By Kevin Cunningham
Correspondent
There were only so many ways Delavan-Darien High School’s girls basketball team could have gone last week. Entering at 7-7, two games were on the slate, both on the road.
Continuing play at .500, falling behind thanks to two games on the road could have ensued, or mustering out conference road wins could help boost the Comets’ positioning within the Southern Lakes Conference standings.
Both games were wins. The first came on Jan. 26 against Westosha Central, a team near the bottom of the SLC. Delavan-Darien bested Westosha Central in both halves, by five in the first and 11 in the second, leading to its 63-47 victory.
The Comets had three scorers nearly total what Westosha Central scored throughout the game, with 46. Jennah Speth led the way inside with 16, and Kenna Timmerman and Kat Lopez added 15 apiece.
Speth and Timmerman were the team’s leading rebounders with seven each. Lopez had six assists and three steals on top of her 15 points. As a team, despite the win, the Comets recorded 13 assists compared to its 24 turnovers.
After the not-so-perfect win came a game against Union Grove three days later. Union Grove had its home fans behind them and was 13-3 overall, going 8-1 in SLC play before the contest against Delavan-Darien.
The records might have pointed in Union Grove’s direction, but the first half didn’t turn out that way. Delavan-Darien ran out and had a 37-21 lead going into halftime.
In the second half, Union Grove scored 37 points of its own. For the Comets, though, the 24 points it retaliated with proved to be enough, leading to the 61-58 win.
Only seven Comets played in the game, something rarely seen this season under new head coach, Jose Lopez. Six of the seven who played scored, and Speth, Timmerman and Kat Lopez were big contributors once again.
The trio combined to score 43 of the team’s 61 points, with Timmerman scoring 15 and Speth and Kat Lopez adding 14 apiece this time. The key statistic in the game might have come from the free throw line, as the Comets combined to go 23-of-38 compared to Union Grove’s 6-of-7.
Alongside Timmerman’s 15 points came a game-high 14 rebounds. Jaida Speth added eight rebounds, as did Kat Lopez. As a team in the game, its turnover total went way over its assist total, 25-9.
Union Grove’s 28 personal fouls proved to be the difference, as two girls fouled out and another two had four fouls by the end of the game. Union Grove also recorded 16 steals in the contest, compared to Delavan-Darien’s seven.
After defeating Union Grove, the Comets are now 9-7 this season with a 6-4 record in SLC play. The 6-4 record has the team in fourth place in the conference standings before going up against Big Foot Monday.
The team was also scheduled to play East Troy at home on Tuesday.
East Troy marked the second of a back-to-back against non-conference opponents, and Big Foot had a 13-4 record on the season and a 10-2 record in Rock Valley Conference play coming into Monday’s game.
