By Murray Gleffe, Correspondent

GREEN BAY-The Notre Dame Academy Tritons closed the game on a 14-5 run to propel them over the Ashwaubenon Jaguars 52-44 in girls’ basketball action (Feb. 8)

Hayden Kupsh led the Jaguars with 13 points.

Lydia Schaible and Megan Servais each chipped in with 12

The Jaguars took an early 7-4 lead after Kally VanLaanen hit a rainbow triple from the top of the key.

Hayden Kupsh then connected on back to back lay-ups in transition to extend the lead.

The Tritons, however, responded with their inside-out game of Peighton Milton and Kaycee Gierczak.

Milton banked home a three, and Gierczak connected on an up and under move to put the Tritons up 16-13 with 11:43 left till halftime.

The Jaguars remained strong with their pressure defense and it paid off with a quick 9-0 spurt of their own.

Bitz Steinhoff started the run with a cut to the basket and finish, and Lydia Schaible a left-hand scoop shot in the paint.

With the Jaguars leading 22-16, the Tritons chipped away and only trailed 29-28 at the half after Lizzy Opichka connected on a spin move just before the break.

The Jaguars had more transition points, but the Tritons had connected on six lay-ups and led the glass battle.

Three lead changes donned the opening of the second half.

After Milton connected on a corner bomb, the Tritons took their biggest lead of the evening at 38-33 with 13:18 left in the contest.

The Jaguars then countered with three big baskets of their own.

Schaible continued to get position in the lane and answered the bell with four of the six points.

In the last 4 games, Schaible has perfected her post moves scoring 31 points in the process.

With the Jaguars leading 39-38 with 8:14 remaining in the game, Tritons Head Coach Sara Rohde called a time out to switch things up and it worked.

The Tritons came out of the huddle, got good ball movement, and took command of the game.

Point Guard Ashley Laskowski hit a 16-footer to get the scoring started for the Tritons and then Opichka and Reitz carved out position down low to connect on easy shots.

It all added up to a 46-39 lead with just 5:53 left.

After a few possessions where multiple minutes were used up on the clock, but no points scored, the Jaguars were forced to stop the clock by fouling.

The Tritons only connected on 50% of their free throws down the stretch but it was all they needed to pull out an eight-point victory at home.

The Jaguars fall to 12-9 overall and 10-7 in the FRCC and will be back in action on Feb. 15 when they travel to Bay Port for the season finale!

Note: The Ashwaubenon Jaguars JV girls’ basketball team improved to 21-0 on the season with a scintillating 38-37 come from behind victory over the Tritons of Notre Dame. Anna Wendorf scored the game-winner off her own miss with just 1.4 seconds left in the game. The Jaguars will attempt to achieve a perfect season when they travel to Bay Port next Thursday (Feb. 15). The game will take place at 5:45 p.m.

Notre Dame/Ashwaubenon Box Score

Notre Dame                 28,24, -52

Ashwaubenon             29,15, -44

Tritons Final Totals: FG’s 20-43, 3 PT FG’s 3-10, FT’s 9-15, Rebounds 29, Assists 12, Steals 7, Blocks 3, Turnovers 15, Personal Fouls 8

Reitz 17, Gierczak 9, Milton 9, Laskowski 9, Opichka 8

Jaguars Final Totals: FG’s 18-46, 3 PT FG’s 2-11, FT’s 6-8, Rebounds 23, Assists 9, Steals 7, Blocks 0, Turnovers 13, Personal Fouls 14

Kupsh 13, Servais 12, Schaible 12, VanLaanen 5, Steinhoff 2