Victory is a grind for section-leading Prexies
HOUSTON – If their first meeting was considered a defensive struggle, Tuesday night’s Washington vs. Chartiers-Houston girls basketball clash was a rock fight.
The result was also pretty much the same as Washington gained a stronghold on first place in Section 4 of Class 2A with a 36-21 win at Chartiers-Houston.
Kaprice Johnson led the Prexies (9-0, 14-4) and all scorers with 13 points. Kayla Brose paced the Buccaneers with seven points.
Prexies coach Josh Wise said he was pleased with his team’s overall effort, especially on the defensive end as they forced 15 turnovers and limited the Bucs to 9-for-33 shooting. Washington seemingly made the Bucs uncomfortable all night with their defense.
“That’s what we look to do every single game,” Wise noted. “We want to get our opponents out of the flow of the game and make them eat the clock as they bring the ball up. No one wants to go against a press for 32 minutes.”
The two teams combined for 18 turnovers in the first half, nine for each side. Washington’s swarming defense made life miserable for the Bucs (8-2, 12-7), holding the hosts to 3-for-16 shooting from the field.
Johnson came alive offensively in the second quarter after spending much of the opening frame disrupting the Bucs’ offense. Scoring seven second-quarter points helped turn a 6-5 Chartiers-Houston first quarter lead into a 16-8 halftime advantage for the Prexies. A Cayleigh Brown floater toward the end of the second quarter gave the visitors their eight-point halftime advantage.
“She is our jack of all trades,” Wise said in reference to Brown. “Whatever we need for her to do, whether its guarding someone in the paint, grabbing a rebound, she does it.”
Washington extended the lead out to 10 points in the third thanks to two buckets by Amari Oakley. But an Ava Capozzoli three-pointer helped spark the Bucs and dragged them back into the contest, slicing the Prexies’ lead to 22-17 at the end of the third.
The teams traded blows in the fourth quarter with the game still in the balance. A Taraysia Finley layup extended the Prexies’ lead to 26-19 midway through the fourth. An Ella Richey bucket shortly thereafter cut the deficit to 26-21 for the hosts. But Washington put it away with a 10-0 run and in the process solidified their standing at the top of the section standings.
Consecutive three-point plays by Johnson and Olivia Woods effectively ended the contest in favor of the Prexies.
“She definitely earned her stripes tonight,” Wise said in reference to Johnson. “She’s our leader for sure.”
Chartiers-Houston coach Laura Montecalvo said the difference was her team’s inability to score when opportunities presented themselves.
“I’m proud of our girls’ effort,” she added. “I thought we handled their press pretty good, we just couldn’t get anything to fall. Their length and athleticism affected us, for sure.”