DE PERE (NBC 26) – The West De Pere girls basketball team cruised past Lakeland Union on Saturday morning, defeating the Thunderbirds 43-30.
The Phantoms jumped out to a 25-3 lead early in the game, with Faith Walder and Madisyn Berggren combining for 12 points.
However, Lakeland held West De Pere scoreless for the final eight minutes of the first half, ending the first half with a 6-0 run.
Lakeland started the second half well, scoring 11 points.
Alexa Rattray ended West De Pere’s scoreless scoring with a three-pointer from the top of the key.
From there, the Phantoms offense gained momentum and secured a 43-30 victory.
Senior guard Faith Walder led West De Pere with 11 points. Mia Racine, Madisyn Berggren and Ella Francois each added eight.
UW-Green Bay basketball player Kristina Ouimette led the Thunderbirds with 15 points.
West De Pere head coach Chris Abaray was pleased with the way his team defended Ouimette.
“Keeping her today at 15 was the most important thing for us,” Abaray said. “I wasn’t sure we would be able to keep her in anything – maybe her average situation. This is a kid who went to 49 a few weeks ago. It’s always difficult to protect kids like this. I’m really proud of our girls.”
Abaray credited Lakeland’s defense with making adjustments and holding his team scoreless for an extended period of time.
“They became a little tighter around the perimeter,” Abaray said. “Their size worried us a bit. It was difficult to make skip passes against them. In the second half we made better passes in midfield. And that really helped us clean it up.”
West De Pere entered this game averaging over 75 points per game. Abaray said the match taught his team patience.
“I thought in the middle of the game we started pushing a little bit and maybe we weren’t as shot-oriented,” Abaray said. “But I think the girls did a great job of adapting to the situation throughout the game. They have adjusted their zone. We had to adapt to that.”
Senior guard Faith Walder said West De Pere has found success because of its depth.
“I think it definitely comes from having a wide range of players that can knock down all three and do a lot offensively,” Walder said. “Knowing that we can all rely on each other and work together and that everyone can be hot at any time really helps us.”
West De Pere will return to action on Tuesday against New London.
