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On Thursday night at Forrest School, the Lady Rockets defeated Community 39-26 and the Rockets took down top seed Eagleville 34-24 for a Westwood sweep of the DRVC Basketball Championships.

Westwood Lady Rockets: 39, Community Viqueens: 26

After besting #2 seed Cascade in the semi finals, the Westwood Lady Rockets needed only one more win over the Community Viqueens for a conference championship.

The Viqueens had the edge in the first quarter of play, outscoring Westwood 9-6, but the Lady Rockets fought back in the second quarter, outscoring Community 14-6 for a 20-15 halftime lead.

Westwood’s defense took control in the third quarter, as the Lady Rockets held the Viqueens to just four points to build up a 33-19 lead heading into the fourth.

Community would outscore Westwood 7-6 in the fourth, but the Lady Rockets held on to capture the DRVC Championship, 39-26.

“We had some pretty intense practices before the tournament,” said Lady Rockets Coach Shala Ferrell. “I knew we were going to have to make some adjustments heading into the tournament and I held it off until the last minute, but I just really want to say that our eighth graders did such a good job. They were open to my changes in the last week, we had those intense practices and it paid off.”

After struggling to win games last season, Coach Ferrell believes that her team’s ability to change and instill a belief in themselves put them in a winning position this year.

“They’re good kids,” she said. “If you have open-minded kids on your team, it’s going to pay off in the end. Encouraging them not to give up, keep an open mindset, believe in themselves and believe in their teammates is what, I believe, carried us through this past week.”

The Westwood Lady Rockets end 2024 with a combined regular season and tournament record of 12-7 and a 9-4 record against conference opponents.

In postseason awards, Jerzee Ferrell and Amelia Johnson were named to the DRVC All-Conference Team with Carter Trail, Maci Jackson and Zallona Dillard all being named to the All-Tournament Team.

Box Score: #4 Westwood Lady Rockets (39) Carter Trail 11, Jerzee Ferrell 11, Maci Jackson 6, Amelia Johnson 6, Mia Ahlijah 3, Zallona Dillard 2.

#3 Community Viqueens (26) Bella Martin 7, Zelda Moore 6, Zaleigh White 6, Haydee Moore 5, Gracie Taylor 2.

Westwood Rockets: 34, Eagleville Eagles: 24

After laying claim to the DRVC Championship last year, the Westwood Rockets needed a victory over top seed Eagleville if they wanted to defend their crown this year. 

The first half was a back and forth affair with Westwood outscoring Eagleville 9-6 in the first quarter and Eagleville outscoring Westwood 9-6 in the second to knot the score at 15-15 through two quarters of play.

The Rockets regained control in the third, outscoring the Eagles 8-4 to grab a 23-19 lead heading into the fourth.

Westwood’s defense continued to ground the Eagles in the fourth, outscoring Eagleville 11-5 to capture the DRVC Title for the second year in a row.

“I’m extremely proud of these guys,” said Rockets Coach Anita Gannon. “Before the game, I told them that it was do or die time. I also told them that if we fix the mistakes we make and we work on the little things, then we will be successful and that’s what they did.”

Even after losing some prolific players like Mason Troxler, Zeke Jones and Brady Christian among others from last year’s championship-winning squad, Coach Gannon is proud of the way her team came together this year.

“Before the year started, I told them that they had some big shoes to fill,” she said. “We knew we wanted to be back in this championship game, and I knew that if they believed in themselves, nobody could stop them and they could come out on top again.”

The Rockets finish the year with an 11-8 overall record and 9-4 record against conference opponents.

In the postseason awards, Isaiah Buchanan and Kingslee Miller were named to the All-Conference team with Buchanan also making the All-Tournament team alongside teammates Trenton Tanner and Brock Christian.

Box Score: #3 Westwood Rockets (34) Isaiah Buchanan 14, Trenton Tanner 9, Kingslee Miller 6, Kayden Campbell 3, Levi Jordan 2.

#1 Eagleville Eagles (24) Mason Nichols 12, Barrett Hudson 9, Brantley Cole 3.