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Watson’s big basket, Haughs’ 4th quarter help secure triumph
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Emma Howdeshell scored 14 points, including the go-ahead driving banker with 1:11 left in the third quarter, and Sydney Haughs scored six of her eight points in the fourth quarter to lead the Rochester girls basketball team to a 36-32 win over Wabash on Dec. 10.
Rily Holloway added nine points, all on 3-pointers.
Kaitlynn Honeycutt hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points for Wabash, including a trey that cut a seven-point deficit down to 36-32 with 21 seconds left and ended a 6:02 scoreless drought.
Haughs missed the front end of a one-and-one with 15.7 seconds left, but Wabash missed a pair of shots in the final two seconds to end the game.
Rochester improved to 6-6 overall and 3-1 in the Three Rivers Conference. Wabash fell to 5-5, 0-2.
“We said if this game’s in the 30s, we win,” Rochester coach Joel Burrus said. “Watching them on film was very scary because they’ve got some girls that can flat-out shoot the basketball.”
Wabash committed 22 turnovers while Rochester had just nine. Rochester also made more free throws (three) than Wabash attempted (two).
Rochester trailed 16-13 at halftime and still trailed 24-20 on a Honeycutt 3-pointer from the top of the key in the third quarter, but Howdeshell answered with a 3-pointer off a Kallie Watson assist, and she then flipped up a banker driving from the left of the lane to put Rochester ahead 25-24.
“With them having 16 points, that was the type of game that we knew that we could win,” Burrus said. “So when we went in there to halftime down three, our girls, they were excited. They’re like, ‘We’re right there. We’re in this game.’”
Leading 30-29 in the fourth quarter, Watson gave the Lady Zs some breathing room on a driving layup, and Howdeshell passes found their way to Haughs twice for buckets to make it a seven-point lead.
“I think what Emma was doing penetrating was usually to look out for our 3-point shooters, but she penetrated deep enough to get me the ball down low, so I just had to finish,” Haughs said.
Haughs had fouled out in the third quarter in a loss to Argos two days earlier.
“We got to have her on the floor,” Burrus said. “Today she’s on the floor, and man, did you see us when we went to our triangle late there, we snapped a couple bounce passes down there to her, and that’s how that’s supposed to work. And Emma, man, is she getting really good at that triangle offense that we’re running there.”
Haughs also had multiple assists from the high post out to 3-point shooters like Holloway.
“At practice, we started splitting (time) more, so I get to work more on post things, and I think it’s just all about the read to see if I’m covered, and if I am covered, penetrate and then kick out,” Haughs said.
Rochester has won their last five meetings against the Lady Apaches.
Rochester 36, Wabash 32
WABASH (32) (5-5, 0-2)
Elizabeth Mattern 3 0-0 8, Rylee Yoakum 0 1-2 1, Kaitlynn Honeycutt 5 0-0 14, Kierra Wilson 3 0-0 7, Jade Stumbo 0 0-0 0, Hannah Layne 1 0-0 2, Kiana Jones 0 0-0 0
TEAM: 12 1-2 32
ROCHESTER (36) (6-6, 3-1)
Rily Holloway 3 0-0 9, Rylee Clevenger 1 0-0 3, Kallie Watson 1 0-1 2, Emma Howdeshell 5 3-6 14, Sydney Haughs 4 0-1 8, Maddie Heinzmann 0 0-0 0, Darah Strasser 0 0-0 0
TEAM: 14 3-8 36
Three-point field goals:
Wabash 7 (Honeycutt 4, Mattern 2, Wilson),
Rochester 5 (Holloway 3, Howdeshell, Clevenger)
Total fouls: Wabash 14, Rochester 8
Turnovers: Wabash 22, Rochester 9
Score by quarters
Wabash 12 4 8 8 – 32
Rochester 9 4 12 11 – 36
