By Kelly O’Day

The Bluejay girls shook off the memory of a four-game losing streak by locking down a pair of GNC wins this week.

The girls crushed Tomahawk 41-11 after a 20-1 first-half start, then blasted out of the blocks again in Friday’s 45-41 triumph at Mosinee.

"We came out very strong in the first half," MHS coach Melissa Yuska said. "I was really impressed with our play during the first half. Our pressure on defense really bothered them and caused some turnovers that lead to points for us.

"On offense we were passing the ball very well, probably the best we have all season, and we were putting the ball in the basket."

Merrill turned an 11-9 lead into a 29-17 chasm by intermission on Friday. After Mosinee cut it to 34-28 through the third quarter, the Jays battled within 13-11 in the fourth to secure the 45-41 triumph.

"The second half was another story, but a win is a win and the girls stayed focused, didn’t get down on themselves and pulled out the win," Yuska said. "We kind of got beat at our own game in the second half. We weren’t able to handle their pressure very well which led to quite a few turnovers.

"We had 16 turnovers in the second half compared to 6 in the first. Sixteen is above what you hope to have in an entire game, so turning it over that much in one half was disappointing. They were able to use our turnovers to get points on the offensive end and create a close game."

A strong finish–including a 5-for-7 performance by Ellen Donner at the line–locked up the win.

"When we needed to hit shots and free throws and come down with a rebound, we were able to and that is what helped us get the win in the end," Yuska said.

Merrill improved to 5-3 in the GNC–good for 3rd place behind Medford (7-0) and Lakeland (5-2) prior to Tuesday–and 8-6 overall with the games. Mosinee was at 4-4, good for 4th.

Offerings came from: Donner (10 p, 4 r, 7 st, 4 a); Christine Chapleau (6 p, 4 r, 3 st, 7 bl); Jourdyn Mootz (9 p, 4 r); Olivia Adamec (8 p, 5 r); Eryn Grefe (8 p); Andi English (4 r).

Merrill–FG: 17; FT: 9-14 (64%). Mosinee–FG: 14; FT: 10-18 (56%).

Dominant start

The Bluejays built an 8-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and pushed it to 20-1 by half. The Jays held 10-4 and 11-6 margins in the third and fourth.

"Obviously I thought we did an excellent job defensively," Yuska said. "We have struggled all season with allowing teams only one shot on the offensive end and I though we did a better job with that against Tomahawk.

"We rebounded like we should have been rebounding all season. Tomahawk has some really athletic girls, so it was nice to see us box out and pull down those boards."

Contributions came from: English (4 p, 11 r); Grefe (4 p, 6 r); Chapleau (9 p); Aly Brandvold (9 p); (6 r, 2 bl); Mootz (5 p); Donner (4 st). For THS, they were: Anna Sudbury (6 p); Lindsay Terkelsen (3 p).

"It was one of those games where every player contributed in some way," Yuska said. "Aly Brandvold came in off the bench to give solid minutes and be one of our leading scorers for the game, Christine Chapleau hit some big three’s for us on the offensive end, Andi English pulled down 11 boards, and Megan Pehlke grabbed 5 steals on the defensive end."

Merrill–FG: 13-56 (23%); FT: 10-15 (67%). Tomahawk–FG: 5; FT: 1-9 (11%).

Merrill’s Andi English attempts a put-back in last Tuesday’s home game with Tomahawk with backing from Olivia Adamec (center) and Emma Sowieja