The Weldon Valley Warriors fought the good fight in their overtime game against the Deer Trail Eagles on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 47-46 to the Eagles. Weldon Valley has struggled against Deer Trail recently, as their matchup on Friday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the defeat, Weldon Valley had strong showings from Annie Onufrak, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 19 rebounds, and Ellie Koch, who scored seven points along with 18 rebounds and three steals. That's the first time this season that Onufrak scored 15 or more points.
Even though they lost, Weldon Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 35 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Deer Trail's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Ally Hardwick led the charge by almost dropping a triple-double on 14 points, 13 rebounds, and nine blocks. Hardwick continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaden Gudenkauf, who scored 17 points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Weldon Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 4-8. As for Deer Trail, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a massive bump to their 5-8 record this season.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Weldon Valley won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Banner County at 2:00 p.m. on January 27th. Banner County is out to stop a four-game streak of losses at home. As for Deer Trail, they will head out on the road to square off against Stratton at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Stratton presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Deer Trail in Colorado (Stratton is ranked 25th, while Deer Trail is ranked 258th).
