By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY — Something had to give in this one.
The Green Bay Preble girls’ basketball team had won six games in a row, and Pulaski was winners of its last seven.
Ultimately, it was the size and defense of the Hornets which proved too much in a 58-40 Fox River Classic Conference tilt over the Red Raiders Feb. 14 at Preble High School.
Carley Duffney paved the way for Preble (17-4 overall, 14-3 FRCC) with 13 points, and Kendall Renard and Dominique King each added 12.
“I figured it was senior night, so why not put up big points,” said King, fighting back tears. “It’s the last time playing on this court in the regular season. We have grown tight as a group, and it means lots to me right now.”
Pulaski (14-7, 11-6) put one scorer in double figures, Jasmine Litt, who finished with 12 points.
In a goodwill gesture to injured senior Hornets forward Leamae King, the Red Raiders let the senior score the opening bucket of the game while standing underneath the basket with a heavy brace on her knee.
Preble built its lead to 11-4 after King powered home a layup from inside the paint.
“Dominique has been doing lots of the inside work for us this year,” said Preble head coach Jim Doell. “She can step up and play big. We have all the confidence in the world in her.”
Most times when Pulaski had the ball on offense, it was forced to work hard to put points on the board with Preble’s stifling defense.
After Duffney canned a triple from the top of the key, the Hornets extended their lead to 26-13 with 6:20 remaining in the first half.
The Red Raiders showed resiliency the final six minutes of the half by scoring eight of the final nine points.
The run was sparked by Sheridan Flauger, who got the offense flowing with her burst of speed down the court in setting up her teammates for easy looks.
The Hornets took a 27-21 lead into intermission.
After a couple of easy buckets to start the second half, the Red Raiders trimmed Preble’s lead to 30-25.
It would get no closer the rest of the game.
The Hornets blew the game open with a 21-6 spurt over the next 10 minutes.
“Once we started running our offense, we sealed the deal,” added Doell. “We moved the ball better and built the lead back up late.”
Just before the run ended, Pulaski head coach Doug McElrone was called for a technical foul.
With the margin at 20 points, Preble was able to sub their seniors out down the stretch and cruise to the victory.
Box score
Pulaski: 21, 19—40
Preble: 27, 31—58
Red Raiders: Litt 12, Hernandez 9, Flauger 8 McQuillan 4, Szymanski 3, Brockman 2, Kubiak 2.
Hornets: Duffney 13, Renard 12, D. King 12, Sleger 8, Bialkowski 6, Voelker 3, L. King 2, Zuege 1, Wendt 1.