Delavan-Darien High School’s Chloe Nieuwenhuis takes a shot against Elkhorn.
By Jennifer Cesarz
CORRESPONDENT
Despite losing two Southern Lakes Conference games last week, the Delavan-Darien High School girls’ basketball team showed signs of improvement and had chances to win both games.
The Comets fell to Elkhorn 55-37 on Dec. 11 and then lost to Waterford, 43-35 on Friday.
Against Elkhorn, the Comets found themselves down early after a fast-paced Elk offense scored 13.
“We started off the game slow with too many turnovers in the first half,” D-DHS head coach Hank Johnson said. “We also allowed them to get some easy transition points.”
The Elks outscored the Comets 13-5 in the first quarter but it was a more evenly matched second quarter with the Elks only outscoring the Comets by one at 17-16 to take the 30-21 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Comets kept fighting, keeping the Elk lead to single digits, but were again outscored 14-12 in the third quarter.
“We did have some great runs against Elkhorn where twice we got to single digits but we were not able to get any closer,” Johnson said.
In the fourth quarter, the Elks pulled ahead after outscoring the Comets 11-4 and went on for the 55-32 win.
Chloe Nieuwenhuis led the Comets with nine points and six rebounds.
Kylie Collins added eight points.
Avery Hembrook had seven points for the Comets along with three steals and Alex Lewis added seven points.
The Comets traveled to Waterford Friday night and gave an effort that pleased their head coach.
“I thought the girls did a great job of coming out and giving their best effort,” Johnson said. “I believe we surprised Waterford by how hard and physical we played. The girls did a much better job with their shot selections, and that’s why we were still in the game.”
Again for the Comets, it was a lopsided first quarter with the Wolverines outscoring them,16-8.
In the second and third quarters, both teams had their offenses quieted, with the Comets only putting eight points on the board while the Wolverines scored 12 to take the 28-16 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Comets went on a scoring spree in the fourth quarter as they tried to pick away at the Wolverines 12-point lead, and outscored them 19-15, but lost 43-35.
Collins had 15 points and four rebounds to lead the Comets.
Amanda McLernon added nine points and five rebounds.
The Comets finish their first half of the season with a game at Burlington tonight starting at 7 p.m. The Comets will not play again until January.
