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HUGHESVILLE–Emily McKee started strong. Alayna Wilkins finished strong. And in between, their young teammates all delivered quality performances.
Put it all together and Warrior Run produced quite a win.
McKee scored a game-high 19 points and collected a double-double. Wilkins shined in the fourth quarter under pressure and Warrior Run upset Hughesville, 42-35 Saturday night. The Defenders (2-7) have four new starters this season and have been making strides in the fiercely rugged HAC-II, although the record did not show it. Against a team which nearly beat defending District 4 Class AAAA champion Central Columbia a few nights earlier, Warrior Run revealed both its character and its potential, leading from early on and holding off repeated second-half Hughesville rallies.
“It’s definitely a win we needed to boost team morale,” McKee said after grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking four shots. “We’ve been getting better and everyone has been building up and we have a better team chemistry than last year. Everybody treats each other like family and it’s definitely starting to show a little bit.”
“This game definitely proves we have the talent and the skill in us,” Wilkins said. “We just needed to find it.”
They did.
The Defenders built a 15-5 first-quarter lead, played ferocious defense and answered every Hughesville second-half rally. The Spartans cut a 12-point third-quarter deficit to four before Warrior Run pushed it back to 10. After Hughesville relentlessly fought back in the final minute and rallied from 10 to within five points, Warrior Run came through again, scoring the next four points at the foul line and sealing the victory.
It was different players at different times making game-changing plays and/or shots. Nothing has come easy for Warrior Run this season and there was nothing easy about this game, but that probably is what made this victory so rewarding.
“We definitely can trust each other to kind of lock down on defense and lock down on offense when things start getting tough,” McKee said. “We always had an answer. Alexis (Hudson) had a bucket, Alayna had a bucket and we can trust each other on the foul line and things like that.”
“We know that each and every one of us is going to give 150 percent effort every time,” Wilkins said after scoring eight points and dealing four assists. “I think that’s also giving us a good feeling, especially when things are getting tough. We know we can come back from it.”
Hughesville (4-5) was down 10 with 75 seconds remaining, but came storming back. An Ava Snyder putback ignited a flurry with Grace Pysher and Alli Anstadt then hitting three free throws. In just 26 seconds, the Spartans had cut the deficit in half. Cue Wilkins showing both her big-shot ability and senior leadership.
Wilkins went to the line for a 1-and-1 with 39 seconds remaining. A miss there and Hughesville would be a basket from making it a one-possession game. Wilkins calmly swished both shots. After Leah Grow also sank two clutch free throws, Warrior Run needed Wilkins to deliver again and she did. Her free throws with 6.7 seconds left again did not touch the rim and clinched victory. Together she and Grow made six straight free throws, each coming in a 1-and-1 situation.
“When I’m standing there I’m like, ‘Alayna you need to make these.’ I just try to take everything out and just breathe and put it in,” Wilkins said. “With the situation that we were in it felt really good.”
McKee was feeling great during a dominant first half in which she was virtually unstoppable. The senior forward scored 17 straight Warrior Run points and helped it build a 19-9 halftime advantage. Every team Warrior Run plays focuses on slowing the four-year starter, but McKee worked hard to develop an outside shot throughout the offseason and it paid monster dividends against Hughesville. She made all eight shots from the floor and foul line with her post up basket putting Warrior Run up 12 in the second quarter.
McKee did her best Steph Curry impersonation in the first quarter, draining three straight 3-pointers, the last coming from NBA-range. She scored 13 points in that opening quarter and set the tone Warrior Run needed as it started taking the game over.
“It’s always easier for me when I hit the first shot I make because we need different girls to play different roles this year and one of my roles is to be able to go out and shoot because sometimes it’s difficult to get it inside,” McKee said. “When I make the first one it makes everything a little easier and then when I make the second one I feel like I can keep making them.”
Hughesville struggled to find that rhythm and made just 8 of 38 shots from the field. The Spartans also struggled at the line in the first three quarters, going 9 for 21. This is one of the area’s youngest teams and it is loaded with potential, showing that with some impressive early-season wins. This was a learning experience for Hughesville, albeit a painful one.
The Spartans played with renewed energy throughout the second half and needed just two minutes to mount an 8-0 run and pull within 21-17 early in the third quarter. Warrior Run, however, scored the next seven points and Hughesville had trouble regaining the momentum.
“We’re a young team. We were going to have one of these nights at some point,” Hughesville coach Ryan Callahan said. “Our girls were scoreboard watching and thought we had an easy win but we aren’t the type of team who just rolls out the balls and win. We need to be focused and locked in to have a chance vs anyone.”
Hudson may have made the shot of the night to stop Hughesville’s 8-0 third-quarter run. Just when it seemed like Hughesville was on the verge of erasing that deficit, Hudson banked in a 3-pointer from the right wing. Peyton Meehan followed with another timely 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and, in a flash, Warrior Run went from up four to ahead, 27-17.
Warrior Run kept its foot on the gas despite Hughesville’s constant pressure in the fourth quarter. Sienna Dunkleberger made a key shot inside and Wilkins went coast to coast for a driving layup which made it 32-22.
Anstadt played another strong game and produced her fourth straight double-double. The freshman forward matched her career-high with 17 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and went 11 of 15 at the foul line. Snyder scored 11 points and made four steals and Hailey Poust, Grace Pysher and Breanna Boback combined for nine steals.
WARRIOR RUN (42)
Emily McKee 6 4-4 19, Alexis Hudson 2 1-2 6, Alayna Wilkins 2 4-4 8, Abby Evans 0 0-0 0, Leah Grow 1 2-2 4, Sienna Dunkleberger 1 0-0 2, Lilly Wertz 0 0-0 0, Peyton Meehan 1 0-0 3. Totals 13 11-12 42.
HUGHESVILLE (35)
Alli Anstadt 3 11-15 17, Breanna Boback 1 1-3 4, Ava Snyder 3 5-11 11, Hailey Poust 1 0-0 2, Grace Pysher 0 1-4 1, Lucy Myers 0 0-0 0, Lexi Kurwaza 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 18-33 35.
Warrior Run 15 4 9 14-42
Hughesville 5 4 11 15-35
3-pointers: Warrior Run 5 (McKee 3, Hudson, Meehan); Hughesville 1 (Boback).
Records: Warrior Run 2-7, 1-5 HAC-II. Hughesville 4-5, 2-4.