Spirits were high and the crowd was wild on Jan. 22 during the girls basketball game at Wautoma High School. The Lady Hornets faced off against the Wild Rose Ladycats in a heart pounding game with the Highway 22 competitors.
Wild Rose was first to get on the board, with Arayah Elm going 2 for 2 at the line. The Ladycats continued scoring ahead of the hosts. The Lady Hornets finally made it on the board with Jaylyn Piechowski going 1 for 2 at the line, with Montana Groskreutz following up with a 2 point basket.
A 3-pointer by Brianna Buechner tied the score 6-6, which is the closest Wautoma would get to being ahead. Wild Rose’s Orria Wood brought the lead back for the Ladycats with a 3-point shot. The teams played the ball back and forth some time, but Wild Rose stayed in the lead the entire first half. Buechner ended the first half on a positive not for the Lady Hornets with a 3-point shot, ending the half 21-30 in favor of Wild Rose.
Torrance Marquez started the second half out for the Ladycats with a 2-point basket. The Lady Hornets picked up their pace in the half, with scores from Stahl, Piechowski and Groskreutz, with a score of 36-31. While the Lady Hornets were managing to slowly gain on Wild Rose’s lead, Ladycat Mya Bahr lowered their gain with a 3-point basket.
The ball was played on both sides of the court with no action for some time until a basket by Stahl brought Wautoma to 33 against Wild Rose’s 39. Free throws from both teams got additional points on the board. Wautoma was lowering Wild Rose’s lead once again, with two 2-pointers from Stahl and a 2-pointer by Alayna Panich. Wild Rose was quick to react, but both teams were still scoring back and forth. Buechner went 1 for 2 at the line with 41.9 seconds left on the clock. The final attempt by Wautoma was not enough and they lost the game with a close score of 54-53.
