Badger girls basketball gets back on track with win over Delavan-Darien

After a narrow three-point loss to Burlington on Tuesday, the Lake Geneva Badgers girls basketball team rebounded on Thursday, December 8 with strong defense and clutch shooting to defeat Southern Lakes conference opponent Delavan-Darien (3rd-3rd). -4). , 1-2) with a final score of 58-44.

Badger now moves to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Southern Lakes Conference.

“It was a great team win,” said Steve Deering, Badger girls’ head basketball coach. “I think our defense won. They (Delavan-Darien) had two great players and we had to put up a wall to stop them and the girls did it.”

Badger junior Lillian Villareal opened the scoring to start the game for the Badgers with a layup that was quickly followed by a 3-point shot from sophomore Ashlin Nottestad before Delavan-Darien could get on the board. After the bucket by the Comets, sophomore Payton Hayes got a layup and Nottestad quickly blew their second 3-pointer to make it a 10-2 ball game.

Later in the first half, while Badger held the lead throughout, the Comets came close to three and held them tight. But a perfect give-and-go pass from Nottestad to Molly Deering as a sophomore led to a 7-0 run by the Badgers, capped by a layup by junior Makayla Hayes just before the buzzer to end with a 31-21 – Taking the lead at half time.

The lead extended to 14 for the Badgers to open the second half on the backs of the Hayes sisters, with Payton Hayes releasing a 3-pointer off the top of the key to start and Makala Hayes converting a layup.

After a 3-point match by Molly Deering from the corner to extend it to 40-25, the Comets went on a 10-0 run. That Badger lead shrank further to three after a bucket from Delavan-Darien senior guard Rylee Crull to make it a 42-39 game by just over six minutes.

But in the second half, it was déjà vu for the Badgers again. Just as Delavan-Darien got within a three-point lead before Badger scored in the first round, they did it again in the final six minutes of the game, keeping Crull and the Comet offense at bay. Makayla Hayes hit with two free throws, Nottestad hit her third 3-pointer of the game, Villarreal used a skillful crossover into the lane around a Delavan-Darien defender to set up a layup and Molly Deering daggered a 3-pointer and converted on a layup before Delavan-Darien called a time-out.

What was a slim three-point lead with just over six minutes to play was suddenly a 54-39 lead for Badger with three minutes left in the game.

In those final three minutes, Nottestad scored with two free throws and in the second game Delaney Deering crotched elder Kyleigh Freeman to the basket for an easy layup to seal a 14-point win and the Badgers’ fourth win of the season

“When we made mistakes, we reacted and everything was fine,” said Steve Deering. “We played 12-14 and it was good to get back on track. That (the Burlington loss) still gnaws at us, but we can play them again, which is good. But it’s always fun to win at home.”

Badger will now embark on a three-game road trip on Tuesday, December 13, beginning in Union Grove.

Molly Deering and Ashlin Nottestad each had 13 points, while Makayla Hayes was also in double digits with 11. Villarreal had eight, Payton Hayes had five, newcomer Autumn Carr had three and Freeman added two.

Crull led the Comets with 13 points. Sophomore Jaelyn Logteman had 11 and Addison Stallings had 10. Seniors Amelia Gonzalez finished with three and Anna Quartucci with two.

Results of the Southern Lakes Conference

Union Grove (5-1, 2-0) 67, Waterford (2-5, 0-3) 32.

Wilmot (3-3, 1-2) 56, Burlington (6-1, 2-1) 54.

Elkhorn (5-1, 2-1) 51, Westosha Central (2-5, 1-2) 37.