It looked for a while that Iola-Scandinavia’s girls’ basketball team might be able to hang with Weyauwega-Fremont.
The teams went into the second quarter of their Central Wisconsin 8 Conference matchup Jan. 8 tied at 15-15, but W-F held the Thunderbirds to seven points in each of the next three quarters and held on for a 50-36 win.
The Indians also handed Shiocton a 54-34 defeat Jan. 11.
W-F 50, I-S 36
WEYAUWEGA – The Indians led 30-22 at halftime and 41-29 after three quarters before outscoring the T-Birds 9-7 over the final eight minutes.
“We did a very good job on Jane Oligney,” W-F coach Joe Titus said. “We knew she was a big part of their offense and holding her to three points was big for us. Unfortunately, we gave up more open three looks than we wanted. They are a well-coached team and it was all we could do get past them.”
Morgan Wilson and Jenni Hellwig, led W-F with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Natalie Gauerke led the T-Birds with 14, with nine of them coming on her three three-pointers. Brooke Phillips chipped in with nine.
W-F 54, Shiocton 34
SHIOCTON – W-F led 10-7 after one quarter, 29-9 at halftime and 41-22 after three quarters.
Hellwig and Wilson led the Indians with 16 and 15 points, respectively, while Brittany Schmidt led Shiocton with nine.
“I thought the first half was one of our best of the season,” Titus said. “Giving up only two free throws in the second quarter was a testament to our first-half defensive effort. I was concerned about (Jonalee) Elliott, but Morgan and Jenni held her to two points the entire game. We had some perimeter breakdowns in the second half but other than that we looked very good.
“Morgan and Jenni found each other very well and Macey (Schoenick) did a great job drawing defenders and dumping down,” he said. “Maggie (Knecht) and Mariah (Hulbert) had very solid games and Alyssa (Goode) and Karissa (Akey) gave us 11 points off the bench.”
The Indians will play at Manawa at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18. W-F will then host a pair of ranked teams. Amherst, currently sharing the No. 1 ranking in Division 4 with Algoma, will be in Weyauwega Tuesday, Jan. 22, while Wittenberg-Birnamwood, ranked No. 6 this week in Division 3, will head to Weyauwega Thursday, Jan. 24. Both teams defeated the Indians earlier this season.