Boys fall in season opener against Grayslake
By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Badger High School girls basketball team beat Kettle Moraine 73-71 on Nov. 27 in Kettle Moraine on a buzzer beater by Ashlyn Welch.
In a game the Badgers were in control of most of the way, the Lasers tied it at 71 with about five seconds to play. Badger called timeout with 2.5 seconds left to set up the game-winning shot by Welch. Taryn Sproul inbounded the ball to LuAnnabelle Wieseman while Welch came across the lane from the other side of the court. Settling in the corner, Wieseman zipped a pass to Welch who calmly hit a shot that was behind the three-point arc. The referees only gave her credit for two, but it did not matter as time expired with the Badgers on top officially 73-71.
The other star of the game was Jada Moss. Back in the lineup after an ankle injury, Moss dominated inside, scoring 32 points.
The game remained close until about mid-way through the first half. Badger used a 13-3 run to turn a 12-12 game into a 10-point lead. Kettle Moraine fought back to cut the lead to 28-26 just before halftime. Badger led 32-28 at the break. Moss scored 18 first-half points to pace the Badgers.
A basket by Moss and a three-pointer by Wieseman made it 37-30. Later on two more baskets by Wieseman, who finished with 18 points, the Badgers pushed the lead to 43-35.
Once again, the Lasers would not go away. With 11:30 to play, the Lasers cut the lead to 47-44. The Badgers pushed it back to eight on a basket by Moss, but Kettle Moraine kept coming. With 2:05 to play, the Lasers took their first lead since leading 10-9 on a three-pointer by Alea Marks that completed a 9-1 run and gave Kettle Moraine a 63-61 lead.
Badger immediately regained the lead on a three-pointer by Sproul, who finished with 11 points. Sproul missed the free throw, but Moss got the rebound and scored, making it 66-63 Badger.
The Badgers took a four-point lead with 30 seconds to play, but Maddie Siedenburg hit a long three-pointer to cut it to 69-68 with 20 seconds to play. Welch made two free throws, but Haley Guidinger hit another three-pointer to tie the game at 71 and set up Welch’s final heroics.
Badgers fall in opener
The Badger boys basketball team fell 77-55 in a non-conference home game against Grayslake North on Nov. 27. The game marked John Witte’s debut as Badger’s head coach.
The Badgers kept the game close through the first five minutes and led 9-7 on a basket by Kale Rodgers. That was the last time the Badgers had the lead. Badger began to struggle with turnovers against the press defense North employed and fell behind 19-9 on a steal and fast-break basket by Joe Swanson.
The Badgers cut the lead to four at 19-15 and 24-20, but Grayslake North took command and led by 14 at the half at 42-28.
North quickly pushed the lead up to 20 early in the second half at 53-33 and as many as 22 at 66-44. The Badgers made one last run, cutting the lead down to 68-55 on a three-pointer by Rodgers but only scored two points the rest of the way.
Grant DuMez led the way for the Badgers with 19 points. Rodgers added 14. Tony Hines scorched the Badger defense for 26 points. Jason Donohue added 16 and Ryan Connolly had 14.
The Badgers committed 26 turnovers, which led to 30 points for Grayslake North. The Badgers caused 21 North turnovers but only scored 18 from them. The Badgers shot 36 percent from the field and made five of 15 three-pointers. North outscored Badger on second-chance points 17-2 and 36-28 in the paint.
Badger will host Delavan-Darien on Friday.
