DUDLEY — Leading by just four points at halftime against top-ranked Shepherd Hill, No. 2 Wachusett was eager to show everyone that they were still the dominant girls’ basketball program in Central Mass.
After a lights-out second half performance saw Wachusett outscore Shepherd Hill, 36-18, the visiting Mountaineers, who had been ranked No. 1 all season until Tuesday's poll, showed that they are still very much in command in these parts, cruising to a 63-41 win over the Rams in a Mid-Wach A showdown Tuesday night.
“We came out (in the second half) and we knew we had to win the first four minutes of the half,” Wachusett senior Laura Vinton said. “We came out with a new life, a new intensity and we really picked it up on defense.”
According to Reagan McDonald — leading the way offensively for the Mountaineers with 15 points — when her team gets going like they did in the second half, it’s fun to be a part of it.
“It’s awesome,” she said. “Everyone works together and everyone looks for each other so it’s really fun playing with them.”
Wachusett (4-1, 2-0 Mid-Wach A) led 15-10 after the first quarter, but Shepherd Hill (6-1, 1-1) battled back in the second quarter after Bailey Savage tied the game at 20. Savage had 14 points, while teammate Molly Springer had a game-high 18 points.
After the Mountaineers built a 27-23 halftime lead, they used a big third quarter to break the game open.
Freshman Nariah Scott got things started by hitting a 3-pointer, and Wachusett outscored Shepherd Hill 20-10 in the quarter. Then in the fourth, the Mountaineers' defense really clamped down, allowing only eight points.
Despite Springer's valiant effort, Vinton said her team was able to do just enough to slow down Springer and Savage. “We had strong help on Savage and Springer and we were able to get going on the inside which was awesome,” Vinton said.
Wachusett coach Jim Oxford stressed the importance of slowing down a dynamic player such as Savage.
“We just tried to figure out the best way to play (Savage) and we wanted to keep the pressure on her for 32 minutes,” Oxford said. “Hopefully when we got into the second half, some fatigue would have set in and I think that happened.”
Vinton also said it was nice to get back in the win column after dropping their first game of the season to perennial state power Braintree last Thursday.
“We were really excited to come out for this game,” Vinton said. “It’s awesome we got the win (and bounce) back.”
Shepherd Hill coach Jim Hackenson said his Rams could learn some things from their first loss.
“I thought our defense broke down a little bit,” he said. “They came through with some backdoor cuts and they got some easy baskets. We got a little out of focus and they beat us. As a team we know we’re pretty good. We hung with them in the first half. We just need to play 32 minutes instead of 16.”
—Contact Chris Kyne at sports@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @tgsports.