The East Aurora sectional semifinal brings a rematch of the DVC championship game, where the two-seed, Waubonsie Valley, takes on the three-seed, Naperville Central. The Redhawks handed the Warriors two of their three losses on the season and look to advance to the sectional championship for the first time since 2018. Waubonsie Valley hopes to avenge the two losses to Central and make a fourth consecutive sectional title game. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
The Warriors open up the scoring
Both teams start off slow offensively due to early playoff intensity. A few minutes into the game, Arie Garcia locates Maya Pereda on the pick and pop as she knocks down the three to open the scoring.
Central gets on the board after a made free throw and looks to score more, but a pass is intercepted by Danyella Mporokoso for a fast-break score, sending Central into an early timeout. The Warriors lead 5-1.
Coming out of the timeout, Central looks for offense as Trinity Jones puts up the shot attempt, it’s off the mark, but the McDonald’s All-American is there for the put-back score.
Later in the first, Annabelle Kritzer attacks the Warrior defense for the tough score to keep the offense flowing for the Redhawks.
Near the end of the quarter, Taylnn Heard grabs the offensive rebound, then finds Mporokoso in the corner, who knocks down a three-pointer for the Warriors, as they lead 12-5 at the end of the first quarter.
Mporokoso looks to pick up where she left off in the first quarter as she attacks the Redhawk defense, finishing strong for the opening points of the second.
The Redhawks to find more offense, but Syncere Williams picks the pocket of Erin Hackett and lays it in for the easy two points to keep the Warriors clicking on both ends of the court, forcing another Central timeout. The Warriors lead by double digits, 16-5.
The Redhawks look to stop the bleeding as Jones locates Sophia Cocran down low for two points to keep the Redhawks in it.
The Warriors are not fazed as Pereda and Garcia combine for back-to-back three pointers as Waubonsie goes into halftime with a sizeable 33-14 lead.
The Redhawks get the offense going in the second half
Central still has some fight inside as Jones and Kritzer secure the opening four points of the third quarter, providing a quick spark for the Central offense.
The Redhawks look to cut further into the Waubonsie lead, but the Warriors get the defensive rebound. Pereda tosses a long outlet pass to Mporokoso to add to her point total and expand the lead.
Central’s number two all-time leading scorer, Erin Hackett, secures a deep-range three-point shot for the Redhawks, who get back within single digits thanks to a 21-point third quarter.
Garcia helps seal the victory for the Warriors
However, Garcia maneuvers her way through the Redhawk defense before floating it in for two. Waubonsie leads by 10, 45-35, heading to the fourth
To open the fourth quarter, Garcia attacks the Redhawk defense for the and-one score. 12 points in the game for the senior to push momentum back to the green and gold.
The Redhawk seniors are not ready to see their careers come to an end. Sophia Cochran passes to Colette McInerney, who sinks another three for Central.
But it’s too much Danyella Mporokoso. The all-time leading scorer for Waubonsie sinks a dagger three-pointer off the Garcia assist. 35 points on the night as Waubonsie Valley defeats the Redhawks 62-50, moving on to face Benet Academy in the sectional championship game. A fantastic season and several outstanding high school careers come to a close for Naperville Central.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
