It’s that time of the year again, win or go home, as the girls’ basketball playoffs are underway. This President’s Day contest features the No. 2 seed, Waubonsie Valley, hosting the No.15 seed, West Aurora. The Blackhawks come in off a win against Romeoville to end regular-season play and seek to upset the Warriors on the road. Waubonsie comes in on a mission after losing the DVC championship to Naperville Central in a classic, looking for a victory to tip off the 4A playoffs. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Waubonsie looksto set the tone early
Waubonsie Valley looks for some offense to start things off fast as All-DVC selection Ariana Garcia locates Danyella Mporokoso for the opening five points of the game to set the tone early for the Warriors. Mporokoso was recently named the DuPage Valley Conference Player of the Year for a third straight season.
Syncere Williams matches Mporokoso’s energy as she secures five points of her own, forcing the Blackhawks into an early timeout. Warriors lead 10-0.
West Aurora answers back
West Aurora gets on the board with free throws from Dynasty Logan, and looks to keep the scoring going as Maya Rabadan attacks the Warrior defense before laying it in for two.
With the first quarter winding down, the Warriors look to maintain their lead as Mporokoso grabs her own miss for the putback score to beat the buzzer as Waubonsie leads 15-5 to end the first. The senior entered the game 38 points shy of the program’s all-time career scoring record.
The Warriors continue the momentum
To open the second, Williams and Mporokoso pick up where they left off in the first as they combine for the opening five points to start the second, keeping the Warrior offense flowing.
West Aurora looks for some momentum on offense as Dynasty Logan forces the Warrior turnover and passes ahead to Rabadan, who takes it all the way for the score; however, the Blackhawks trail 23-7 midway through the second.
The green and gold get it done
Waubonsie continues to build the lead throughout the second quarter as Williams attacks the Blackhawk defense for the easy two points, as the Warriors go into the break leading 36-12.
To open the third, Mporokoso attacks the Blackhawk defense before she lays it in for the opening points of the half. She finishes the night with 38 points as she is now tied with Ashley Luke atop the Waubonsie scoring list with 2,885 points.
This one is all Waubonsie as Williams locates Taylnn Heard for another layup. The Warriors take a dominant 69-19 victory over West Aurora to start the postseason! Waubonsie remains home to face Plainfield North on Thursday night for the regional championship.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
