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West Branch still tops in NBC
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West Branch’s Rebekah Zets (24) puts up a shot and is fouled by Marlington’s Malea Stuffel during Wednesday’s game in Beloit. West Branch won 56-47.
BELOIT
Words such as trust, will, talent, work and team have appeared in big letters inside the West Branch High girls basketball team locker room. Each week, a new word is designated as the word of the week.
The Warriors’ word this week was courage.
Thrilling, satisfying and, of course, courageous could describe their 56-47 win over Marlington on Wednesday.
West Branch’s fourth game of the season, its first road tilt, was a 15-point loss on the Dukes’ home court. So another word came to mind when preparing to meet them again.
Revenge
“That game was a wake-up call,” West Branch coach Walt DeShields said. “We’ve worked hard since then. We’ve continued to work hard in practice and get better.”
Another superlative helped the Warriors (12-1, 8-1 Northeastern Buckeye Conference) focus for the rematch.
Confidence
“We knew we were the better team and we knew we could be the harder working team and that showed tonight,” said Rebekah Zets, who led the Warriors with 14 points.
West Branch went on an 8-0 run to open the second quarter and took a 31-23 lead into halftime. How the Warriors came out of the locker room could only be described in one way:
Dominating
Zets threw a cross-court pass to Pavin Heath who knocked down the team’s only 3-pointer. On their next possession, Amanda Linhart converted a highly contested jumper. West Branch scored the first nine points of the third quarter, extending towards their biggest lead, 38-25.
“We didn’t want them to have those first three or four possessions where we’re the ones calling time out and their right back in the game,” DeShields said. “So, we were trying to come out with adjustments and really push forward.”
The West Branch run continued when Linhart delivered a bounce-pass down low to an open Brittany Bryte making it 40-25. Right after, Marlington called a time out. The way the Warriors were playing was echoed by the song that rocked the West Branch gymnasium during that time out.
Taking over
“That was really big,” point guard Melinda Trimmer said. “But we knew we had to slow down and keep our composure. Once we got ahead, we didn’t get big-headed because we had to make sure we kept everything together.”
The Dukes only scored two points in the third, shooting just 1-of-13 from the floor. They were out-rebounded 8-2 by the Warriors in that quarter and 41-23 in the game. Linhart led with 10 boards.
A total of seven players contributed to the scoring for West Branch, which goes back to yet another one of their former words of the week:
responsibility
“We know that if one of our girls is off, somebody will step up to make up for it,” Zets said. “We really rely on each other.”
Trimmer finished with 12 points and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Heath contributed 13 points. Katie Reed led Marlington (11-3, 8-2 NBC) with a game- high 19.