Last season, on a team loaded with star players, Cornell recruit Ashley Watter didn’t even see the court for Aurora Central Catholic during the regional championship game.
This season, however, the senior forward has emerged as one of the Chargers’ key players. And playing in her first regional final Friday night, Watter wanted to take full advantage.
“It means so much,” she said. “We’ve been through so much as a team. Getting to play together and winning this game on our home court — us seniors, this is our last game here. It’s huge.”
Even so, Watter and Co. left nothing to chance.
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She scored a game-high 25 points and shot 10 of 13 as the host Chargers rolled to a 78-19 win over Chicago Kennedy in the Class 3A Aurora Central Catholic Regional championship game.
Sofia Orozco, Watter’s running mate, scored 22 points with six steals for the Chargers (22-10), who took a 60-2 lead to start the game. Brihanna Villa led Kennedy (19-13) with 13 points.
ACC coach LeVada Smith confirmed that he didn’t play Watter in the Chargers’ upset loss last season to Byron in the regional final. But he was sure glad to have her on his side Friday.
“To have her this year and have her do what she did is great,” Smith said. “I’ve been preaching to her to use her size and strength. You don’t always have to fade away. You have to understand that team is smaller than you. Just go to the basket. Make them guard you.”
Watter has taken that to heart as the season has gone on, and she did it again Friday night.
Seven of her nine baskets in the first half against Kennedy were layups. She did convert one fadeaway, a soft touch in the lane, and mixed in a midrange jumper as well.
“I feel like I’m gaining more knowledge of what they’re giving me and taking advantage of it,” Watter said. “I’m making it easier on myself and getting us some points.”
It has been the chemistry between Orozco and Watter that fueled this run to the regional title.
With Orozco taking a starring role after being more of a complementary player last winter and Watter playing her first truly meaningful, consistent minutes, the pairing took some time to develop.
Once it did, however, the Chargers started to thrive. They enter Tuesday’s De La Salle Sectional semifinal against Hinsdale South with a 9-3 record in their last 12 games.
“Her game has progressed and gotten a lot better,” Orozco said of Watter. “We work so well together. We were doing well, but around midseason, we had each other. We’re in a rhythm.”
Indeed, Watter knew it would take repetitions to get to where they needed to be as a team.
“The beginning was a little rough,” Watter said. “It was a rocky start. As a team I felt like we got together in practice and were just building up that chemistry. That helped us find each other.
“I feel like it just took time. We need to play our best right now and not in December.”
The win was particularly meaningful to Smith, who felt the emotion after ACC didn’t win a regional title the past two seasons. Getting over that hump showed on his face afterward.
“It fell at my feet,” Smith said. “A lot of people were mad. It just stuck with me the whole year.
“Everything is a team effort. As a team, we collapsed last year. Going 27-5, it felt like 5-27. Yes, me being the head coach, I take the brunt of that.”
Watter was happy, however, to help Smith come out on the other side this time.
“He’s done so much for us,” Watter said. “It couldn’t have been easy on him. He never gave up on us and he kept fighting for us.
“We’re not done yet.”
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Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.