By STEVE BARLOW
WINSTED – The Northwestern High girls basketball team understood exactly what was at stake Friday night: a Berkshire League championship.
The Highlanders had already clinched at least a tie for the title, but they were in no mood to share as they took the floor against crosstown rival Gilbert, especially not after suffering their first loss of the season three days earlier.
So Northwestern came out and stomped on the Yellowjackets right from the start en route to a 51-39 victory that sewed up the program’s 11th BL title overall and first since 2004.
“That’s really exciting,” said Morgan Daley, one of three seniors on the team. “For me personally, that was my senior goal. I haven’t been on a team that’s won a BL championship. I am ecstatic.”
The Highlanders (17-1 overall, 15-1 BL) said they came out flat against Nonnewaug on Tuesday, which led to a 45-35 defeat. They made sure there would be no repeat Friday by taking a 21-9 lead in the first quarter.
“We came out with a chip on our shoulder,” said senior Gina Weingart, who scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the first half. “We knew we had the league title on the line. We wanted to play well in front of the big crowd and get the lead right away. The loss motivated us.”
Daley had 11 points and six rebounds for Northwestern, while Emma Propfe also had six rebounds. Senior guard Addie Hester dealt seven assists.
Jill Wexler led Gilbert (10-8, 9-7 BL) with 18 points and sister Liz added 11. Despite being without flu-stricken starter Marcela Moreira, the Yellowjackets managed to trim the deficit to 45-39 with 3:30 left in the game, but ran out of gas.
Northwestern coach Fred Williams, in his 40th season, said the BL championship is special because it ends a 13-year drought for a program that won eight straight in the 1980s and ‘90s.
“The three seniors have been with me a long time. They have really gotten us to where we are,” said Williams of Hester, Weingart and Daley.
When the season tipped off, Williams knew he had a contender on his hands, but his team might have been more confident it could win the league than he was.
“The kids did. I thought we’d been in the running,” Williams said. “Most coaches in the league though the winner might have three or four losses. We had several games where we won by five points or under, so we could have four losses.
“It’s been so long (since the 2004 title), it’s nice to get back to the top.”