A day meant for honoring the senior class turned into a day of despair for the Blue Devils – not only because they were saying goodbye to their seniors, but because the team failed to step up and beat Oak Knoll, suffering a 44-33 loss.
In an annual Senior Day ceremony, the team and the fans recognized their three seniors – captains Erin Doherty, Makenna Reed and Sara Rooney. Flower bouquets and posters filled the gym as the girls walked down an alley of high-fiving teammates to get their picture taken. “Watching all the girls ahead of us, they are all of our role models,” said Doherty. “So finally being in their shoes now, being the upperclassman, it’s just a full circle moment.”
“We’ve played together since like fourth grade,” said Reed. “So I think it’s nice to get to all play together on Senior Day.”
It was Westfield’s second time facing Oak Knoll this season. In their first matchup, Westfield beat Oak Knoll, 40-22. With an early five points from freshman Mairin Fowler, it looked like this game was going to yield a similar result. However, Oak Knoll quickly picked up their intensity, and Westfield’s lead decreased, heading into the first quarter up only 11-9.
Despite the lead in the first quarter, the second quarter introduced the uncertainty for a Blue Devil victory. Less than a minute into that quarter, Oak Knoll tied up the game, 11-11. Oak Knoll continued to counter Westfield’s shots, granting them the opportunity to start gaining significant leverage. Halfway through the quarter, the scoreboard read, 16-15 Oak Knoll. For the remainder of the quarter, the teams were neck and neck, battling for the upperhand. But, between the scattered defense and forced turnovers by Westfield, the quarter ended with Oak Knoll taking a solid lead, 22-19.
The girls came back from halftime with what the fans thought was a new surge of energy with shots from Fowler and Rooney making the score close again, 22-21 Oak Knoll. Fowler continued her streak and was able to make a game-changing three-pointer, resulting in a long-awaited lead for Westfield, 25-22.
Westfield held their heads high for their seniors, and they tried to keep their lead, despite the growing resistance from Oak Knoll’s defense. But, Oak Knoll finally caught up to Westfield and once again, they secured a safe lead going into the final quarter, 32-27.
The fourth quarter marked the end of Westfield’s hope to close the five-point gap they left in the third quarter. Despite Westfield’s hustle down the court and lock-down defense, the good could not outweigh the bad. Turnovers and missed shots gave Oak Knoll the opportunity to further the point gap throughout last quarter, leaving Westfield a bit stunned on Senior Day.
The game ended, heads fell and a sense of hope was lost in the Blue Devils. “I always try to stay positive, but today, I think, sadly, was the worst we’ve played as a team, and we just took 10 steps back,” said Rooney.
Not only did this put the team at a point of doubt for the remaining games of the season but also in a disappointing state for the seniors on a day that is supposed to be fulfilling and light-hearted. Rooney also said, “It’s really upsetting when we all have come to play hard for our past seniors and then it just didn’t work out in our favor today.”
On Thursday, as the team travels to take on Elizabeth, the girls look to redeem themselves.
“We just have to be ready for Elizabeth and just try to forget today,” said Rooney.
