Jeremy Ratliff
Reporter
The Bluejay girls basketball team has put up several impressive performances this season, but none as stellar as last Tuesday’s 67-62 triumph over 7th-ranked Janesville Craig (D1) in the Holiday Optimist Classic tournament hosted by Craig.
The girls stumbled in Wednesday’s championship game with 8th-rated Stoughton (D2), falling 62-31.
“Janesville Craig was a huge win for us,” head coach Ross Reincke said. “The girls played very well. We were up 17-3 at one point in the first half and down by four, twice in the second half, then went on a 7-0 run to win it.
“Emily Page did a phenomenal job running the offense and Maddix (Bonnell) was consistent as always. Patience Pyan had a huge game with 12 points in the second half alone.”
The Jays jockeyed with the kitties early before grabbing a 31-26 edge at intermission. The second half showed little change as the dogfight resulted in both teams tying at 37 points, but the ladies collecting the upset win.
MRL: 31 – 36 – 67
JCG: 26 – 36 – 62
Statistics: Patience Pyan (17p, 6r); Bonnell (15p, 4r); Anna Finnell (14p, 6r).
Tangle for the title
Wednesday’s tangle with the Vikings wouldn’t prove quite as competitive as Stoughton took off to a commanding 37-14 start. The Jays narrowed the gap a bit in the second half, but not quite enough as the Vikings held a 25-17 advantage for the win.
“Stoughton was tough,” Reincke said.
“They’re another ranked team, long and athletic. They got some shots in on us and it kinda spiraled away in a hurry. But the girls played hard through the end. After the game we talked about how we want to keep working hard to get better and make this a special season.”
MRL: 14 – 17 – 31
STN: 37 – 25 – 62
Bonnell (10p, 6r, 3a); Lindsey Casper (6p); Finell (4p); Chelsey LaMonica (4p, 4r).