JACKSON, Oh. – The South Webster Lady Jeeps went to battle with their postseason rival the Waterford Lady Wildcats Thursday night in Jackson High School. For the fourth straight year South Webster and Waterford met in the postseason to determine who will advance, and who will see their season end.
Unfortunately for the Lady Jeeps, Waterford defeated South Webster for the fourth straight year in OHSAA postseason play Thursday night, 62-27.
The night started off in South Webster’s favor, as the Lady Jeeps caused a Lady Wildcat turnover, and then took a 2-0 lead after a jumper by Kacie Hall.
That 2-0 lead would be the only time South Webster held a lead over the Lady Wildcats, who finished last season as state runner-ups.
Waterford responded with a score to tie the game, and then take a 4-2 lead.
Kimber Johnson tied the game 4-4, shortly after Waterford took the lead.
The Lady Wildcats went on an 11-0 run from there, until Cheyenne Weakley hit a long range three in the last minute of the first quarter.
At the end of the period, Waterford had full control of the game, and led South Webster 17-7.
The second quarter was no more favorable to South Webster than the first.
Waterford continued to control the pace of the game, and seemed to score at will, while South Webster began to have trouble getting anything to fall in their favor.
By halftime, the Lady Jeeps faced a long struggle if they were going to close the gap with the Lady Wildcats, trailing by 16 points, 30-14, as they headed back into the locker room.
South Webster’s offensive struggles continued into the second half. The Lady Jeeps were held to only eight points in the quarter, while Waterford doubled up on the Lady Jeeps, scoring 16 points in the period.
As the final period was about to begin, Waterford continued to grow their lead over South Webster, increasing it to 24 points, 46-22.
The fourth quarter moved in the way as the game’s previous three periods. South Webster continued to struggle with hitting shots and layups, and were unable to find a definite answer to stopping the Waterford offense.
As they were outscored by Waterford again in the fourth, the game clock continued to dwindle, until it hit all zeros, officially giving Waterford its fourth consecutive postseason win over South Webster 62-27.
“During Regionals, you have got to shoot, and I don’t know what our shot percentage was, but it had to be horrific,” South Webster coach Kristie Johnson said. “You’ve got to play well, and we didn’t. That’s how it goes.”
South Webster was the last Scioto County women’s basketball team left standing in the OHSAA tournament this year, and captured a District Championship last Thursday in Jackson.
“I’m just proud of the girls,” Johnson said. “They didn’t give up until the very last second. We always preach that. Hard work is not a suggestion, it’s an expectation.”
The Lady Jeeps will say goodbye to five seniors from the girls’ basketball team,
“I hate it for my five seniors,” Johnson said. “No one wants to end their high school career like that.”
Johnson did have a message for her outgoing seniors. Alley Wilson, Kacie Hall, Kimber Johnson, Maddie Stamper, and Cheyenne Weakley.
“It was an honor,” Johnson said. “It was an answer being their coach for four years, and I couldn’t be more proud, and there’s no one else I’d rather have.”
Thursday night’s ending was not the way Johnson or the players wanted their season to end.
“It’s not the way we wanted it to end, but not very many teams make it to the Sweet Sixteen two years in a row,” Johnson said. “We’ve just got to look at the positives, and that’s a big positive.”
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| South Webster | 7 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 27 |
| Waterford | 17 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 62 |
Individual Statistics
South Webster – K. Johnson 3-3-9, Hall 2-1-5, Weakley 1-2-5, E. Johnson 1-2-4, Cook 1-2-4
Waterford – Drayer 6-7-20, Ball 8-3-19, Porter 5-0-10, Starkey 1-3-5, Kern 2-3-5, Offenberger 1-0-2, McCutcheon 0-1-1
Three-point field goals – South Webster 1 (Cook) Waterford 2 (Drayer, Offenberger)
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