advantage of our opportunities and put ourselves in position.
“We knew they have two really good bigs who can change the game. I think we did a good job of attacking (Heckman and Schmick) and getting them into foul trouble. But our game plan going in was to pressure the guards so they would have trouble getting it inside. We were able to double the bigs and poke the ball away and get some turnovers and get some transition. Ultimately that changed the game.”
Carlisle reasserted itself in the third quarter, while Waynesboro relapsed and had flashbacks to the first quarter. The Thundering Herd regained the lead and led 35-28 after the third quarter.
Something happened in the fourth quarter that probably shocked Stoner and his players. McIlquham started another Waynesboro run with a pair of free throws. Neither team did anything on their next two possessions. McIlquham made a follow-up shot after three misses, while Angie Ayala Luna made a two-point field goal. Hedin then tied the game at 36 with another putback basket, and added another follow-up bucket to give the Maidens a lead they didn’t lose.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Waynesboro 62, Carlisle 55
CARLISLE – The Waynesboro Indians varsity basketball team broke a 38-38 tie by outscoring Carlisle 24-17 in the fourth quarter to notch a 62-55 non-league victory on Friday, Feb. 7.
In a close game throughout, the Thundering Herd took a 13-9 lead after the first quarter and led 25-21 at halftime.
The Tribe (13-7) rallied to tie the game after three quarters and then fought to take the lead and keep it.
Rayshawn Frazer-Hewitt led Waynesboro in scoring with 21 points. Carter Hough followed with 11 points and Joey Long had eight points. Alex Torbica scored six points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Waynesboro travels to play Chambersburg on Monday, Feb. 10 in the regular-season finale.
