By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — For what was the span of about six possessions Wednesday evening, the Waterloo girls’ basketball team looked out of sync.
A trio of second-chance baskets along with a couple turnovers starting late in the first quarter into the second and the Tigers found themselves clinging to a four-point lead.
Waterloo, though, squashed any chance of its season ending with a 17-6 run to close the half before going into cruise control in the third.
Sectional quarterfinalists a year ago, Waterloo (20-5) is heading back to the state quarterfinals after a 67-45 victory over Section VI champion Southwestern (17-8) in NYS Class B sub-regional action from Gates Chili High School.
“They’re starting to realize what it takes to do this,” Waterloo head coach Mike Bree said of his squad. “The paying attention to all the little details of how you scout a team, watch the film. They’ve just matured into that.”
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As it has been for most of Waterloo’s wins this season, Addison Bree and Gwyn Panek led the way.
Panek finished with a game-high 20 points. Bree added 19.
“They compliment each other so well,” the head coach said. “Gwyn is kind of a downhill girl. She gets Addison a lot of shots from the outside, but there is so much attention paid to Addison on the outside that it opens up room for Gwyn in the lane.”
Bree ignited the run to end the second quarter with a drive in the lane. The senior guard then converted a pair of free throws.
Tangel Williams followed with a steal and layup then Panek took a pass from Kinsley Bree and cut to the basket for two more.
Panek scored again off the bounce. Addison Bree hit from distance and then scored off a wing drive.
Waterloo took a commanding 37-21 lead into halftime.
Waterloo will be making its fourth regional appearance since 2021. The Tigers won the state and federation championships in 2023.
“The pressure on them the last few years has probably been more than it should have been,” Bree said. “But they‘ve responded. I’ve seen so much growth over the last month. I know it’s kind of a cliché, but the growth that this group has shown in February and now March is remarkable.”
Southwestern’s Gianna Sirianni grabbed a defensive rebound and went the length of the floor for a layup then followed with a 3-pointer to pull the Trojans within four at 20-16 early in the second quarter.
“They’re a unique team, a lot like us,” Bree said of Southwestern. “They shoot so many threes, and the caroms on threes are back a little bit. I thought we were in position but the ball would go over our head or something. You can tell they practice it a lot to crash it.
“That hurt us, but ultimately slowing them down as the big key.”
Charlotte Beaver led Southwestern with 16 points. Jada Edwards had 10.
Khia Moody scored nine for Waterloo. Williams and Jonay Hawkins had six apiece.
Waterloo will play Chenango Forks (IV) in the state quarterfinals on Saturday at Finger Lakes Community College.
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