Photo Credit: Wolf Pack Media
Weston’s Class B girls basketball playoff contest against Simsboro on Thursday turned out to be a night of firsts. With the impressive 67-51 victory over their District 1B foe in the #14 vs #19 matchup, the win marked the first playoff win at Weston for first-year head coach Matthew Herring. Adding to the theme, despite making the playoffs every year, it also marked the first time that the Lady Wolves have advanced past the first round since the 2016-17 season.
With the youthful charges of Rachel Bandy and Kate Keiffer, who were the top two scorers per average in the regular season for the Lady Wolves, playing leading roles in the triumphant postseason production, the Lady Wolves also got a great performance from Gracie Gray that helped lift Weston to a 20-11 record. Simsboro ends their season with an 8-17 mark.
As the two leading scorers per average during the regular season have done many times this year, Bandy and Keiffer were the stars once again. Bandy ruled the paint to lead Weston with 19 points while also pulling down 6 rebounds. The sharpshooting Keiffer hit 5 of 9 shots, which included one of Weston’s three 3-pointers, to score 15 points while also grabbing 4 boards and swiping a team-leading 4 steals.
Then there was Gray, who, after averaging just 4.7 points per game during the regular season, saved her best offensive performance of the season for the playoffs by chipping in with a career-best 12 points while also pulling down 5 rebounds.
Photo Credit: Wolf Pack Media
Not to be overlooked was the 7-point contribution from Ada Claire Tidwell, and the 7 rebounds each from Carly Jo Griffin and Teegan Hall, who also scored 5 and 4 points respectively. Jakayla Fourd and Carlynn Waters rounded out the third-best scoring effort of the season by the Lady Wolves with a three-pointer and a basket.
NEXT UP! The Lady Wolves will now put their #14 seed on the line on Monday, February 23rd, in an attempt to advance past the second round for the first time in a decade when they travel to #3 seed Fairview, who drew a first-round bye after ending the regular season with a 25-9 record and a District 4B title. Game time is set for 6:00 pm