Waterford's three seniors (from left to right, Avery Smithberger, Kendall Sury and Avery Wagner) celebrate the Wildcats' Division VII district title Saturday in Wellston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

WELLSTON, Ohio – The Waterford girls basketball team turned a diamond into gold.

Saturday afternoon in a Division VII district final at Wellston High School, the Wildcats diamond press frustrated Notre Dame to the point where they had the Titans’ point guard talking to herself out loud while trying to escape a trap provided by Waterford seniors Avery Wagner and Kendall Sury off an inbounds pass.

“We worked on our press quite a bit – we just haven’t used it much, so we thought we would try it out today and see what happened,” Waterford coach Jerry Close said. “We had a nice little stretch there in the first half.”

The Wildcats forced a total of 22 turnovers, including 13 in the first half before easing off the full-court pressure, in a 59-29 victory resulting in a district championship. As the No. 1 seed advancing out of their district, Waterford at 23-1 hooks up with another No. 1-seeded district finalist in Lancaster Fisher Catholic in a regional semifinal on Thursday for a 6 p.m. opening tip at Logan High School.

“Keeping this tradition alive is a goal you start every season with,” Close said. “This is just a stepping stone and one of many, hopefully. Girls here at Waterford have lofty goals and a lot of expectations as it is with everybody.

Waterford's Brynlee Pottmeyer (12) guards Notre Dame's Kaylyn Darden during Saturday's Ohio Division VII district final in Wellston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“I want to thank our crowd because this is one of the biggest ones we have had the last couple of years at one of our games this early in the tournament. I’m glad to see people coming out because these kids deserve this.”

The one challenge facing the Wildcat coaching staff faced as the team built a 36-point lead (55-19) near the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter – making sure every member on the bench received playing time. Mission accomplished.

“You look up and the time is running, and you lose track of things at times,” Close said. “I was glad to get everybody to play.”

Waterford senior Avery Wagner finished with a game-high 21 points and five rebounds. She scored 10 points during a second quarter in which the Wildcats pitched a shutout for the first six minutes of the period.

“My sophomore year and being with the juniors and seniors, remembering that it is not as easy as it looks – you have put in a lot of work,” Wagner said. “Obviously, going forward we need to keep turnovers down. That’s big. We need to work on our press, too, because as you can tell we like it.”

Waterford's Avery Wagner, left, and Kendall Sury apply the trap on Notre Dame's Laney Strickland during Saturday's Division VII district final in Wellston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Waterford freshman Brynlee Pottmeyer, who added 13 points, has settled into a comfort zone as a starter which includes three seniors.

“Yeah, there is some pressure, but I know the other four girls are always there to help me get through it,” Pottmeyer said. “The nerves are there and it’s like adrenaline, but they usually go away because of the adrenaline I get when I step onto the court.

“The three seniors are always there for encouragement. They have been a positive factor.”

Fellow seniors Kendall Sury and Avery Smithberger each pitched in eight points. Waterford’s fifth starter, Elsie Malec, finished with four assists, four points and a pair of steals. Malec felt Pottmeyer’s arrival this season has helped her game.

The Wildcats recorded 15 assists on 25 made buckets. Smithberger led the team with five. A major thank you from Wagner is in order since four of Smithberger’s assists led to easy buckets for the 6-foot-4 post player in the second quarter alone.

Waterford's Ella Schweikert (40) guards Notre Dame's Laney Strickland during Saturday's Division VII district final in Wellston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“I know when Avery is underneath under the basket I can get her the ball, so we run that high low really well,” Smithberger said. “I just know when I catch the ball, I can always count on her to be open.”

Waterford never trailed against fourth-seeded Notre Dame (15-9). A steal and ensuing bucket by Sury started an 8-0 run which left the Titans trailing 14-4 in the final minute of the opening period.

Brianne Hicks’ 3-pointer closed out the scoring as Notre Dame hung close at 14-7. Then the nightmare ensued for the Titans. They opened the second quarter turning the ball over on eight straight possessions.

“In practice, coach definitely has us working pretty hard on mainly our defense,” Pottmeyer said. “What we did tonight is what we practice and that’s we are supposed to play.”

Waterford’s defensive pressure created so much havoc, Notre Dame did not attempt its first shot of the period until three minutes in. The Titans, who were led by Jaysa Bryant with 10 points, snapped the drought with a 3-pointer from Hocks with two minutes remaining before halftime.

Defense created easy offensive opportunities as Waterford opened the quarter with a 17-0 run.

“When we got into that diamond press, it was so much fun,” Sury said. “We all had smiles on our faces when we forced all those turnovers in the second quarter. Hopefully, we can carry that into regionals.”

With nine turnovers to their credit in the eight-minute span, Waterford took a 33-12 lead into halftime.

“At halftime, I told the girls not to get complacent and relax because two years ago we got beat in this gym when we were up 12 in the fourth quarter,” Close said. “I also said, no matter what the score was, stay focused and play hard.”

As the teams returned to the floor for the second half, Waterford didn’t back off and reeled off the first 11 points for a 44-12 lead. During one span, Wagner accounted for six consecutive points. Of course, Smithberger hooked up for yet another assist.

“Those two girls just know where each other will be all the time,” Close said. “I don’t know if they have eyes in the back of their head – they jst do a good job feeding each other.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com