Waubonsie Valley girls basketball hosts the Neuqua Valley Wildcats on Senior Night in front of a fired-up home crowd as well as friends and family. The Wildcats have been one of the hottest teams in the DVC in recent weeks, and they would love to pull another upset. The Warriors are still in the hunt for the conference crown, with a rematch against Naperville Central looming next week. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
A back-and-forth battle to open the game
It’s a defensive battle in the early going. The opening points of the game do not arrive until Ariana Garcia locates Maya Pereda in the corner as she knocks down a three-pointer.
However, the Wildcats are quick to respond as Alexis May snags the offensive rebound and lays it in for Neuqua’s opening points of the game.
Garcia continues to impress with her court vision as she locates senior Taylnn Heard underneath for the easy two-point score.
Neuqua answers back. Emersen McManis finds Michayla Stone for the midrange jumper, and she connects. Neuqua leads 6-5 late in the opening quarter.
The Wildcats look to keep the offense rolling as Nalia Clifford finds an open Taylor Dobry for the three-pointer as Neuqua holds a 13-12 lead to end the first quarter.
The Warriors look for some offense to open the second quarter as Mporokoso finds the midrange jumper and puts it through to put Waubonsie back in front.
Stone has her shooting stroke going as she knocks down the three. The Wildcats are keeping pace with the Warriors as halftime approaches.
Mporokoso looks to take control as she secures five quick points, forcing a Neuqua timeout. The Warriors lead 22-18 midway through the second.
On the Neuqua out-of-bounds play, Nalia Clifford drives the baseline and gets the floater to drop in as Neuqua trails by just two.
The Wildcats look to keep the offensive attack going, but commit a turnover, and it’s Mporokoso taking it all the way for two more as the Warriors lead 33-23 at the half.
Garcia and Mporokoso break program records
The Warriors look to pick up where they left off in the first half, as Garcia continues to show off her court vision by locating Heard for the easy layup to open the third quarter. The senior breaks the program’s all-time assists record, previously held by Ashley Luke.
Neuqua still has some fight in them as Stone and May connect with three pointers to keep the Wildcats in the game. It’s just a two-possession game at 36-30 midway through the third quarter.
The Wildcats try to keep the offense going, but the shot attempt is no good. The Warriors secure the rebound as Pereda locates Mporokoso for the fast break jumper. Waubonsie leads 50-37 to end the third. 28 points in the game for Mporokoso, who broke the school record for most points in a single season, which was also previously held by Ashley Luke.
The Warriors pick up another DVC win
Waubonsie is able to keep the Cats from getting any closer. Taylnn Heard calls game finishing strong at the rim for the tough two points. Waubonsie defeats Neuqua Valley 64-54 for the Senior Night victory. Up next, Waubonsie visits Naperville North while Neuqua hosts DeKalb on Thursday night.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
