Every time Waubonsie Valley junior forward Lily Newton missed a layup this season, she got an earful from coach Brett Love.
The constant reminders became the soundtrack to Newton’s season, and it continued before the Class 4A Oswego Sectional championship game on Thursday.
“Oh, tell me about it,” Newton said. “Right before this, literally all I did for warmups was layups, layups, floaters over the front of the rim.
“That’s been my weakness all year, and it’s cost us a couple times.”
Not on this night.
In what she called “a full-circle moment,” Newton scored on a driving layup with 2.3 seconds left in overtime to give the second-seeded Warriors a 63-61 victory over fourth-seeded Benet.
The win was as thrilling as it was historic for Waubonsie Valley (31-3), which broke the single-season school record for victories and won a sectional title for just the second time and the first since Ashley Luke led the team to the state quarterfinals in 1999.
Sophomore guard Danyella Mporokoso scored a game-high 19 points for the Warriors, who will play Alton (32-2) in the Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional in Bloomington at 7 p.m. Monday. Senior guard Hannah Laub had 15 points, all on 3-pointers, sophomore guard Arianna Garcia added 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Newton chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.
Senior guard Emilia Sularski made five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points for Benet (24-7), which had ousted the Warriors from the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. Freshman guard Ava Mersinger added 11 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists.
“I told them, ‘I’m disappointed for you. I’m not disappointed in you,’” Kilbride said. “I’m incredibly proud of this group.
“With the work they’ve done and the togetherness they’ve developed, to get to the sectional championship, that’s a real credit to them.”
Waubonsie Valley finally got past the Redwings by rallying to overcome a 28-19 deficit and surviving a seesaw fourth quarter.
“A lot of credit to them,” Kilbride said. “Boy, they made some great shots, and I thought they made some tough shots too.”
That included Mporokoso’s game-tying driving layup with 13 seconds left in regulation. Benet junior guard Aria Mazza missed a tough fadeaway jumper from the left baseline with two seconds left, and the game went to overtime tied 59-59.
After Mazza hit a 15-foot jumper to give Benet the lead, Mporokoso tied it with a layup with 34 seconds left. A Benet turnover gave the ball back to Waubonsie Valley with 10.4 seconds to go.
Benet’s defense swarmed to Mporokoso, who found Newton at the top of the key. That set up the toughest shot of the game.
“She was driving, and she didn’t have anything to do, so she passed to me,” Newton said. “I had hit a couple threes already, and I was looking for the shot. Then I saw (a defender) sprinting straight at me, and I had nothing else to do but go.”
Laub, an Army commit, watched Newton go and was confident she would score.
“Oh, yeah, I knew right when she put it up that it was going in,” Laub said. “She’d been attacking the basket all game, and she looked comfortable.”
Which is a relatively new feeling for Newton, who has absorbed Love’s constructive criticism.
“Lily has been working on her layups all season,” Laub said. “Coach has been hard on her. Any time she misses, he gets on her. But this is why, because they in these moments she can make them.”
Nobody was happier to see Newton, who had never hit a game-winning shot, sink the Redwings than Love.
“I told her if there’s ever a time she’s going to make a layup, this is the perfect opportunity, and she did it,” Love said. “I’m just so proud of her.”
The teams combined to hit 14 3-pointers after halftime, nine of them by the Warriors, who prevailed with what Love called “a sheer will to win.” Newton said chemistry created that will.
“I’ve never had a team like this that genuinely loves each other and wants the best for each other,” Newton said. “We understand what we need to do to win.”
The Warriors are one win away from capturing their first state trophy.
“This is awesome,” Laub said. “Every single thing is one more step ahead. We’re one game away from state now, so we’re really looking forward to it.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
