Ladies Back In Win Column

Wasatch senior guard Rebecca MaWhinney backs off a whistle in an aggresive

 

 

 

game against Ogden.

 Wasatch defeats Ogden in The Nest 54-46

BY KENNY BRISTOW

Wave Sports Writer

After the Wasatch Lady Wasp basketball team defeated Ogden in a hard fought battle on Friday night, Head Coach Tom Perkins huddled with his team in the corner of the gym for 10 minutes.  The coach spoke with intensity and the girls were focused on his message.  It was actually the kind of moment, usually reserved for after a loss.  Yet it was the kind you like to see even after your team has won.  The exact words Perkins was using is not known, but it was obvious that it was heartfelt and relevant to his team, not only on the evenings performance but on their season performance as a whole.  The ladies are in good hands and heading in the right direction.

Wasatch had not played a game in a week and only two in the last two weeks.  Their last contest was a loss.  They may have been a victim of too much practice and not enough game action at the start of this one.  The Wasps, on cold shooting, managed only five points in the first quarter and found themselves down 9-5 at the first buzzer.

They made adjustments immediately however, mostly on defense, which enabled them to explode for 22-second quarter points.   Coach Perkins said,  “We switched to a man-to-man scheme to basically limit the production of number five (Ogden guard Morgan Jones) and to help us get control of the pace.”  It worked as Wasatch took the lead and went into the half up 27-21.

The Tigers would come close to matching the Wasps throughout the second half, but would fall just short each quarter.  That widened the deficit to about a 10-point Wasp advantage that Ogden could not overcome. 

Senior guard Rebecca MaWhinney, who continues to dominate in all phases of each game, scored 20 points and had a ridiculous 16 rebounds for Wasatch.  She also shared the wealth with five assists.  The Wasps had nine girls in the scoring column on this night using a mixture of players to stay fresh on defense.  Senior forward Renee Fagg had a good game contributing seven points and 10 boards.  Point guard Ashlyn Coleman was strong as always adding six points.  But it was the play of reserves Sadie Sweat, Torri Bills and Tristin Bills that helped the Wasps keep the Tigers off balance with their fresh legs.  Sadie and Torri each contributed five points with a three-pointer each and Tristin scored four points.

The Wasps will take their 10-3 record into the break with pride, but will open the second half of the season with three straight on the road beginning with Spanish Fork on January 2^nd, 2013.