WILLIAMSBURG

A look at the final score was deceiving.

Mid-Prairie scored just 16 points in its 3A Regional semifinal loss to third-ranked Williamsburg last week and lost by 19 points, 35-16.

But this was a bruising defensive war.

The Raiders (22-2) scored the game’s first five points.

Then, Mid-Prairie senior forward Brylee Gearhart muscled in for a two-point response.

And the battle was on.

“Our defense was outstanding,” Golden Hawks head coach Danny Hershberger said. “We did a great job of being in position to make it difficult for them. We did a great job of closing out on shooters and not letting them get open looks. Made it tough for them to score inside, as well. Really proud of our effort.”

But so did Williamsburg.

The Raiders held the Golden Hawks to 21.9% shooting. Golden Hawks shooters managed just four 3-point shots and missed them all. A smothering defense led to 29 Mid-Prairie turnovers.

“They make it difficult to get in a good flow on offense,” Hershberger said. “They make it difficult for you to run what you’ve got to run. Credit them for doing that.”

A 16-point game by Williamsburg senior Carly Rich, a 1,000-point scorer, eventually led the way to the Raiders pulling away in the second half for their 15^th consecutive victory.

But it was the first time this season the Raiders had been held to 35 points. Even top-ranked Mount Vernon didn’t do that earlier this year.

“Any time you’re struggling to score on offense,” Hershberger said, “it’s going to be tough to stick with it on defense. It’s a mentality thing, a mental toughness thing. To continue to play the great defense we were playing, I’m proud of the girls being able to do that.”

Callie Huber, who grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, had a team-high 3 steals. Brooklyn Schneider and Morgyn Bender each had 2 steals.

Williamsburg was held to 28.3% shooting and scored just 16 points in the first half. An 8-0 run in the second quarter helped break open the game.

Rich scored 11 of her 16 points in the first half.

Huber, Bender and Jeorgia Evans each scored 4 points for Mid-Prairie.

Three days later, Williamsburg claimed the Region 4 title, and a state tournament berth, with a 57-43 win over PCM.

The Golden Hawks finished the season with a 16-6 record and a second-place finish in the River Valley South, reaching 16 wins for the second time in three seasons.

“I felt like we did a good job competing with the top teams we played this year,” Hershberger said. “Just to have 16 wins is a good accomplishment. Any time you have more than 15 wins, feels like your team performed well.”

“It’s difficult after a season-ending loss to see all those things,” he said. “But we’ll take some time to reflect, celebrate the good things we did and accomplished, and find things that we need to continue to improve on, as well.”

GAME STATS

WILLIAMSBURG 35, MID-PRAIRIE 16

Mid-Prairie       4     2     4     6  -- 16

Williamsburg    6   10    8    11  -- 35

Mid-Prairie scoring: Callie Huber 4, Jeorgia Evans 4, Morgyn Bender 4, Brooklyn Schneider 2, Brylee Gearhart 2.

Williamsburg scoring: Carly Rich 16, Zoe Allen 10, Ava Hocker 3, Taylor Sanchez 3, Channing Becker 2, Kennedy Skaggs 1.

Mid-Prairie leading rebounders: Huber 12, Gearhart 6.

Williamsburg leading rebounders: Hocker 8, Allen 5.