By Josh Staloch
Correspondent
PULASKI – Trailing by three points at halftime to visiting Green Bay Southwest, the Pulaski girls’ basketball team was in danger of having its eight-game win streak end.
The Red Raiders came out of the break looking like a different team, as they outscored the Trojans 26-12 in the second half en route to a 51-40 victory Jan. 29 at Pulaski High School.
“At halftime, I told the girls we needed to work harder on staying in front of people,” said Pulaski head coach Doug McElrone, whose team improved to 12-5 overall. “We struggled defensively in the first half, but at the 11- or 12-minute mark (in the second half), we flipped a switch and started doing the things that have worked for us this season.”
Midway through the first half, Taylor Olson connected from beyond the arc to give Pulaski a 19-10 advantage, seemingly putting the home team in control of things.
The Trojans got right back into the game thanks to a crafty play underneath by Taliah DeGroot and a pair of 3-pointers from Addison Pytleski to close the gap to 19-18.
Later in the half, Sheridan Flauger found Olivia Kubiak under the hoop with a nice pass for an easy two points to give Pulaski a 25-20 edge.
Southwest’s Tavi Holmes responded by pulling down an offensive board at the other end and going back up for two.
Pytleski tied the game at 25-25 before the first-half buzzer with her third three of the game.
“I have to credit Southwest,” McElrone said. “They played hard. We knew they weren’t going to roll over, and it was a test for us. We see them again soon, and I’m sure they’re going to give us a good game then also.”
Pytleski opened the second half with a coast-to-coast drive that turned into three points thanks to a foul before teammate Madison McFerrin scored on Southwest’s next possession for a 30-25 lead.
The five-point advantage wouldn’t last long, though, as Flauger responded with a triple followed by a jumper from Ashlyn Szymanski that tied the game at 30-30.
From there, Pulaski came to life defensively as well.
Szymanski then hit another three to put Pulaski up five before the defense forced a Southwest turnover that resulted in two points at the free-throw line from Flauger, who went 8-for-8 at the stripe during the closing minutes.
“We’re on a good run right now, and the kids are playing solid basketball,” said McElrone. “They’re buying into what we’re doing, and I like the way we’re playing at this point.”
Flauger and Szymanski scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, for Pulaski, while Pytleski led all scorers with 17 points for Southwest.