The defensive effort was there for the Waupaca girls’ basketball game.
Unfortunately for the Comets, however, the shooting percentage wasn’t.
Waupaca hit only 11 of 48 shots – 23 percent – Jan. 18 in a 40-34 Eastern Valley Conference loss to Little Chute, It was the fourth straight loss for the Comets, who also fell to Appleton Xavier Jan. 14.
Little Chute 40, Waupaca 34
WAUPACA – The Mustangs came into the game near the top of the EVC standings, but struggled at times.
Little Chute led 18-12 after one quarter and led 22-16 at halftime after each team scored only four points in the second quarter.
The Mustangs outscored the Comets 10-9 in the third quarter, but Waupaca had a 9-8 advantage over the final eight minutes.
An 0-13 drought that began late in the third quarter and continued into the fourth quarter turned out to be the difference in the game, according to coach Brandon Temperly.
“I felt that we got into the spots we needed to, we were in control of the basketball when it was in our hands and the girls were really looking to find each other,” he said. “We did a lot of good things, we just couldn’t get that ball to go in the basket tonight. That was a struggle.
“Overall, I was proud of the effort of the girls,” he added. “It’s tough to walk away here and not get the win. We played pretty good basketball and good defense for most of the game. We felt with their length that they were going to be able to contest some outside shots, so I wanted us to slide their feet and get to the rim as much as possible. I would’ve liked to see us go even more. There are opportunities out there. We took them for the most part, but I want to see more of it.”
Emily Williams shared scoring honors with Morgan Smith with seven points.
“We told her in the locker room that this was one of the best games that she’s played all year long,” Temperly said of Williams. “Defensively, she brought it. Offensively, she’s getting a lot smarter in when to move the ball to the next player. She’s not afraid to get in there and mix it up and not afraid to make things happen.”
Abbie Botz and Alaina Schepp led the Mustangs with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
“I thought our communication was really good,” Temperly said. “We had struggled in the past where we tried to switch defenses. Four girls would know exactly what we were doing and one girl would forget. I didn’t see that tonight.”
Xavier 57, Waupaca 27
APPLETON – Xavier outscored Waupaca 25-3 in the third quarter after leading 10-2 after one quarter and 22-13 at halftime.
No one in the game finished in double figures. Mikaila Johnson led Waupaca with eight points, while Erin Powers, Michaela Machurick and Peyton Ufi scored nine for the Hawks.
The Comets hosted Green Bay Southwest Jan. 22 in a rescheduled nonconference game and will return to the EVC at 7:15 tonight (Thursday, Jan. 24) in Appleton against Fox Valley Lutheran. Waupaca will also host Winneconne at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday. Jan. 29.