Truckers come up short at home
By Greg Seubert
It looked at first like the Clintonville girls’ basketball team was well on its way to its first win of the season.
The Truckers used a 6-0 run at the end of the first half to take a 27-18 lead over Waupaca Dec. 3 in a matchup of North Eastern Conference teams.
The second half, however, belonged to the Comets and they returned home with a 56-46 win.
Waupaca opened the second half with a 24-4 run that turned a nine-point deficit into a 42-31 lead.
Not only did the Comets outscore the home team 38-19 in the second half, they did it without their coach and played most of the half with five players.
Olivia Levine fouled out late in the first half, which led to coach Payton Mix being ejected from the game.
Another starter, Emma O’Keefe, left the game in the second half with an injury and Waupaca, which has only seven players on its varsity roster, finished the game with the remaining five players.
Seattle Lettau’s basket gave the Comets their biggest lead at 48-33 and the Truckers never got any closer than nine points the rest of the way.
“What a crazy night,” Clintonville coach Nick Yaeger said. “We lost the game, but I thought we overall played better than the other night. We just ran out of gas and Waupaca played really well in the second half and I give them credit.
“We played a great first half,” he added. “Now, we need to learn how to play a whole game.”
Finley Charapata and Lettau led the Comets with 15 and 12 points, respectively, while Clintonville’s Selina Torrez led all scorers with 19.
The two teams are scheduled to meet again Monday, Jan. 18, at Waupaca High School.