Lady Wasps Dominant Over Union

Nine players score for Wasatch, lead by Rebecca MaWhinney 

who recorded another double-double with 23 points 

and 11 rebounds.

BY KENNY BRISTOW

The Wasatch girl’s basketball team earned their 12^th overall win of the season Tuesday night against the visiting Lady Cougars of Union High School.  The victory was also the Wasp’s fourth in Region 10 keeping them firmly locked into a first place tie.

Head Coach Tom Perkins used this game to test some of his bench players as nine Lady Wasps put at least one point on the board.  And although, this will be considered a strong team win, it was senior guard Rebecca MaWhinney who once again stole the show.  MaWhinney, who is committed to go to school and play ball for Utah Valley University next year, scored 23 points for the second game in a row.  She hit three, three-point baskets, recorded four steals along with four assists and was stingy underneath grabbing 11 rebounds.  It is tough to overlook such dominating individual performance by a single player, but there was a lot to learned as a team in this one for Wasatch.

The black and gold fell to Juan Diego last Friday night in Draper, in a winnable game where the Wasps could not seem to hit their stride.  This was not the case against Union however as the ladies from Wasatch jumped out early and never relented.  MaWhinney, playing as though she had something to prove, was scorching hot from the tip scoring the game’s first 11 points.

“It’s really all about good preparation,” said MaWhinney afterwards when asked if she is aware of how well she is playing for her team.  “When we play confident, we can win… and that comes from being prepared,” she added.  “I like where we are as a team right now, but we know there are teams that want to come in here and beat us down the stretch.  So, we just have to be ready.”

Strong contributions from bench players like Sadie Sweat #4 have helped keep the Lady Wasps running...

...and gunning.  Here the junior guard finishes up a fastbreak off a steal with the lay in.

After taking a commanding 20-4 lead into the second quarter, Perkins decided it was time to work his team into more rotations.  “We wanted to focus on eliminating the mistakes that cost us games against the Juan Diego’s,” Perkins said.  “We know we can score, but there are other aspects we need to work on like our inside game.  Losing Riley (Gagon) has hurt us underneath, so we’ve stressed that others need to step-up there.  I was proud of our defense and ball movement tonight,” the coach added.  “We feel like we’re in a good position now, but want to keep improving.”

Senior Renee Fagg has been one of the dominant players on the boards for Wasatch.  Along with her consistent scoring in the paint, she is one of the ladies top rebounders.  She scored 10 points and had five rebounds to go with her three assists and two steals.  Starting point guard Ashlyn Coleman, despite being only a sophmore, continues to have strong games.  She added 10 points of her own with four rebounds,, four assists and a pair of steals.  Hailey Hardman has done a great job picking up slack and this game was no different.  The junior picked up five points to go along with her seven rebounds.  Tristin Bills has also been a reliable source of points the past few games.  The junior guard added nine points in the win Tuesday night.

Junior guard Hailey Hardman displays nice touch as she goes up over a Union defender for two of her five points.

Tristin Bills has had some big games lately.  Her aggressive play gets her to the charity stripe often, seen here putting in one of her nine points on the night.

The Wasps kept the Cougars guessing all night with their crisp passing and protection of the ball.  18 team assists is proof of that, and testimony that the Lady Wasps have the ability to hit on all cylinders from start to finish.  Perhaps all the way to a state championship.