Lady Wildcats defeat White Hall in rivalry match

After trailing at halftime, the Watson Chapel girls basketball team used its defense to pick up a rivalry win Tuesday night.

The Lady Wildcats defeated White Hall 54-42 at Leslie Byrd Henderson Gymnasium in non-conference action.

First-year Watson Chapel Coach Lenell Brown said he told his team to pressure White Hall defensively.

“We played a lot of zone second half,” Brown said. “I was kinda scared of their dribble drive. (White Hall has) two tough guards, but they came in, and they took on the challenge. They sat down, they defended and turned the ball over, and we got easy layups. I tell them all the time, our points come from defense.”

White Hall (4-1) led 28-25 at halftime but made two field goals in the second half, one in each quarter, as the Lady Wildcats (4-1) pulled away.

A pair of 3-pointers from juniors Maranda Emerson and Jayla Rodgers gave Watson Chapel the lead in the third quarter.

After both teams shot some free throws, the Lady Wildcats led 35-34.

From there, Watson Chapel went on an 18-1 run, which lasted until midway through the fourth quarter.

White Hall senior Marrena Tucker scored a layup plus a foul with 10.9 seconds remaining in the game, which was the Lady Bulldogs’ only field goal of the fourth quarter.

White Hall coach Dustin Powell said the Lady Bulldogs had trouble getting the ball down the court and scoring when they had chances.

“We came out and kind of let them do what we try to do to other teams, which is put pressure and cause turnovers,” Powell said. “They caused more than we did tonight.”

Rodgers scored a game-high 13 points, while Emerson and senior Kha’leyce Cooper followed with 12. Alexiah Anderson got hot in the fourth and finished with 10.

Rodgers said the Lady Wildcats had to work together to put the Lady Bulldogs away.

“It was hard, because they was playing on us tough, but we matched their energy,” Rodgers said. “We played as a team, and we came out with the win.”

For White Hall, junior Blair Weston led with 11 points.

This was Watson Chapel’s first game in Henderson Gym since former coach Leslie Henderson’s retirement.

Brown said it isn’t easy replacing a legend.

“We can’t do what she did,” Brown said. “We trying to do our own thing. We cannot do what she did, and she had left a mark on this program that no one else will ever do, and we appreciate her.”

Boys: White Hall 63, Watson Chapel 39

First-year White Hall coach Matt Williams earned his first win with the Bulldogs by defeating rival Watson Chapel 63-39 on the road.

Williams said he feels relieved to get the first win.

“We feel like we’ve worked really hard since we got here,” Williams said. “May and June, lot of team camps. Scheduled really hard, too hard, probably. … We knew we were better than our record indicated, and to do it in a hostile environment against a rival really means a lot.”

Watson Chapel (2-3) led 12-9 after the first quarter and maintained its lead in the second, leading by as much as 16-11.

White Hall (1-2) finished the first half on a 7-0 run, with a free throw by senior Jacoby Edwards giving the Bulldogs their first lead, 21-20, with 30.6 seconds left. Freshman Brian Cal Jr. then made it 23-20 at halftime.

The Bulldogs outscored the Wildcats 17-7 in the third quarter, then put the game away by starting the fourth quarter on a 14-0 run.

White Hall junior AJ McCray scored a game-high 16 points, with Cal adding 16, and Edwards 12. Senior Detric Cooper led the Wildcats with 10.