After a slow first half left the Blue Devils trailing by more than 10 points, Westfield fought back with a renewed sense of defensive intensity in the second half. Despite cutting the lead to five heading into the fourth quarter, the comeback effort ultimately fell short as Immaculata secured a 58-47 victory.
The Spartans set the tone early, knocking down a 3 pointer to score the first points and quickly build momentum. Westfield struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first quarter, missing open looks and allowing Immaculata too many opportunities on the perimeter.
“We had confidence coming in,” said head coach James McKeon. “We just didn’t translate it to offense today. We just had to move the ball and execute. Shots weren’t falling for us and defensively it wasn’t very good either.”
The Blue Devils responded with greater intensity after halftime. Senior Aidan Wall came onto the court with energy, hustle and physical defense that helped shift the momentum resulting in him getting shots on the offensive end. McKeon credited Wall’s performance saying that he was the main reason for staying in the game.
Wall talked about his motivation and strength entering the game, “Coming off the bench I have to give energy to my team,” he said. “We started off slow, so I felt like I had to go out there and give everything I had.”
Right behind Wall’s performance was sophomore Jack Doherty continuing to facilitate offensively. Doherty said, “I like getting my teammates involved, they are cutting and doing the right thing so it makes it easier for me to pass and get open looks. But we’ve definitely got to work on our defense. We gave up too many open shots, and that makes it harder to come back.”
Wall said that going into their next game they need to work on communication as he believes that was the problem defensively. McKeon added, “We’ve got to work on everything, or our season will end real quick.”
Westfield will look to bounce back Feb. 18, as they face Middletown South at 4:30 p.m. at home.
