You can bet your bottom dollar this was the biggest victory in Wes Hudson’s brief coaching career, and dare we say it? As a result, he and his Lady Wildcats have a good chance at winning a district basketball championship Friday night.
Wayland pulled off an upset perhaps few if any saw coming Wednesday night by defeating a 13-8 Otsego squad fresh from a 51-22 pasting of rival Plainwell Monday, making it the prohibitive favorite to advance to the regionals next week. The Lady Wildcats put together an amazing 21-5 run in the fourth quarter to pull away in a 64-55 shocker.
This, from a team that went 1-20 in Hudson’s first year of coaching last season, a team that leans heavily on freshmen and went 5-15 during this regular season. This, from a team that less than two weeks ago was smarting from a two-point loss to O-K Gold Conference basement dweller Middleville Thornapple Kellogg.
It hasn’t taken long for Wayland to become a Cinderella team that actually is probably favored in the district title game at 6 p.m. Friday on its home floor against a determined and scrappy 9-12 Allegan team that upended O-K Silver Conference champion Hopkins 59-45 in the other district semifinal game Wednesday afternoon.
The two games were eerily similar in that the underdogs came from behind and blistered the favorites in fourth quarter scoring blitzes.
The Lady Wildcats didn’t look like giant-killers in the early going, struggling against the half-court trap and falling behind 18-14 at the end of the first peiod. They remained behind, but were still hanging around in a 35-29 deficit at intermission.
Freshman guard Parrish Hudson ignited an offensive burst, along with senior Macy Winger and senior Jasnae Randall, leading the ‘Cats to take their first lead of the night, 39-38, halfway into the third quarter. But in the next four minutes it looked like the final story that would be written would be about a gallant, but failing effort.
Otsego was enjoying a 50-43 advantage with just eight minutes remaining. Further making the Lady Wildcats’ prospects bleak was that their two big girls, senior Sam Nieuwkoop and freshman Stephanie Ainsworth had sat on the bench often because of foul trouble.
But Nieuwkoop arose from the ashes and started taking the basketball to the iron. She enjoyed a lot of success, dropping the ball into the hoop and getting fouled. She scored 11 points in an amazing run in which Wayland overtook the Bulldogs 56-52 and then senior southpaw guard Abby Merice thrust a dagger into the ‘Dogs by sinking a three bomb that put the Lady Wildcats up 59-52.
Otsego never recovered from the shock.
Nieuwkoop led all scorers with 18 points. Winger’s steady play came through with 10 and Hudson finished with nine.
Perhaps the unsung hero was Chloe Coughlin, the senior co-captain who had been idle until just recently with an injury. She scored only five points, but had at least five assists with crisp passing inside to underneath the hoop.
Mattison Rayman led Otsego with 16 points, Crace Verhage chipped in 12 and Liz Barwegen 11.
The Lady Wildcats now are 6-15 after their big upset and if they can avoid the same fate as Hopkins, they’ll capture their first district title since Presley Hudson, Wes’ sister, was a senior.
COVER PHOTO: Sam Nieuwkoop was unstoppable taking the ball to the hoop in the fourth quarter against Otsego and finished with 18 points.
(Photos courtesy of Kenny Ritz)