It was ‘do over’ week for the Lady Wolves basketball team as they started the second round in CWC-8 play.
The girls’ repeated their sweep of their first two conference opponents ending their six game losing streak.
Last Tuesday, they defeated Stevens Point Pacelli by a score of 44-27 and last Friday night they defeated neighborhood rival Iola-Scandinavia by a score of 28-21.
The Lady Wolves’ victories can be accredited to getting key plays from their bench, and their ability to cut down on their turnovers.
Players coming off the bench the past three games included Katrina Wilz, Caryn Frazier, Mary Kay Heinz and Kali Draeger. Manawa turned the ball over 18 times against the Cardinals and Thunderbirds compared to over 30 the past three games. The Manawa reserves contributed in the scoring column, rebounding, and playing good team defense.
Victory over Pacelli
First quarter action against Pacelli saw three lead changes and one tie. Senior MaKayla Johnson’s offensive rebound basket gave Manwa the lead for good at 8-6, with only 44 seconds to play. Senior Lana Draska tipped in the final shot of the quarter giving Manawa a four-point lead at 10-6.
With Pacelli in a 2-3 zone and person-to-person defense and Manawa mixing a 2-3 zone 1-3-1 zone and person to person defense, the game slowed to a snail’s pace.
Pacelli outscored the Lady Wolves during the second quarter 6-5 with all six points coming from the free throw line. The Cardinals managed only one field goal during the first half, with that coming with 4:41 left in the first quarter. They totaled seven field goals during the entire game.
Pacelli found themselves within one at 16-15 with 5:29 left in the third quarter. Junior Krista Braun totaled six of Manawa’s next points. Katrina Wilz’s basket off Manawa’s inbound play opened up the largest lead of the night at 24-18. That lead grew even larger as Senior Caryn Frazier upped the lead to 28-20 with one minute to play.
The Lady Wolves turned up the defense to open the final quarter as their 1-3-1 half court trap forced the Cardinals into six turnovers. Manawa took advantage of the turnovers. Senior Mary Kay Heinz capped a 12-0 run with a basket and two free throws and the Lady Wolves put the game out of reach at 40-22 with 3:14 to go. Pacelli finally ended our run on Makenzy Kuckkuhn’s basket with 2:16 left to play.
Braun would take game honors with ten and Kali Draeger added eight for Manawa.
Kuckkuhn and Rice led the Cardinals with five each.
Victory over T-Birds
The Lady T-birds enjoyed leads of 2-0 and 4-2 during the first quarter of play only to see the Lady Wolves respond with a basket.
Iola sophomore Lidia Frias’ basket with 43 seconds regained the lead for the Lady T-Birds going into the second quarter.
Senior Caryn Frazier drained an 18-foot jumper to tie the score at six with 5:51 left until halftime.
Frias answered that with a three-point play giving them the largest lead of the night at 9-6.
Frazier’s free throw and senior Makayla Johnson’s basket tied the game up at nine with 4:33 left until halftime. That would be the final score of the half as the Lady Wolves remained in their zone and the Lady T-Birds held onto the ball running out the clock. Both teams combined for eight field goals during the first half.
Senior Tracy Wildenberg’s basket off an inbound play regained the lead at 11-9 with 7:17 left in the third. Following Morgan Oppor’s basket to tie the game, Manawa went on a 6-0 run to open the largest lead of the game at 17-11. junior Kali Draeger’s three capped the run with 1:41 left. Draeger’s three pointers sparked a 7-0 run and we held a 28-15 lead with just two minutes to play. Junior Elle Maus drained two three pointers to finish the game but it was to-little-to late.
Krista Braun led Manawa with 7 and Draeger added 6. In all, 13 of 28 points came off the bench.
The Lady Wolves upped their season mark to 6-8 and 4-5 in league play.