By Rich Palzewic
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
GREEN BAY – Despite hitting only 20 of its 35 free throws, the Green Bay Southwest girls’ basketball team converted enough shots from the field in a 55-43 victory over Green Bay Preble on Jan. 17.
The Fox River Classic Conference (FRCC) win for the Trojans (9-6 overall, 6-4 FRCC) gave them the season sweep over the Hornets (7-9, 3-7).
Coming into the contest, Southwest had lost five of its last six games.
“We needed this victory,” Southwest coach Tony Lee said. “We lost two close games (during the losing streak) and played some tough teams — it was nice to get the win tonight. It will help our confidence moving forward.”
The 1-2 punch of Addie Pytleski (16 points) and Margie Stevens (14 points) combined for 30 points in the win for the Trojans.
“It was a nice team win — we got a lot of contributions from a lot of girls,” Pytleski said. “I think I played well. I took charge on offense and got my team involved. We’re feeling confident again.”
Stevens pumped in 11 of her team’s first 13 points to begin the game — including a 3-pointer and four free throws.
“We played as a team tonight and got the win,” Stevens, who is looking to play Division III college basketball, said. “I had a nice start — I noticed the open spots on the floor and got my teammates involved.”
Southwest bolted out to an 8-2 lead behind Stevens, who eventually fouled out late in the game.
Preble got to within 11-8 a few minutes later before the Trojans upped the lead to 19-8 with six minutes remaining until halftime.
The Trojans took a 28-20 lead into intermission.
“Addie and Margie each had nice games,” Lee said. “We rely on Margie a lot — she even takes the ball up the court for us at times. With her height, she can see the floor well and get her teammates involved. Addie is a good shooter and gets to the basket.”
Southwest began the second half on an 8-0 run to take a commanding 36-20 lead, but the Hornets cut the margin to 42-34 with five minutes remaining.
Preble had several chances to close the gap, but a turnover on its next possession and a missed open 3-pointer kept the deficit at eight points.
Despite its struggles from the charity stripe, 13 of the Trojans’ final 15 points came from the free-throw line.
“We definitely need to shoot better from the free-throw line,” Lee said. “We played Appleton West (Jan. 16), so I’m guessing we were a bit tired in the legs. We’ll be shooting a lot of free throws in practice.”
Taliah DeGroot added nine points for Southwest.
Andrea Butterbrodt paced the Hornets with 12 points.