By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
DE PERE—The De Pere Redbirds used a second half surge to propel them to a 45-40 non-conference victory over the West De Pere Phantoms in girls’ basketball, held Dec. 29, at West De Pere HS.
Rachel Kerkhoff led the Redbirds (10-1 overall) with 22 points, and Natalie Cerrato and Sophia McCarty each chipped in seven.
Sydney Appleton paved the way for the Phantoms (7-4 overall) with 20, and Alexa Thomson added 10.
The Redbirds took an 11-8 lead with 10:47 left in the first half behind two transition layups by Kerkhoff and an Ellie Schneider triple.
Baskets were at a premium and the Phantoms ramped up their defensive pressure the remainder of the half by not allowing the Redbirds to score a single field goal in ending on a 12-5 run. This from a De Pere team that can score points in droves and that had eclipsed the 70+ point barrier four times already this year.
Bailey Baeten dished out three assists and Appleton reached double figures (10) by the intermission in catapulting the Phantoms to a 20-16 lead.
“I thought we really got out on their shooters well in the first half,” said Chris Abaray, West De Pere basketball coach. “Sydney is one of our senior leaders, and she showed the grit tonight against a top team not only in this area but in Wisconsin.”
The Redbirds came out and responded like the state-ranked team that they are by going on an 18-7 spurt to lead 34-27 with 10:51 left in the game.
“We obviously weren’t hitting our shots in the first half but give West (De Pere) credit for getting in our face,” said Jeremy Boileau, De Pere basketball coach. “We had some things go our way the first six to seven minutes of half number two and I thought that made a difference in the game. Very happy to pull this one despite not playing our best on the offensive end.”
The main catalyst (during that run) was Cerrato who nailed two big three pointers from each corner of the floor and forced four turnovers with unrelenting pressure in the back court.
With the Redbirds still holding their seven-point margin with 1:54 left, Alivia McNabb came up with a steal and bucket, and Thomson made a spin move in the lane to cut the margin to 41-38 with just 36 seconds left in the contest.
With the Phantoms forced to foul, Kerkhoff would not be denied the ball on two consecutive offensive possessions and she drilled four free throws to clinch the victory for De Pere.
Box Score:
De Pere: 16, 29—45
West De Pere: 20, 20—40
Redbirds: Kerkhoff 22, McCarty 7, Cerrato 7, J. Meulemans 5, Schneider 3, S. Meulemans 1
Phantoms: Appleton 20, Thomson 10, Jepson 4, McNabb 4, Linssen 2
