Waubonsie Valley holds off furious Benet comeback, wins rematch for second straight sectional title

BOLINGBROOK – Maya Pereda does not lack for confidence, but the Waubonsie Valley sophomore needed a little affirmation from her coach after a scoreless game Tuesday.

She took it to heart, with the game of her life.

Pereda scored a career-high 12 points, with the game’s two biggest shots after Benet twice tied it in the fourth quarter.

Then Pereda took a critical charge in the final two minutes.

Her heroics helped Waubonsie Valley, which led by 17 in the first quarter and 13 at halftime, hold off Benet 66-61 in Thursday’s Class 4A Bolingbrook Sectional final.

“After the game Tuesday I asked my coach what I can be doing better and he said straight up it’s a confidence issue, focus on that,” Pereda said. “He has so much confidence in me and it helps me so much. It’s great to have that support.”

Danyella Mporokoso had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Arianna Garcia-Evans scored 13 points and Maya Cobb 12 for Waubonsie (31-1), which outscored Benet 18-0 at the free throw line and won its 21st straight game.

Bridget Rifenburg had 16 points, eight rebounds and three steals, Aria Mazza 13 points and Emma Briggs 10 for Benet (29-3), playing in its 10th straight sectional final.

The Warriors, which last year beat Benet in overtime for the program’s first sectional title since 1999, move on to a Monday supersectional at Illinois Wesleyan against Alton – a rematch of last year’s supersectional won by Waubonsie in overtime.

And it wouldn’t have been possible without its youngest starter, who also rebounded Benet’s 3-point try for a tie in the final seconds.

“She has some confidence, she doesn’t like when she’s not doing things the right way and I told her after that game the other night you have to let the game come to you and don’t worry about the mistakes. Move on to the next,” Waubonsie coach Brett Love said. “I knew she was going to be good for us tonight.”

So did Mporokoso, who texted Pereda that message Wednesday night.

Mporokoso assisted Pereda’s basket seconds after Rifenburg turned a steal into a score to tie it for the first time. Rifenburg scored again for Benet, but Mporokoso dished to Pereda for a corner 3-pointer and a 53-50 lead with 4:22 left that Waubonsie didn’t relinquish.

“She was locked in, knew she was going to make it,” Love said. “She is one of our X-factors when she gets going. She can make big shots.”

Every Waubonsie player seemed to make shots early, all five starters scoring in a first quarter in which the Warriors shot 60% from the floor. Benet, meanwhile, missed its first eight 3-point attempts.

A Lily Newton basket gave Waubonsie its biggest lead, 23-6, and it was 38-25 at halftime.

“They shot it great, we shot it terribly and we weren’t getting back,” said Benet coach Joe Kilbride, whose team shot 5 for 20 from three in the first half. “We were a little quick on the trigger and they were getting runouts.”

In a reversal of last year’s game in which Waubonsie trailed by double figures, though, Benet started the second half on a 9-0 run to draw within 38-34 on a Lindsay Harzich 3-pointer.

Mporokoso, who had just six points at halftime despite her team’s big lead, scored all eight of Waubonsie’s points in the third, her stepback three sending the Warriors into the fourth ahead 46-38.

“Sometimes you just have to get a bucket,” Mporokoso said.

Benet came back again, with Rifenburg scoring nine of her 16 in the fourth quarter. A Briggs' basket cut Waubonsie’s lead to 53-52, and Benet missed a layup for the lead.

Mporokoso hit four straight free throws for Waubonsie, 11 of 13 from the line in the fourth, and Pereda stepped up to take a Rifenburg charge.

“It didn’t hurt that bad; it’s just like an adrenaline rush,” Pereda said. “To get that charge felt great. At that point the momentum shifted.”

Indeed, Waubonsie led 59-52 after two more Mporokoso free throws, but two Mazza 3-pointers and an Ava Mersinger three got it to 63-61.

“I told them I’m disappointed for them, I’m not disappointed in them. I thought they fought,” Kilbride said. “They really battled to get themselves back in the game and gives themselves a chance. It stings, it really does. They’ve been working for a year to get back here, and I liked our chances. We just had such a bad start.”

Waubonsie, meanwhile, is a win away from a return to state after taking fourth last year.

“Amazing, so happy, so proud of the team,” Mporokoso said. “Excited to get a little rematch.”