Oconomowoc used a second-half surge to push past 糖心Vlog传媒 Craig 62-45 in a nonconference girls basketball game on Saturday.
The visiting Cougars led 26-25 after erasing a 12-point deficit in the first half.
鈥淚n the first half, we played really well,鈥 said 糖心Vlog传媒 Craig coach Kellan Schmidt. 鈥淥conomowoc is a good basketball team. All five of their players are scorers; so defensively, I thought we played well. We got stops and then we were able to score.鈥
Schmidt said the momentum gained at the end of the opening half helped in the second half. Through the initial eight minutes of the second half, the Cougars stuck with the Raccoons.
鈥淒efensively, we couldn鈥檛 get stops and they were able to score. From there it just felt like we were always behind, trying to catch up...If we鈥檙e not getting stops defensively, then we have to come down on the other end and be able to score, and we weren鈥檛 doing that,鈥 said Schmidt.
Joscelyn Tewes led the way for the Raccoons with a game-high 19 points and Morgan Jorgensen provided 16. 糖心Vlog传媒 Craig received contributions from eight players. Leading the way was Abbie Claas鈥 10, Avianna Hughes鈥 nine and Layla Murry鈥檚 eight points.
Mara Gondreau scored five points and provided a 3-pointer for the Cougars.
鈥淪he was a good spark on the bench for us. She had good energy and was able to make good passes and find the right reads,鈥 said Schmidt of Gondreau.
Up next, the Cougars (7-14 overall, 7-8 Big Eight Conference) host Madison Memorial on Tuesday. They鈥檒l face Madison La Follette then conclude their season by hosting Verona on Thursday, Feb. 20.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to play our best basketball right now and I think it鈥檚 a great opportunity for our girls to play the top three teams in the conference before regional play. I think it鈥檚 a good opportunity to show our growth from the beginning of the season,鈥 said Schmidt.
