After a close game, the Blue Devils fell short at the end of the fourth quarter to Plainfield, losing 40-39.
Emotional, standing on the free throw line with two minutes left, junior Sophie Lane takes a deep breath and sinks another point to put Westfield in the lead for the first time since the first quarter. Directly after sinking a 3-pointer, Lane connected a 4-point play that put Westfield one point ahead of Plainfield just in time at the end of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately it was not enough.
The Blue Devils came into this game confident, having beat Plainfield by 15 points early in the season. However, Plainfield came into this game hot and seeking revenge, testing Westfield’s composure, precision and overall perseverance.
The nail-biting beginning of the game sustained steadily throughout all four periods. In the first period, the score was back-and-forth ultimately ending with Westfield in the lead 10-8. The second quarter was when Plainfield took over, creating a narrow score gap that lasted throughout most of the game. Westfield caught up close in the middle of the second quarter, however Plainfield pulled away ending the half with a 22-15 lead.
The halftime message from head coach Liz McKeon was, “I just told them going into the second half that we needed to play harder. They wanted it more than we did, and we have to stop turning the ball over.”
The second half brought new energy for the Blue Devils as they came out harder and more aggressive, matching Plainfield’s tone. Quickly Westfield tied it 25-25 near the end of the third quarter, with it ultimately ending 29-25 Plainfield.
The fourth quarter came with riled up energy and stands. Frustrated parents and fans from both sides became very vocal about how the referee was calling the game, which was difficult to play through. Sophomore Molly McDermott said, “We need to work on not listening to the crowd on the other team and getting riled up. Instead just play our own game and not get distracted by the chaos.”
With two minutes left in the game and shortly after getting a painful bloody nose, Lane sunk a 3-point shot to tie Westfield with Plainfield 38-38. She then made a free throw to put Westfield in the lead for the first time in two quarters, seemingly at the perfect time. Plainfield responded quickly with a messy 2-point lay-up, regaining the lead. Westfield had one minute left to convert and was unable to, ultimately losing in a 40-39 heartbreaker.
McKeon said, “We need to take care of the ball better, but as terrible as the first half was, I am extremely proud of the way they fought and bounced back. It was like a different team.”
Sophomore Mairin Fowler added, “Today we did not handle the ball well under pressure. We also started out slow and the refs were not calling in our favor, but we tried to tough it out and ended up putting up a good fight.”
Westfield is back in action on Jan. 25 against Madison at 10:00am. Looking forward, McKeon said, “I told them from day one that everyone’s going to be gunning for us, and they want to take us down, so now we just have to focus on our next game and move on from there.”
