GIRLS BASKETBALL: Wilmot edges Jefferson in WIAA regional

Panthers’ senior Delaney Sjong, shown here against Delavan-Darien, scored a team-leading 12 points in Wilmot’s win against Jefferson Friday (Courtesy of Nick Parisi).

Panthers host No. 3 McFarland Saturday

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

Behind an 11-0 run, and some patience, No. 2 seed Wilmot Union High School edged visiting Jefferson 56-47 in Friday’s WIAA Division 2 girls basketball regional semifinal.

With the victory, the Panthers welcome No. 3 McFarland on Saturday, scheduled for 7 p.m.

The win, however, did not come easy after the Panthers, who faced a 13-point first half deficit, eventually took the contest into halftime down 33-30.

According to 5-foot-10 Panthers’ senior Delaney Sjong, the team started in a mental funk, but found the energy they needed.

“We just weren’t playing in rhythm, we weren’t getting the shots that we wanted,” said Sjong, who scored a team-leading 12 points and pulled in eight rebounds. “It was more like, we were kind of beating ourselves in a way.”

Panthers’ coach Keiya Square cited Jefferson’s zone defense as one of the primary contributors to his team’s slow start.

“They came out with a zone, in the last couple of weeks we struggled with the zone, and we talked about it,” he said.

After some adjustments, including patience, the Panthers found its rhythm in the middle of the first half.

“Our energy was a little bit higher by the middle of the first half” said Sjong, who credited her team for its perseverance.

“I am just really proud of our team the way we came back.”

The Panthers’ energy intensified in the second half, when they produced an 11-0 run, sparked by a freshman Julia Hickey 3-pointer.

Following Hickey’s 3-pointer, which narrowed Jefferson’s lead to 42-41, Sjong knocked in the the eventual game-winning bucket with 9:45 left of regulation.

Ahead by one-point, Sjong and 5-11 junior Morgan Zenon took control of the paint, knocking in six combined points to give the Panthers a 49-42 edge.

Zenon finished with 10 points and had six rebounds.

Courtesy of an Eagles’ switch to a 2-3 defense, Wilmot found an opportunity to stall on the offensive end, according to Square.

“When we got the lead, they went to the 2-3,” he said. “We were up by six or seven, there was no reason to attack them.”

Defensively, the Panthers held No. 7 Jefferson to five points and countered with seven points, including five from senior McKenna Stanek, in the last five minutes of the contest to secure Friday’s win.

The 5-2 Stanek finished with 11 points, contributed two assists and had a steal.

Senior Devin Coleman, a 5-6 guard, produced five rebounds, four assists and led the Panthers with five steals.

Jefferson’s Callie Morrison scored a game-high 14 points and collected nine rebounds.

The Eagles finished their season 9-15 overall.

Up next:
WHAT: WIAA Division 2 Regional Final
WHERE: Wilmot Union High School
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday
MATCHUP:
Wilmot (15-7, 11-3 Southern Lakes Conference, 2nd place)
McFarland (18-5, 14-2 Rock Valley Conference – North, 2nd place)
COMMON OPPONENT: In the regular season, Whitewater beat Wilmot in non conference play and handed McFarland its only two RVC-North losses.


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