Playing on a team loaded with veterans the past couple of seasons, senior forward Ashley Watter had to wait her turn to get on the court regularly for Aurora Central Catholic.
Now, she’s a team captain who stands front and center in the post for the Chargers.
“This is the first year that we lost a lot of girls, so it was finally my time,” Watter said afterward Monday night with a knowing nod. “I was excited to be able to get on the court.
“It’s my first year getting a full season, so getting to show what I can do is really nice.”
Watter got things going for Aurora Central Catholic in a 69-32 nonconference win over host East Aurora. She scored the first five points of the game in setting the tone for an early 27-5 lead.
Sofia Orozco paced the Chargers (10-2) with 13 points and eight rebounds. Makayla Edwards added 10 points off the bench. Ziah McDowell led all scorers with 20 points for East Aurora (0-9).
Aurora Central Catholic coach LeVada Smith has been impressed with how Watter has taken over as a leader despite not having a ton of on-court experience at the varsity level.
“She’s our floor captain,” Smith said. “She’s very vocal. Maybe some kids don’t understand what I’m saying. She’s willing to stop practice and say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing.’ It’s been good.”
A big key to the success of this team, which dealt with several graduation losses and key injuries in the offseason, is the connection between Orozco and Watter.
Both have the skills to play around the basket and hit outside shots, although Orozco is more proficient as a ball-handler.
“If her and Sofia are both on the court, I usually put her down low because Sofia is more of a ball-handler,” Smith said. “She can play on the outside too.
“Ashley can come out and shoot threes without a problem, but I just try to put her close to the basket just based on her skill set.”
That bond didn’t just start at the beginning of this season, however. The duo also played AAU together for the Illinois Rockets.
“We see each other now, really feel where the other one is,” Watter said. “It helps because it makes it harder on the defense too. She runs the court really well and I feel like I can find her.
“We complement each other. We definitely take our advantages when we can and don’t force things that make it easy for the other team.”
The pair combined to score 14 of the Chargers’ first 16 points in the first quarter before allowing the bench to stretch out the lead.
A bright spot all season for East Aurora, meanwhile, has been the play of McDowell. She scored nine points in the third quarter as the Tomcats cut the deficit to 55-27 at one point.
“She can take it to the rack,” East Aurora coach Torry Pryor said of McDowell. “She can shoot threes. She can create her own shot. She has a midrange game. She has a lot of tools in the bag.
“It’s just trying to fine-tune everything to get her to where she needs to be.”
ACC is still trying to find its groove as well, but Smith remains optimistic.
“We’re still struggling a little bit on the defensive end,” she said. “They’re still trying to figure out the speed of it. We have our moments. It’s just trying to find that consistency.”
Despite not getting a starting chance on the high school stage until this season, Watter committed in September to Cornell due to her play in AAU.
“It really felt like the journey made it worth it,” Watter said. “It was that feeling like I finally did it.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
