By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent

GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Southwest girls’ basketball team used balanced scoring to pick up its first win of the season by defeating Seymour 67-26 in a non-conference game Nov. 23 at Southwest High School.

“I hope this win propels us to the next level,” Southwest Head Coach Berri West said. “I told the girls in the postgame to use this game as a stepping stone and continue to build in the right direction.”

Marji Stevens led the Trojans with 19 points.

Eajah Danforth and Chloey Bynum scored 18 and 10 points, respectively.

Southwest’s leading scorer on the season, Addie Pytleski, was held to two points but had multiple assists and offensive rebounds and played relentless pressure defense to limit the Thunder guards to single digits.

“We needed to get more girls involved tonight,” Pytleski said. “After our opening two losses, we needed some confidence. We’re still a young team. Moments like this, you need to cherish and not take for granted.”

Seymour was paced by Samantha Nieland’s six points.

Southwest (1-2 overall) torched the nets from the get-go with the outside shooting of Danforth, inside post-scoring by Stevens and distribution of the ball from Pytleski.

“(Pytleski) is a natural leader, despite her age,” West said. “It doesn’t matter to her if she scores or not – as long as the team wins. The communication was tremendous tonight. Everything clicked.”

With less than 10 minutes remaining in the first half, the Trojans built a double-digit lead in large part to the cold shooting, turnover woes and overall porous defense by the Thunder.

“We watched film and recognized we could exploit their defense by pushing the tempo,” West said. “We like to find something we can focus on as a team and hone in on it.”

Later, the floodgates opened, as Southwest built a commanding 32-8 lead with 3:19 left until halftime when Bynum hit a 24-foot triple with a hand in her face.

The Trojans took a 31-point lead into the break and limited Seymour (1-3 overall) to only three made field goals for the half.

A few minutes into the second half, Morgan Miller and Keira VandeHei scored back-to-back baskets for the Thunder, but Southwest’s athleticism and height were too much to handle for Seymour.

Southwest junior Taylor Deines hit a pair of deep three-point shots on consecutive possessions to give the home team a 60-21 lead with 6:56 remaining.

“The kids are starting to find their roles,” West said. “(Deines) worked on her shot to get better, and it’s translated into games. She has the green light.”

Both teams emptied their bench down the stretch, as the Trojans won going away.