Game Recap: West Shamokin 58, Homer Center 51
West Shamokin's Sophie Fusaro knocks down a corner three during the fourth quarter of the Wolves' 58-51 win over the Homer-Center Wildcats.
By Jake DeLuca
The Wolves (12-0) record remained unblemished after they completed a season sweep over Heritage Conference rival Homer-Center (10-2) Wednesday night at home behind a big night from senior Sophie Fusaro.
The Wolves fell behind by six in the first quarter, but that deficit would prove to be their largest as West Shamokin quickly surged ahead to take a 27-24 lead into the locker room at the half.
West Shamokin entered the second half in second gear, going up by as many as 15 points before the Wildcats clawed their way back to just an 11 point deficit entering the fourth quarter.
The Wolves were able to keep Homer-Center at bay for the remainder of the fourth quarter, even though the Wildcats had a surge to bring the game back to within seven points, West Shamokin's steady defense was able to keep the visitors at bay.
"They're not just second in the standings in the Heritage Conference, they're one of the best teams in the state," West Shamokin head coach Frank Nagy said of Homer-Center.
"We knew it was going to be a battle and I'm proud of how the girls played. I know we're sitting in first place, but their still in it. They've already beaten United twice and Penns Manor twice. We haven't played United yet and we still have to play Penns Manor once. There's a lot of work we still have to do, but overall I'm really happy with how the girls played tonight," Nagy added.
Fusaro paced the Wolves offense throughout the night, scoring 13-points in the first half and following that up with 18-points in the second for a game-high 31 points. Abby Oesterling filled up the stat sheet for West Shamokin, scoring eight points, while dishing out seven assists, nabbing five steals and grabbing five boards.
The Wolves rebounding was led by Lily Jordan and Melissa Spohn, who both pulled down eight boards.
The Wildcats finished with three players reaching double-digits in the scoring department, led by Molly Kosmack (16-points), Macy Sardone (12-points), and Marlee Kochman (10-points).
Next, the Wolves will travel to Penns Manor on Friday to take on the Comets with JV tipping off at 6:00 p.m. with varsity to follow, while the Wildcats will play host to Purchase Line on Friday with a 6:00 p.m. tip-off.