BY RICH PALZEWIC
SPORTS EDITOR
GREEN BAY – For the second game in a row, the De Pere girls’ basketball team played stifling defense and recorded a convincing win over a quality opponent.
The Redbirds held reigning Fox River Classic Conference player of the year Jaddan Simmons to just 13 points in a 55-37 road win over Green Bay Southwest Nov. 30.
De Pere, which has started the season 4-0, held the junior Simmons scoreless in the opening half and limited the Trojans to eight points as a team in the first 18 minutes.
The Redbirds’ victory in the first game of the FRCC campaign came on the heels of an impressive win over Stevens Point Nov. 27 where they held Valparaiso recruit Leah Earnest to 20 points, 10 below her season average.
“I’m really impressed with the defensive effort we put in,” said De Pere head coach Jeremy Boileau. “Southwest can shoot the ball well and they have one of the best players in the state in Simmons – we knew it would be a challenge. That’s where our focus had to be – not to try and stop her, but limit what she did. It was a team effort.”
Rachel Kerkhoff had a game-high 24 points, which followed up her 23-point performance against Point.
“This was a huge win for us,” said Kerkhoff, who nailed five three-pointers in the game. “Our 4-0 start has come from our defense. It gives us good energy and has allowed us to keep winning. We could sense Southwest was getting frustrated with the number of turnovers we caused. I don’t care how many points I score – I just want to play good defense and win.”
After the Trojans scored the opening bucket of the game, the Redbirds went on a 9-0 run thereafter.
Southwest got within a point at 9-8, but De Pere finished the half with 16 straight points to lead 25-8 at the intermission.
During the spurt, Kerkhoff, Natalie Cerrato and Jordan Meulemans hit consecutive three’s to close the half.
The Trojans trailed 29-20 early in the second half, but a quick six points by the Redbirds restored order and they cruised from there.
Cerrato added 11 points and eight rebounds, while Meulemans chipped in with 10 points and nine boards. Sophie McCarty had a team-high nine rebounds.
“We still feel we can play better,” Boileau added. “That’s our goal moving forward to keep things rolling. Southwest is a very good team, so it was a good win for us. Ultimately, we want to win a conference championship and get to the Resch (for state). We want to compete with anyone.”
Box score
De Pere: 25, 30 – 55
Southwest: 8, 31 – 37
