Batavia's young team often struggles in the fourth quarter, said Head Coach John McCulley, but on Tuesday against Oakfield-Alabama, the Lady Devils battled through to help them secure a 54-50 victory.
"Our lack of experience and age has shown," McCulley said. "Tonight was a different story. The girls fought through a late run by O-A in the fourth quarter and held tough; they literally grew up in front of me."
Batavia held on despite being outscored in the fourth 17-14.
"Tonight was a very tough game from tip to horn," McCulley said. "I always enjoy playing Jeff (Schlagenhauf, O-A head coach) and his girls because I know it will be a battle. We had to keep mixing up defenses to keep the pressure up. We were successful at times but gave up a few too many three-pointers."
Scoring for Batavia:
- Karizma Wescott, 9 points, 3 blocks
- Addy Arroyo, 9 points
- Leilah Manuel, 5 points
- Ali Tomidy, 7 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists
- Jaimin Macdonald, 17 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists
Lady Hornets:
- Alea Groff, 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
- Piper Hyde, 10 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds
- Alexa Clark, 9 points, 6 rebounds
- Allie Williams, 6 points, 4 rebounds
- Raine Denny, 2 points
- Allison Harkness, 2 points, 6 rebounds
"I want to give a big shout-out to the JV girls that had to come up to varsity due to a lack of numbers," McCulley said. "This was the first week we were all together, and the way they pushed us in practice was a big reason we won our first game of the season."
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