Showdown in Granville
The last stop in a great week of games took me to Granville. To watch the top two teams in the LCL fight it out. Granville comes in looking to avenge their only loss to Watkins back in December and clinch a share of the league title while Watkins was looking to have the inside track to another league title with a win. This game was about as emotional and physical game as I have seen all season. Early on both defenses came to play as no one could get going offensively except at the free throw line. Baskets were hard to come by in particular for Watkins and they trailed 4-3 at the end of 1. The 2nd quarter was where Granville started to get going offensively as they started to drive and be aggressive forcing turnovers from Watkins that led to easy baskets. Ella Wigal of "Ella Gang Gang" fueled Granville in the 2nd quarter along with Ella Rogers the other member of "Ella Gang Gang" with their defense and took an 18-11 lead into halftime. The 3rd quarter was where they pulled away. They were able to suffocate Watkins on defense early on and were able to stretch the lead out thanks to Harper Annarino and the great play of "Ella Gang Gang" Ella Rogers. They went on 9-2 run and led by 14 at one point. Watkins made a little bit of a rally to be down 28-17 at the end of the 3rd quarter. The 4th quarter was more of the same as Granville was able to take advantage of Watkins trying to play aggressive to get back in the game by getting easy shots and playing great on the offensive end. They played elite defense throughout the night. Watkins was cold from both the field and the free throw line. Granville closed it out from the line as Cate Schieber and Ella "Gang" Rogers went a combined 13-14 from the line. Granville won the game 42-28. With the win, Granville improves to 18-1 on the season and is in line to share the league title with Watkins while Watkins drops to 13-1 on the season. This is the 2nd year in a row that Watkins sees its undefeated season end at the hands of their bitter rival. Ella "Gang" Rogers led the blue aces in scoring with 10 while Alexia Gartner led Watkins with 10 points in a losing cause.