The Wild Rose Ladycats were not without a challenge from the Princeton/Green Lake Lady Tigersharks, but still came out with a 51-46 win in girls’ hoops on Feb. 14.
“We didn’t expect that from Princeton/Green Lake,” pointed out Wild Rose Head Coach Brett Brooks. “They played very well. We had to gut it out. We controlled the tempo later on after being out of position all day. The girls did a nice job finding a way to get to the basket and win.”
It was a tight matchup throughout a good part of the game.
Wild Rose possessed a 4-point lead late in the first half of play led by Cali Havlovitz’s 12 points, going 4-4 at the free throw line. Her sister Laney was close behind with 10 points which featured two 3-point goals and 2 of 2 free throws. Princeton/Green Lake cut the deficit in half as Ava Kuklinski led the visitors with 18 points including 2 of 3 free throws. Erin Pulice contributed 4 points, but was just 2-6 at the free throw line, and Gracey Bartol contributed a 3.
Mya Bahr helped to keep the hosts in front 27-25 by halftime with 5 points, beginning with a 3-point shot. The Ladycats committed 7 fouls in the first half while the Lady Tigersharks committed 5.
Wild Rose was first to score in the second half with free throws from Bahr, but P/GL came right back to close within 1 at 28-27. C. Havlovitz put the hosts back up, 30-27, but Sophie Buslaff closed the gap within 1 a couple minutes later for the visitors. Kuklinski ended up giving the Lady Tigersharks a 31-30 lead with 2 free throws right afterward, adding to her earlier bucket.
The Ladycats retook the lead 33-31 as C. Havlovitz was fouled on a basket with 12:19 remaining on the clock, but the score was tied only seconds later. L. Havlovitz put Wild Rose back up 38-33 with 5 points, ending with a 3-point shot. C. Havlovitz extended the lead, 40-33, with a bucket.
Clare Williams went 2-2 for a 42-34 advantage as a technical foul was called on the visitors. Princeton/Green Lake cut the deficit, 42-39, with a 3 from Buslaff. It became a fight to the finish.
Emica Marquez sank a 3-pointer to give the hosts a 45-39 lead, only to have Buslaff close the gap with 2 free throws. C. Havlovitz extended the Ladycats’ lead back out to 6. The Lady Tigersharks were back within 3 a couple more times as the clock wound down, but Gracie Thompson and Marquez made sure the visitors wouldn’t get any closer with final scores for Wild Rose to seal a 51-46 victory, despite the hosts committing 10 fouls to the visitors’ 7.
Cali Havlovitz led the six Wild Rose scorers with 21 points, hitting 5 of 7 free throws. Laney Havlovitz added 15 points with three 3’s and 2 of 2 free throws.
The hosts recorded 10 of 15 free throws, five 3-point goals, and 17 fouls.
Ava Kuklinski led the six Princeton/Green Lake scorers with 23 points with 5 of 10 free throws. Erin Pulice and Sophie Buslaff each gathered 8 points, with Buslaff hitting 3 of 5 free throws and a 3-pointer. Gracey Bartol contributed a 3-point goal.
The visitors recorded 10 of 23 free throws, two 3-point goals, and 12 fouls.
