Wilmot stays unbeaten in SLC

Lady Panthers overcome Central’s early charge

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

The Lady Panthers had the last word in a Southern Lakes Conference showdown against visiting Westosha Central Jan. 29.

Down 23-19 in the middle of the first half, Wilmot Union bounced back, courtesy of strong post play, and took a 27-25 lead into halftime and later drubbed the Lady Falcons 67-37.

Wilmot Union out rebounded the Lady Falcons 47-23, including 25-11 on offense.

Pressure in the paint keyed the Lady Panthers’ victory, according to senior Sam Kirk, who finished with six steals, 11 points and four boards.

“Offensive rebounds come from hustle, and that is a huge thing on our team,” Kirk said. “Always get the 50-50 balls, we always out hustle the other team and get extra shots.”

The Lady Panthers received several extra shots, drawing multiple fouls, which Wilmot converted 20 of 26 free throws, compared to Westosha Central’s 12-for-20.

Delaney Sjong
Delaney Sjong

Wilmot 5-foot-10 junior guard Delaney Sjong notched a double-double 13 boards and 13 points, which included 9-for-12 from the free throw line.

Westosha Central coach Jerod Boyd said the Lady Panthers’ size wore down his squad of shorter players.

“We have struggled with defensive rebounding, we are not very tall,” Boyd said. “We just get by with pure guts on our rebounds.”

With 8:47 in the first half and the Lady Panthers down 16-12, junior guard Devin Coleman buried a 3-pointer to bring it within one point, with Kirk adding a bucket to pull Wilmot ahead 17-16.

However, Westosha Central junior Colleen Nolan drew a foul on a fast break, which brought her to the free throw line, tying it at 17-17.

Recent junior varsity call-up Stephanie Dopuch then connected on a 3-pointer to give the Lady Falcons a 20-17 lead,

Wilmot junior McKenna Stanek responded with a bucket to trim it to 20-19.

Falcons’ senior Elaine Andersen, who finished with a team-leading 11 points, delivered a 3-pointer to give her squad a 23-19 with four minutes left in the first half.

The early Westosha Central rally was imperative, citing the team’s first meeting where the Lady Panthers defeated them 74-34, said Andersen.

“We came out excited, they are our rival team,” Andersen said. “This year, in our first game, we didn’t play them really well. We wanted to get revenge.”

Junior Katrina Bostanche contributed to the early Lady Falcons rally against Wilmot Friday, but the Lady Panthers prevailed.
Junior Katrina Bostanche contributed to the early Lady Falcons rally against Wilmot Friday, but the Lady Panthers prevailed.

At 3:19 in the first half, Kirk drew a foul on a fast break, and converted both of her free throws to diminish the Lady Falcons’ lead to 23-21.

Olivia Klahs, the Lady Panthers’ 5-foot-8 guard, followed up with two of her own to tie the game at 23-23 with 2:51 in the first half.

Klahs finished with 12 points and six boards.

Sjong then powered through the lane, where she was fouled, yielding two free throws to give the Lady Panthers a 25-23 edge.

Westosha Central answered, however, when junior Katrina Bostanche drove up the lane to knot the game at 25 with 1:30 left in the first.

Klahs responded with a bucket of her own to give the Lady Panthers a 27-25 lead entering halftime.


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