GIRLS BASKETBALL: Wilmot opens SLC slate with win

By Jason Arndt
Editor

Down 6-4 at the start of its Dec. 1 Southern Lakes Conference opener against visiting Delavan-Darien, Wilmot senior Morgan Zenon drew a 3-point play, courtesy of a bucket and Comets foul.

From there, the Panthers produced a 14-2 run to extend their lead to 21-8, and coasted the rest of the contest to come away with a 52-30 victory.

Wilmot coach Jerod Boyd, noting the Comets zone defense, said the Panthers offense eventually found a way around the Delavan-Darien scheme.

“I thought they played a tough matchup with the zone they had,” said Boyd, whose team jumped to 2-1 overall after the Dec. 1 win. “We just had to pull out a run and get going.”

As the Panthers continued to widen their lead, Boyd went to the bench, where he received contributions from senior Becca Bell and Karina Leber.

While Bell notched eight points, Leber added another seven.

“Becca Bell had some solid points for us, and Karina, who hasn’t had much playing time this season had seven points off the bench,” he said.

According to Zenon, who knocked in a team-leading 10 points, her team knew they could build a commanding lead.

“We knew that we could get ahead and have our other players come in and get a chance to play,” she said.

Zenon helped the Panthers jump to a 19-8 lead on a 3-pointer with 7:04 in the first half.

All but one Panther scored at least one point on Dec. 1.

Entering the second half, with Wilmot ahead 29-14, the Panthers coaxed Jaida Speth and Anyea Peralta into foul trouble.

Speth, who scored eight points, fouled out with 11 minutes, 10 seconds left of regulation.

With Speth on the bench, sophomore Kailea Timmerman stepped in, scoring eight of her game-high 12 points in the second half.

Overall, the Panthers made 19 field goals compared Delavan-Darien’s eight.

Monona Grove 65, Wilmot 50
Wilmot could not continue its momentum the following day, when the Panthers dropped a 65-50 decision to visiting Monona Grove, which received a game-high 21 points from McKenna Warnock.

For the Panthers, they received 17 points from Zenon and a career-high 13 points by senior Ashley Lesko.

With the loss, the Panthers are 2-2 overall, but stays 1-0 in the SLC.


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