Waupaca’s girls’ basketball team snapped a two-game Eastern Valley Conference losing streak Feb. 24 with a road win at Clintonville.
The Comets handed the Truckers a 45-31 defeat. Waupaca also dropped recent EVC games to Ripon and Freedom.
Waupaca 45, Clintonville 31
CLINTONVILLE – A 16-4 advantage in the third quarter helped the Comets pull away from the Truckers.
Waupaca led 13-5 after one quarter, 21-7 at halftime and 37-21 after three quarters.
“It’s a great win for this group,” co-coach Laine Lazers said. “Everyone contributed and that’s something we’ve been looking for all season long.”
One of those players coming up big was freshman Victoria Nowak, who came off of the bench to lead all scorers with 11 points and also finished in double figures in rebounds with 13.
“She’s really picked her game up,” Lazers said. “She came up to me before the game and said, ‘Coach, I’m pumped tonight, I really want to play.’ She brought it tonight, she really did. We gave her a lot of minutes on the floor and she was able to show what she can do.”
Sierra Patzke chipped in with 10 points for the Comets, while Caitlin Carpenter led Clintonville with nine.
Ripon 33, Waupaca 29
WAUPACA – Waupaca outscored the Tigers 15-2 in the third quarter Feb. 21, but Ripon outscored the Comets 12-8 over the final eight minutes.
The Tigers led 7-4 after one quarter and 19-6 at halftime, but the teams went into the fourth quarter tied at 21-21.
Nowak and Josee Waitrovich led Waupaca with six points each, while Marissa Bunge and Ruth Schroeder scored 10 each to lead Ripon.
Freedom 40, Waupaca 32
WAUPACA – Freedom trailed 21-16 at halftime Feb. 18, but outscored Waupaca 24-11 in the second half.
Katie Barlow and Morgan Smith led Waupaca with 10 and nine points, respectively, while Maycee Kroening led Freedom with 10.
Waupaca will wrap up the regular season at 7:15 tonight (Thursday, Feb. 27) at Appleton Xavier.
The Comets have a bye in the first round of the state tournament and will travel to Hortonville at 7 p.m. Friday, March 7, for a Division 2 regional semifinal. The Comets are seeded third, while the Polar Bears are a No. 2 seed. The winner will play at top-seeded New London or host No. 4 Antigo or No. 5 Shawano at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 8, for a regional championship.