By Jennifer Cesarz
CORRESPONDENT
The Delavan-Darien High School girls’ basketball team picked up its first win of the season last week with a last-second 49-46 win over
Delavan-Darien High School’s Lauren Kuntz goes for a rebound in the girls’ win over Big Foot on Saturday.
Kenosha Bradford.
Continuing their streak, the Comets made it 2-0 for the week with a lopsided 59-39 win over Big Foot on Saturday.
“It was a great week for us, especially with it being finals week,” D-DHS head coach Hank Johnson said. “The girls have worked hard since the start of the season and have improved each day. It’s great to see them get rewarded with some wins.”
Against Kenosha Bradford on Thursday, the Comets had to battle back from a 26-20 halftime deficit to get the last-second win.
In the third quarter, the Comets outscored Bradford 16-11, but still found themselves down one at the end of the quarter at 37-36.
In the fourth quarter, the game continued to be a back-and-forth battle, and the teams were in a deadlock at 46-46 with a minute left to play in the game.
After a time out, the Comets had possession of the ball and executed a perfect game plan, passing the ball and working time off the clock until Kylie Collins found Lauren Kuntz alone under the basket and Kuntz scored, giving the Comets the 48-46 lead with just over 20 seconds left in the game.
Bradford turned the ball over on its last-chance attempt to tie it up, and Collins made a free throw to end the game, lifting the Comets to the 49-46 win.
“In the Bradford game we did a good job of keeping the game close and then staying composed to win at the end,” Johnson said. “I give the girls a lot of credit in the fourth for knocking down some big free throws to seal the game.”
Collins paced the Comets with 13 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
Kuntz recorded a double-double, scoring 11 points while getting 10 rebounds.
Hayley Severson added 10 points and eight rebounds, Chloe Nieuwenhuis had seven points and Avery Hembrook added five.
Saturday against Big Foot, the Comets used their defense in the second half to win the game only giving up nine second-half points, cruising to a 59-39 victory.
With four minutes left in the third quarter, Collins scored to give the Comets the 37-35 lead. The Comets never looked back, outscoring the Chiefs 19-8 in the third quarter and 8-1 in the fourth for the win.
I thought we came out a little sluggish on defense giving up 30 points in the first half,” Johnson said. “However, we came out and did a great job in the second only giving up nine points.”
Collins had 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead the Comets.
Kuntz added eight points and six rebounds, and Amanda McLernon also had eight points.
Jennah Speth added six points, and Chloe Nieuwenhuis had five points and six rebounds.
Tonight the Comets will have a chance at their first Southern Lakes Conference win when they travel to Westosha Central for a 7 p.m. game.
Tuesday the Comets host Elkhorn at 7 p.m.
“This should give us some confidence going into the second part of the season,” Johnson said.
