By JOHN LIKANJE
After winning the program’s first sectional title in 47 years last Saturday, Webster Schroeder head coach Codi Mrozek explained how her squad is having fun and enjoying the moment. One week later, the second-year coach and her players extended their fun and enjoyable season one more game thanks to their captain, Mariah Watkins. Watkins exploded for 22 of her game-high 32 points in the second half as the Warriors rallied from a 15-point, first-quarter deficit in a 64-57 victory over Lancaster (VI) in the New York State Public High Schools Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Far West Regional.
Trailing 30-26 coming out of intermission, Watkins wasted zero time setting the tempo by scoring the Warriors’ first six points on a pair of mid-range jumpers and a layup. The junior guard netted four of the squad’s last five points of the period via a pull-up jump shot and another layup to knot the match at 41 entering the final stanza.
Watkins exceeded that production in the fourth quarter. The 6-foot guard gave the Warriors their first lead of the contest on a three-point play via a putback. After her sister Bria Watkins provided the club with much-needed airspace on back-to-back layups, Mariah connected on two go-ahead free throws and an inside finish for a 52-48 cushion. Finally, the junior guard iced the game with a layup and three charity stripe conversions in the closing 33 seconds.
After going scoreless through the first seven minutes of the match, Watkins poured in all her points in the final 25 minutes of action. The 6-foot guard snapped a 15-0 Legends run with a right-wing three-pointer near the end of the opening period. Then Watkins adjusted to the defense in the second stanza with a baseline jumper off a missed free throw and going 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.
Overall, Watkins drained nine field goals, including eight from inside the arc, and 13-of-16 foul shots. The four-year Varsity star has poured in 89 points in four postseason games (22.3 points per contest).
Bria Watkins supplied six of her 17 points in the final quarter – all of which gave the Warriors a three-point edge. Besides her two layups, the sophomore guard drilled a baseline jumper for a 59-56 lead with a minute and a half remaining. Watkins opened and bookended the team’s first-quarter scoring as well with a pair of layups, including one for a three-point play with five seconds left in the period. Overall, the 6-foot guard totaled seven layups, a mid-range jumper and a free throw.
Mya Perales (6), Sarah Ferruzza (5), Addison Morgan (3) and Ava Gallup (1) rounded out the scoring for the Warriors.
For Lancaster, Madison Francis unloaded 10 of the Legends’ first 12 points of the game as part of a 17-2 run to begin the contest. The sophomore forward finished with 14 points due to foul trouble. Sophomore forward McKenna Corcoran ignited the offense with nine of her 13 points in the second half.
Brooke Bauer (9), Casey Mahony (9), Rachel Kamrowski (6) and Sienna Wolf (6) rounded out the scoring for the Legends.
Webster Schroeder advances to the NYS class AA semifinals and will take on Section VIII champion Baldwin Friday at 6:15 p.m. at Hudson Valley Community College. Baldwin has advanced to the state final in three of the last four tournaments. The Bruins reigned supreme in all of New York State in 2017 and 2018 and fell to Bishop Kearney in last year’s title game.
Leave a Reply