Spartan girls to play for a championship
Kendra Smith held the ball under her right arm and watched the final seconds tick away.
Maybe she wanted to watch some history literally take place in front of her eyes. Smith was one of six Spartans who played strong games Tuesday at Williamsport as Hughesville defeated Wellsboro, 32-24 in the District 4 Class AAA semifinals and reached the district final for the first time in program history. It has been quite a journey for a team that has made huge strides the last four seasons. And now the journey continues into the district final and the state tournament.
“We’ve been working so hard. We deserve this,” said Hughesville guard Emily Akers, who scored a game-high 15 points. “We were in the gym when other people took off. We’ve been pushing hard and we encourage each other. It’s a great atmosphere. I love it.”
The Spartans (16-8) never trailed against last year’s AA district finalist, once again played smothering defense and earned a spot in this weekend’s final against the winner of tonight’s Mount Carmel-Loyalsock game. Before this season, Hughesville had not won a playoff game since 2007 and four years ago it won just two games.
But the Spartans never stopped working and never stopped believing. They have increased their win total in each of the past four seasons and now have a shot at winning a district championship, something that a few years ago seemed so far-fetched. But believe it. These girls can play.
“I’m tickled to death and so are the players,” first-year Hughesville coach Craig Weaver Sr. said. “At timeouts their smiling. Before they were tightening up. Now they’re just relaxing and loose and smiling. They’re accepting what is being said and what they have to do. There’s a will here. They wanted to get to the district title game. They wanted it bad.”
That was evident all night. Hughesville struggled offensively throughout the first half and led just 12-10 at halftime. But its defense continued shining and never let Wellsboro take a lead. Offense can come and go but Hughesville has built its resurgence around defense and that gives it a chance to win any game it plays.
Hughesville allows just 31 points per game and has surrendered just 44 against the Nos. 2-3 seeds in districts. Hughesville held Wellsboro to nine field goals and Kendra Smith’s steal and layup gave it a 21-15 entering the fourth quarter.
“Our offense was a little stagnant in the first half, but even when things weren’t clicking, we kept our defense strong which kept us in the game,” Weaver said. “We loosened up in the second half a little more and these girls really compete. The girls take pride in it.”
Wellsboro (17-9) can still earn a state tournament berth for a second straight year if it defeats the loser of the Mount Carmel-Loyalsock game in the consolation contest. An Akers 3-pointer gave Hughesville a 24-15 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Wellsboro, led by Rachael Tuttle’s 12 rebounds, did not go away. Lizzie Poirier and Emma Poirier hit consecutive 3-pointers and the Hornets pulled within 24-21 with six minutes remaining.
In years past, that might have rattled Hughesville but this team is as tough as it is talented. Jayden Leighow, Akers and Smith hit six consecutive free throws that pushed the lead to 30-21. Wellsboro made it a seven-point game late, but a Makenna Budman free throw and some more stellar defense clinched the historic win.
Akers, who missed most of last season and a stretch of late-season games with injuries, played another strong playoff game. The junior guard has 38 points in two playoff wins and added three rebounds and a valuable hustling breakup that prevented a Wellsboro third-quarter layup.
“I missed quite a bit last year and missed some last year so just trying to take the most I can out of the games,” Akers said. “I don’t want to take anything for granted.”
Budman, the team’s only senior starter, grabbed eight rebounds and made three steals. Leighow also grabbed eight rebounds while Smith sparked the defense and had four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Hughesville practiced free throw shooting for 45 minutes before leaving for Williamsport and it paid huge dividends as the Spartans made 8 of 9 free throws in the fourth quarter when the pressure was highest.
“The neat thing is you can see it in them. Where their mentality was when we started the season is so much different than where it is now,” Weaver said. “It is so satisfying because they’ve matured and they believe and it really makes a big difference.”
HUGHESVILLE (32)
Makenna Budman 2 1-4 5, Emily Akers 4 4-4 15, Alisha McKinley 0 0-0, Jayden Leighow 2 3-4 7, Kendra Smith 1 3-4 5, Jade Cordrey 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 11-16 32.
WELLSBORO (24)
Lizzie Poirier 2 0-0 5, Rachael Tuttle 1 1-2 3, Janessa Davis 2 0-0 4, Jessica Grab 0 1-2 1, Autumn Kitajima 0 2-2 2, Emma Poirier 3 0-0 7, Cathryn Brought 1 0-0 2. Totals 9 4-6 24.
Hughesville 8 4 9 11–32
Wellsboro 4 6 5 9–24
3-pointers: Hughesville 3 (Akers 3); Wellsboro (L. Poirier, E. Poirier).
Records: Hughesville 16-8. Wellsboro 17-9.
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