Westfall used a combination of balanced scoring and steady defense on Wednesday on its way to a 52-42 win over the host Wellston Golden Rockets in a Division III Southeast District sectional semifinal.
“Going into it our game plan was to limit our turnovers, keep Wellston off of the offensive boards and make the extra pass against their zone defense,” Westfall coach Joe Patete said. “We felt if we could make the extra pass then we could turn a good shot into a great shot.”
The Mustangs were able to limit guards Maddie Potts to 13 points and Kimmi Aubrey to 10 to bottle up the Golden Rockets.
“Alyssa Wyman and Marianna Packer did an excellent job of defending Potts and Aubrey. Most of Wellston’s offense runs through those two,” Patete said. “Alyssa did a good job of controlling the pace of our offense, and both Marianna and Alyssa knocked down a couple of nice threes.”
The Mustangs also turned in a balanced scoring performance with five players scoring six points or more.
Paige Weiss led all scorers with 15 points and chipped in six rebounds and five assists. Aubrey Clark came through with a key double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds and Wyman turned in a nice performance on both ends of the floor that included scoring eight points. Adrian Moehl also scored eight points to go with six rebounds and three steals.
“Paige did a nice job of scoring, finding the open person versus their zone defense and also was clutch at the free throw line when we needed her in the fourth quarter,” Patete praised. “I also felt like Adrian played with good patience and poise versus their zone defense.”
Clark helped the Mustangs grab an early lead with six points in the first quarter. Wyman and Adrian Moehl each added a three-ball to help stake the Mustangs to a 12-10 lead.
“Aubrey did a good job of moving without the ball on offense and finding the open spots in their zone defense to score,” Patete observed.
Westfall went ahead two possessions going into halftime at 26-22.
Five players scored in the second quarter, led by Adrian Moehl contributing a pair of baskets, and Marianna Packer and Weiss each knocking down a triple.
The Mustangs (7-16) made their move in the third quarter, ending the period on a 7-0 run to stretch their advantage to 41-31.
Weiss led the way with eight points, including knocking down two more bonus balls, Clark scored a pair of baskets and Packer knocked down her second triple of the night.
Wellston (8-14) cut its deficit to as few as five points in the fourth quarter, but the Mustangs nailed down their first tournament win since 2021 with Wyman scoring five points and Weiss going a perfect 4 of 4 at the charity stripe.
Patete praised the play of Reese Moehl, Izzy Picklesimer and Bella Patete in the win.
“They gave us really good minutes and production,” he said. “Reese rebounded well; Izzy gave us some great minutes helping us to handle the ball against Wellston’s pressure and then I felt Bella was a key to our defensive effort.”
The Mustangs travel to Southern Ohio Conference II champion and second-seeded Portsmouth West (21-1) on Saturday for a sectional final.
Division III Southeast District
sectional semifinal
No. 26 Westfall 52,
No. 23 Wellston 42
WESTFALL — Alyssa Wyman 3-0-8, Marianna Packer 2-0-6, Paige Weiss 4-4-15, Reese Moehl 1-0-2, Aubrey Clark 6-0-12, Izzy Picklesimer 0-1-1, Adrian Moehl 3-1-8. Three-point goals — Weiss (3), Wyman (2), Packer (2), Moehl. Total — 19 6-9 52.
WELLSTON — Gracie Simpson 0-1-1, Madison Boggs 3-0-6, Kimmi Aubrey 4-0-10, Alison Kilgour 0-1-1, Maddie Potts 4-2-13, Bailey Patton 4-3-11. Three-point goals — Potts (3) and Aubrey (2). Total — 15 7-13 42.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Westfall 12 14 15 11 52
Wellston 10 12 9 11 42
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