NEW WAVERLY — Coming off a loss to Anderson-Shiro on Tuesday, New Waverly girls’ basketball was looking to get back in the win column.
New Waverly used its strong defensive effort to lift themselves to a large lead in the opening half before tabbing the 63-34 win to move to 2-1 in district play.
“Our defense played well tonight and we’ve been working on full-court man. I knew our offense would be fine, but all week long we’ve been working on denying the ball and getting steals,” New Waverly head coach Donna Gilliam said. “I was impressed with the win and how we came out.”
Defensive is something that New Waverly hangs its hat on and that was the exact case against Crockett. In the opening quarter, New Waverly held Crockett to three points as they had limited chances from the field.
Crockett scored eight points in the second quarter to barely get over double-digits in the first half. With a heavy presence on the defensive end, Crockett was able to get New Waverly worn down in the second half. Crockett scored 23 second-half points but couldn’t keep up with New Waverly.
As it showed against Crockett, that has been the way New Waverly operates and a key part in how they are 19-5 this season.
“That’s what we’ve been able to do for most of the season. We can keep teams down and get stops and that’s going to be huge down the stretch,” Gilliam said. “We are not going to have any easy games, but I know if our defense plays like they normally play we will be fine.”
While the defensive end is key for New Waverly, things have to translate on the offensive end. Freshman Londyn Marshall and senior Mallie West seem to have things under control.
Against Crockett, Marshall dropped a game-high 25 points. Over the season, she has averaged 20.1 points per game and has been a solid addition to the New Waverly lineup.
West added 21 for the Lady Dogs as she exploded for 12 points in the second quarter.
“Londyn has been a great addition and has stepped up to get where Mallie is. I know what I will get out of those two night in and night out,” Gilliam said. “They get a lot of minutes on the floor and I tell Londyn that she’s not a freshman anymore because she’s in high school. These two together have been a big difference this year.”
New Waverly will continue its district slate with a road trip to Coldspring on Tuesday.
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