By Dan Truttschel
Sports Correspondent
There was plenty for Wilmot girls basketball coach Keiya Square to like Jan. 30 at Waterford.
His team didn’t quite do enough to get the win, but the Panthers gave the Southern Lakes Conference’s second-place squad all it could handle.
Wilmot trailed by just two points in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get over the hump in a 53-45 setback. The loss dropped the Panthers to 8-8 overall and 5-4 in the SLC.
Waterford entered play this week just one game behind unbeaten Union Grove at 8-1 in the SLC standings.
“They shot the ball really well in the first half and we hung in there,” Square said. “We battled back, stuck in there, but we couldn’t finish around the rim and knock down shots when we needed them.”
Wilmot made just nine of 27 shots from inside the paint and three of 25 from behind the 3-point arc – neither are ingredients for success, Square said.
“We definitely did not shoot it well,” he said.
Waterford broke a 13-13 tie after the first quarter with a 19-9 second period. The Panthers cut the deficit to eight points heading into the fourth quarter before its rally fell short.
Rachel Szyldowski led the way with 16 points, followed by Olivia Klahs with 12.
Even in defeat, Square said there were positives to build from.
“We battled,” he said. “We didn’t get a ton of (offense) out of our traps, but in the half court, I thought we played really well.
“Madison Blair for them is averaging 19 points in conference and she only had 11, so the girls that played on her, Haylee Martin, Olivia (Klahs) and all of our help-side defense did a really good job.”
Blair, a three-sport standout, surpassed the 1,000-point plateau during the fourth quarter Friday night.
She is a handful to defend, Square said.
“She can do everything,” he said. “She’s a 6-foot guard who can go right, left, attack the basket and finish, shoot the three when she’s open, makes her free throws. She’s long and athletic and is just kind of the total package for them.”
Wilmot opened its week with a 43-36 non-conference win Jan. 27 at Shoreland Lutheran.
The Panthers led 27-16 after the first half and never looked back.
Marnie Destree led the way with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists, followed by Szyldowski with nine points and nine rebounds. Sam Kirk added eight points, four rebounds and four assists.
“We played pretty well,” Square said. “We had a lot of kids for us who stepped up and played well.”
Wilmot hosted Westosha Central Tuesday night and travels to Burlington Friday for a 7 p.m. SLC contest with the Demons.
Square wants to see his team begin to turn the corner offensively this week, but to do that, the Panthers need to keep taking care of business defensively.
“Our pressure has been good,” he said. “We haven’t been able to get a lot of turnovers where we can turn those into points, and that’s something we need to be able to do this week.
“(The other key) is just making shots. I think we’ve had 60 shots the last two games, and only scoring in the 40s isn’t ideal. If we can get those jump shots to start falling and continue to play the way we have, we’ll be in good shape.”