Bulldogs win 3 of last 4
By Erik Buchinger
New London senior forward Leah Porath had another big night with a game-high 24 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 64-42 victory over Green Bay West on Thursday, Jan. 26 at home.
New London improved to 9-7 overall, including 6-3 in Bay Conference play, while Green Bay West dropped to 2-12 and 1-7 in the conference.
Porath also scored 24 points the last time these two teams played each other in a 77-36 road victory for the Bulldogs on Dec. 6.
“She looks to score,” New London head coach Troy Krause said. “When she catches the ball, she’s thinking shot and comes off screens looking to score.”
Porath improved her season average to 22.3 points per game, and Krause said it is because she is a mismatch for opposing defenses.
“She can score in so many ways,” Krause said. “What ends up happening is they’re not sure how to guard her whether they put a big girl on her or a small girl. She looks to put the ball in the basket, and she’s got the ability to do it. Because of that, her points add up pretty quickly.”
New London trailed 5-2 early in the game before going on a 12-0 run, and the Bulldogs rolled into halftime with a 35-19 lead.
New London added on in the second half, as the Bulldogs scored the first nine points after halftime.
Eight players scored for New London, including sophomore guard Kate Christian, who added 10 points for the Bulldogs. Sophomore guard Jessica Halvorson scored nine points in the victory.
Although the Bulldogs played well offensively, the defense lacked intensity, according to Krause.
“I thought offensively we did a lot of good things,” Krause said. “Defensively, we just lacked the energy that we needed to really make Green Bay West take some shots that they shouldn’t. We had a few holes here and there, but we were able to control the game throughout.”
New London has won three of its last four games to move into third place in the Bay Conference with six regular season contests to go. The Bulldogs’ next game will be against Xavier on the road Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 7:15 p.m.