ALL FLIGHTS CANCELED IN WEST BRANCH
By Ty Bartell
BELOIT OH- The West Branch Warriors girls basketball team has been the talk of the town and beyond. Getting attention far and wide, beyond the reaches of local coverage, The Warriors have garnered attention from state media! Sporting an impressive 12-2 record heading into Wednesday night, West Branch looks to, once again, be a stronghold in Division II this season! Members of the very tough Eastern Buckeye Conference (EBC) The Warriors are looking to claim a conference crown for the first time in a few years. Starting off on tack, West Branch has compiled an unblemished 7-0 conference record prior to their Wednesday matchup with The Alliance Aviators.
Despite school being canceled in the day due to the frigid temperatures of Northeast Ohio, The Beloit Brigade came out in bunches to cheer on their Warriors! West Branch gave plenty to cheer about as well, with The Warriors Chloe Dennision lighting it up from distance in the first half. A 20-6 lead for West Branch after the first, only got larger in the second with an emphatic 37-13 lead for The Warriors at halftime. Six shots found the bottom of the basket from beyond the arc in the first half for The Warriors as Dennison clipped five of them herself!
Out of the second half, The Aviators were not allowing the game to go to a running clock and showed plenty of fight to avoid the possibility of that occurring! Hitting a few threes in the second half, The Aviators scrapped and fought tooth and nail to prevent a run away by The Warriors. West Branch would inevitably be able to put away Alliance by a final of 59-35 behind a great scoring tandem of Chloe Dennison and Sophia Gregory, who put up over a combined 40 points on the night!
Both Dennison and Gregory earned Player of the Game honors as Dennison scored a new career-high 22 points off the back of six 3-pointers while Sophia Gregory continued to pace The Warriors with 21 points of her own while filling up the box score in other categories as well! Carter Shepherd and Ellie Tucker were lockdown on defense for West Branch and continue to maximize their role on this edition of The Warriors team and are described by Head Coach Walt DeShields as “The glue who holds everything together.” DeShields said. Find interviews with Coach DeShields as well as players Sophia Gregory and Chloe Dennison below!
The win for West Branch (13-2)(8-0) now sets them up for another EBC bout, this time against another group of Warriors when The Carrollton Warriors (13-3)(6-2) make the trip up to Beloit on Wednesday, January 24th. West Branch got the better of Carrollton 65-36 in their first matchup this season on December 9th. Meanwhile, Alliance (4-12)(3-5) will look to get back to winning in the conference when they host Minerva (4-10)(0-7) on Wednesday, January 24th. Stay updated with West Branch basketball all season long, with live games, scores, stats, stories and more on YSN!
