Wellington girls stun No. 1 Haven in 1st round of Wildcat Classic
by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Wellington girls pulled off a stunning upset in the first round of the 2018 Wildcat Classic when they upset the top seed host Haven 49-46 Thursday evening.
Wellington is hosting Cheney tonight in the championship semifinals at 7:30 p.m.
The Crusaders have had a lengthy break, last playing a basketball game against Augusta – a 35-26 loss on homecoming night.
There was no indication Wellington was going to win this game. Haven was 9-0 and perched on top of the Class 3A Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll. The Crusaders came into the game at 5-4, as the eighth seed, losing the draw to play the host team.
Wellington spent much of the evening chasing Haven, trailing 18-11 at the end of the first quarter and was down 31-24 at the half. But Wellington cut the margin to a deuce, 35-33, going into the fourth, holding the Wildcats to just 4 points in the third quarter.
The Crusaders would outscore Haven 16-11 in the fourth, talking the lead for the first time at the 5:35 mark. Wellington held a 3-point lead in the final seconds, and Haven could not get off a last second shot to put the game into overtime.
Welington was led by Avery Rusk with 28 points. Her sister, Rylee, had 9. Taylor Myer had 6, Gracie Fink 3, and Mekenna Adams 3.
According to stats, Wellington was 9 of 19 in front of the trey stripe, but is still having difficulty outside the stripe going 4 of 20. The Crusaders were an impressive 19 of 25 from the free throw line. A. Rusk alone was 14-of-17 from the charity line.
Wellington also had 10 steals, four assists, 22 rebounds, two blocks and 12 deflections. The turnover rate was a bit high, committing 16 of them.
The Crusaders have their work cut out for them Friday playing Cheney. The Cardinals in December buried Wellington 65-39. Interestingly, Wellington battled Cheney in the third place game last season in the Wildcat Classic. This will be the last year for the Haven Tournament for Wellington. Next year the Crusaders are headed for McPherson.
