Second half helps Comets, hurts Truckers

One look at the scoring by half, and it’s easy to see how the Waupaca girls’ basketball team handed Clintonville another North Eastern Conference loss.
The Comets outscored the Truckers 46-19 in the second half of a 74-42 win on Jan. 3.

Neither team led by more than nine points in the first half. Hailey Bechard’s four-point play gave the Comets a 28-19 lead with 18 seconds remaining in the half. The Truckers answered with quick baskets from Zoey Ferg and Elektra Fields to trail 28-23.

The Truckers never got any closer, as Waupaca opened the second half with a 16-2 run to take a 44-25 lead. Clintonville never got any closer to 18 points the rest of the way and led by as many as 34 points late in the game.

Bechard scored 20 of her game-high 28 points in the second half and led four Comets in double figures. Ava Widdel and Taylor Kling added 14 points each and Rossi Wehmeyer chipped in with 12.

Brianna Birling scored all 12 of her team-high points on four three-pointers, and Ferg added eight.

The Comets improved to 4-7 overall and 3-3 in conference play, and the Truckers fell to 1-10 and 1-5. The teams will meet again Friday, Feb. 7, in Clintonville. The boys’ teams will also play that night.