The short-handed Shawano Community High School girls basketball team did everything it needed to down the stretch Tuesday to secure a victory over the visiting Bonduel Bears.
Trailing by 9 points in the middle of the second half when sophomore Brandi Gueths fouled out, the Hawks were down to only seven players but used an 11-0 run over two minutes to take control of the game for a 66-54 victory.
Gueths, one of only two Shawano underclassmen suited up for the game, fouled out at the 12:20 mark of the second half while trying to break the pressure from Bonduel junior Danee Collier.
“We’re beat up and banged up and don’t have much bench, but the eight girls that were in there gave their all in the second half, and it showed on the board what we can do if we put it all together for 18 minutes,” Shawano head coach Ryan Koenig said.
After senior guard Megan Klitzke cut the Bonduel lead to 7, Erika Dunnam made three free throws, and freshman forward Tori DePerry scored on a 3-point play off an offensive board and then hit two free throws to give Shawano a 41-40 lead that it would not give up.
Bonduel turned the ball over on its next three possessions, with the second one leading to Morgan Klitzke’s first 3-pointer of the game, for a 44-40 lead.
The Bears continuously tried to establish the inside game with Taylor Weier, who averages 13 points per game and finished with 14 Tuesday.
“We were trying to get the ball to Taylor (Weier) in the post,” Bonduel head coach Jerry Reinke said. “They played some pretty good defense, some pretty good help defense on her. The big stayed behind her and got help from the wings, making her kick it out. They did a nice job defensively.”
The game did not start off well for Shawano, which had two turnovers and trailed 4-0 in the first minute of the game. Koenig inserted DePerry, who responded with the Hawks’ first 4 points.
After eight turnovers in the first three minutes, Weier’s 3-point play gave the Bears an 11-4 advantage.
Bonduel would go on to shoot 16 of 21 from the free-throw line in the first half as it built a 31-23 lead at the break.
“Early on, when we were a little more aggressive, we did get them in foul trouble. They were actually playing short-handed with a short bench,” Reinke said. “Their zone slowed us down a little bit in the second half, and we just didn’t attack the rim in the second half.”
Hayley Sorenson scored 10 points for the Bears, who shot 66 percent from the line (22 of 33).
The Hawks were 29 for 41 from the free-throw line, including 20 of 29 in the second half.
“You’ve got to close out games,” Koenig said. “It comes down to the free-throw line. We did a great job of getting to the bonus before them. That was a key.”
DePerry scored 14 points to lead Shawano. Morgan Klitzke added 12 points. Gueths posted 10. Megan Klitzke and Sara Hokenstad each had 9-point efforts for the Hawks.
The Bears had won the three meetings between the teams over the past four years, winning by a combined margin of 13 points.
“It’s a nice little thing for our fans and our students, so we like doing it,” Koenig said of playing Bonduel. “To come out ahead for the first time, it’s a good feeling.”
Bonduel (54)
Collier 1 0-2 2, H. Sorenson 4 2-2 10, E. Sorenson 4 1-3 9, Schmidt 2 3-3 7, Weier 4 6-7 14, Pues 1 3-6 5, Pedersen 0 6-8 6, Wudtke 0 1-2 1.
Shawano (66)
Monfils 2 0-0 5, Mo. Klitzke 4 2-4 12, Me. Klitzke 2 5-8 9, To. DePerry 3 8-11 14, Hokenstad 3 3-4 9, Young 0 2-2 2, Gueths 2 6-8 10, Dunnam 1 3-4 5.
Bonduel 31 23 — 54
Shawano 23 43 — 66
Categories
