Girls just wanna have fun… and win.
On the beloved Senior Day, the Lady Wreckers emerged victorious in thrilling fashion, conquering the Westhill Vikings at home 42-40.
Down 4 points in the first quarter, Nikki Bukovsky ’13 scored 7 straight points and led the girls on an 11-1 run to take a 6-point lead at halftime. Following a prolific third quarter for the Westhill offense, the Wreckers stepped up defensively and made crucial blocked shots in the final 2 minutes. Spearheaded by Jess Coelho ‘12 and Remy Nolan ’12, the defense had 5 steals, 17 defensive rebounds and 3 blocked shots in the fourth quarter.
“Defense has been our trademark for years,” said head coach Ed Huydic. “It won us the game today.”
A scary moment occurred halfway through the second quarter when Sydney Houseworth fell down on defense underneath the basket. Unable to get up for 5 minutes, Houseworth limped off the court and never returned, ultimately sidelined with a knee injury. Sophie Debruijn ’14 replaced Houseworth and made some key defensive stops.
“It was tough for us to lose Sydney on Senior Night,” said Bukovsky, who finished with a game-high 17 points. “But we stepped it up and we made big plays when we needed to.”
Huydic cited Coelho as a team leader on Senior Night, hustling on defense and fighting underneath the basket and inside the paint.
“Jess boxes out and rebounds tremendously well and has been doing so all year,” Huydic praised. “That’s why we love her.”
When asked if Jessica was nervous going into the fourth quarter against Westhill’s sharpshooting three-point players, Coelho said the key was just keeping concentration, even when Houseworth went down.
“We really stepped it up tonight on defense,” said Coelho. “We knew they would beat us if we lost focus.”
As for the wild finish, Huydic was just glad the team didn’t crumble on defense.
“We weren’t getting it done offensively, so defense had to win us the game,” said Huydic. “These girls have what it takes, and luckily we were able to show it tonight. We won for Syd.”
