VC honors lone senior in win over Highland

By Mike Zummo
Posted 2/23/22

It was Olivia Watson Night at Valley Central High School on Friday.

The Valley Central girls’ basketball team sent out its only senior in style with matching t-shirts with Watson’s …

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VC honors lone senior in win over Highland

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It was Olivia Watson Night at Valley Central High School on Friday.

The Valley Central girls’ basketball team sent out its only senior in style with matching t-shirts with Watson’s number and name on the back, and flowers when she walked off the court.

And most importantly, the Vikings beat the Highland Huskies, 48-38, in their season finale.

“It was great,” Watson said. “It was so much fun, and honestly, a great way to end the season. There was so much good energy. It was amazing.”

Watson was also top in the scorebook, as she and Mack Delmonico led the Vikings with 11 points.

Even though she’s the only senior on the team, she doesn’t have much more experience than the rest of the team, as her only varsity experience was last year during the February 2021 COVID-19 season. She was going to be pulled up to varsity in her sophomore year, but she suffered an ankle injury.

Still, she embraced her role as the team’s only senior.

“I just had to step up and be the main leader of the team,” Watson said. “And because a lot of these girls are young and it’s their first year on varsity, I had to really show them what varsity is.”

The Vikings entered the fourth quarter leading the Huskies by only four, but Watson scored the first basket of the quarter and then after a basket by Highland’s Grace Koehler, she knocked down her only 3-pointer of the game to give the Vikings a seven-point lead.

“She’s a true-blue Viking,” coach Bill Michella said. “She’s going to be successful in life in whatever she does.

She’s a true leader for this team. She carries herself well, and she’s kind to everybody.”

She had her special moment later in the fourth quarter, as she was subbed out of the game with less than two minutes to go. As she walked off the court, junior captain Riley Schmidt presented her with a small bouquet of flowers.

“It was just great,” Watson said. “I mean it’s great with the end of the season and it was a great way to remember my senior year.”

After the team honored Watson, the entire girls’ basketball program was honored by the Orange County basketball officials for sportsmanship and were presented a banner. The officials honor a boys’ and girls’ basketball team every year.

“That’s an incredible honor,” Michella said. “My motto is, sportsmanship and fundamentals equals success, and the basic thing in life is to be a good sport and learn how to win and lose. If you’ve learned how to win and lose, and you carry that with you in life, you’re going to go far.”

Delmonico led the Vikings with 20 points in a 62-45 loss to Pine Bush on Feb. 14. Schmidt added 14 points.

“They’re very positive about next season,” Michella said. “They came an incredible way. One of the coaches played us five weeks ago and he said we were a 25-point better team, which I appreciate. All the coaches always say these girls fight right to the very end and they were surprised in the second half with some of the battles we gave the bigger schools.”