Westhill High School defeated Central Valley Academy 59-52 in the Section III Class A championship on Friday March 1. Sophomore Eli Welch played a key role in the championship game, finishing with a career-high 20-point performance.
Welch is a part of the varsity team for the first time this winter and couldn’t have done a better job helping his team win the sectionals championship. Welch had six rebounds and three assists to go along with his game-high 20 points.
“At first It was a lot of different emotions when I found out I was getting pulled up to Varsity,” said Welch. “I had a lot of nerves about whether I would mess up or play badly, but the team made it a very welcoming experience and made me feel comfortable right away.”
The game initially favored Central Valley Academy in the first quarter when Deacon Judd accumulated ten points. However, the game turned around for the Westhill Warriors after they switched to a 3-2 zone defense in the second quarter, out-scoring the Thunder 22-11 and led the 32-29 game going into halftime.
Throughout the third quarter it was back-and-forth but the Warriors never lost the lead and maintained a 49-45 lead heading into their final quarter. Westhill secured their victory in the fourth quarter, retaining the lead and securing yet another section championship.
“My mindset during the game was to attack,” said Welch. “My coaches all week were constantly telling me to attack and making me work through contact while finishing the ball. We started off a little flat in the CVA game, but against a team like that you don’t want them to get too far ahead of you or they will take Advantage of it.”
Senior Kam Langdon was the second highest contributor to the team, with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Eli Prince contributed 16 points and three rebounds.
With this championship win, Westhill advanced to the subregional round of state playoffs where they played Massena High School on March 6 and gained an 81-47 victory. Westhill trailed the Raiders early but ended with a subregional victory.
“We came out very flat in the beginning, and have a tendency of doing that,” said Welch. “When we went into the first timeout we knew what we had to do, talked about our offensive and defensive mistakes and how we could move the ball better as a team and play better defense. We came out of the huddle and went on fire and took off from there.”
The boys advanced to the state regional championship where they will face Glen Falls High School on Saturday March 9.
“Our expectations for the regional championship are to work as hard as we possibly can and make our presence known as a team,” said Welch. “We can play with anybody and outwork any team. We are looking forward to playing a very hard fought game.”