By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – Sammy Opichka and Sarah Hardwick scored 20 and 12 points, respectively, in leading the Green Bay Notre Dame girls’ basketball team to a 64-60 victory over Pulaski in a WIAA Division 2 regional final game Feb. 23 at Notre Dame High School.
With the win, the Tritons (15-9 overall) advanced to the sectional semifinals against Luxemburg-Casco Feb. 28 at Ashwaubenon High School.
“Sarah (Hardwick) really gave us a spark tonight,” said Notre Dame head coach Sara Rohde. “For a freshman to step up in a big game like this and score in double figures, is really exciting.”
The Red Raiders (13-11 overall) were led by Jasmine Litt, who had 21 points and Isabel Majewski who added 20.
Notre Dame outscored Pulaski 18-0 in bench points.
After a tightly contested opening five minutes, the Tritons forged ahead 17-8 after Keighley Blindauer and Opichka connected on back-to-back three-point plays.
Late in the first half with Notre Dame still holding a nine-point advantage, the Red Raiders ended the first half strong.
Despite battling first-half foul trouble, Litt powered home a basket and assisted on another to Maggie Hernandez to cut the deficit to 29-27 at halftime.
“We had our point guard and top post player in some serious foul trouble,” said Pulaski head coach Jeff Charney. “We made a nice run to only be down two at the break.”
Pulaski went ahead 34-33 with 15:58 left in the game, but it would be their last lead of the night.
Minutes later, Litt picked up her third foul and she was forced to exit the game. During that span, the Tritons went on a 14-4 spurt to go up 47-38 with 7:39 remaining.
“We were able to get some looks in the paint with Sammy after Jasmine went out of the game midway through the second half,” added Rohde. “They had the momentum and we gained it back in that seven to eight-minute stretch.”
It appeared the Tritons were well in control down the stretch, but the Red Raiders had one last run in them.
Forced to foul with two minutes to go and down nine, Pulaski kept pecking away.
After Sheridan Flauger hit a high-arching three-pointer from 25 feet out, the margin was 62-60 with 3 seconds left.
“I’m really proud of the fight and grit the girls showed down the stretch,” said Charney. “They never gave up.”
After getting fouled, Charley Apple buried two big free throws to send Notre Dame on to sectionals.
“It was a big win for us,” added Rohde. “Pulaski is a very physical team that likes to take the ball hard to the basket. We forced two or three charges that were big to the outcome. I’m proud of the group as a whole tonight.”
Box Score:
Pulaski: 27, 33—60
Notre Dame: 29, 35—64
Red Raiders: Litt 21, Majewski 20, Hernandez 12, Flauger 5, Steinbrecher 2.
Tritons: Opichka 20, Hardwick 12, Gregoire 11, Apple 7, Cribben 6, Blindauer 5, Lemens 3.
