Warriors trump co-hosts to end perfect week

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Waubonsie Valley had an easy time wrapping up the championship of the WarHawk tournament, which the Warriors hosted with West Aurora.

The unbeaten Warriors dominated from the opening tip in trouncing the Blackhawks 77-50 on Waubonsie's home floor.

Rachel Bostick, the tournament MVP, and Brittany Upshaw led five Warriors in double figures. Waubonsie is now 6-0 on the season and went 4-0 in the tournament.

The Blackhawks were led by senior guard Briannica Tye with 24 points, but West was missing Kiara Towles (ankle sprain) and did not have the weapons to hang with Waubonsie.

Upshaw (team-high 18 points and an all-tournament selection) had seven points in the first period to help the Warriors build a 19-6 lead. The lead grew from there, as Waubonsie's tight man-to-man defense frustrated the Blackhawks and caused 26 turnovers.

"Brittany showed us the way driving to the basket early, and she did a nice job scoring off the break," Waubonsie coach Kris Kalivas said. "Except for the second quarter, we had a good effort defensively. We threw a couple defenses at (the Blackhawks) that kept them off guard."

West Aurora (1-4 overall, 1-3 in the tournament) scored the last five points of the first half to pull within 37-24. But Waubonsie answered after halftime with a 9-2 run to put the game on ice.

"Waubonsie is awesome," West coach Connie Siljendahl said. "They have a capable player for every spot. We're still trying to figure who can play and where they belong. We're just not giving an effort. Our turnovers happened because we're not moving on offense."

Tye, an irrepressible 5-foot-3-inch point guard, was a force for the Blackhawks but had little scoring help. She nailed four 3-pointers and had several spectacular shots that drew gasps from the crowd.

Tye had help from junior Devin Vaughn, who had 10 points, all in the first half. But Vaughn, like Tye, was saddled with foul trouble and was not a factor in the second half.

Sophomore Tanysha Walls had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors. Kiki McClellan and Bostick added 11 points. Bostick also pulled down 11 rebounds. Freshman Keiera Ray had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"I have a great team behind me, so they always help me play better," said Bostick, a 6-2 center. "On our team, if one person is not stepping up, then somebody else will."