Bay Port sweeps series vs. Southwest

By Jordon Lawrenz
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
SUAMICO – The Green Bay Southwest girls’ basketball team had no idea its 2-0 lead against Bay Port in Fox River Classic Conference (FRCC) action would be its only lead of the game.
The Pirates went on a 15-2 run — with all their points coming from behind the 3-point arc — that helped them take down Green Bay Southwest 55-45 on Friday night.
Kyla Hendricks hit three 3-pointers during that stretch and Payton Dudra and Melia Lemorande hit the other two.
Bay Port knocked down nine 3-pointers on the night, compared to two for the Trojans.
It was Lemorande who led the way with 15 points for the Pirates, followed by Ellie McDermid with 14 and Hendricks added 13.
On the Green Bay Southwest side, Addie Pytleski led her team with 15, while Margie Stevens added 10. Pytleski is in the top five in the FRCC in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals. She matched her points average during this loss.
Bay Port (11-9, 10-4 FRCC) didn’t hit a field goal until there were five minutes left to play in the first half. A pair of buckets for Southwest cut the deficit to six going into halftime, 27-21.
Green Bay Southwest (13-7, 10-5 FRCC) stormed onto the scene in the second half with a 6-2 run. While they were only down two points, Pirates coach Dennis Gladwell’s timeout allowed his girls to regroup and rebound with a 9-2 run of their own.
With just eight minutes left in the contest, a 7-0 run for the Trojans once again got them within two points. With the score in favor of Bay Port, 42-40, Hendricks once again made her presence felt. Hendricks had a team-high 11 points in the first half, but she went scoreless for the first 10 minutes of the second half. Four consecutive points for the 5-foot-8 senior allowed Bay Port to keep its foot on the gas.
It was an 11-3 run for the Pirates that put this game on ice. With just two minutes remaining, Southwest still had four fouls to give. While doing so, 1:15 came off the clock. Even though Bay Port didn’t score any points, the Trojans were down 10 with just 45 seconds remaining. Ultimately, Bay Port came out on top 55-45 to leapfrog Southwest in the conference standings.
The Pirates’ 10-point victory allowed them to sweep the season series, and they have now won eight of the last 10 against the Trojans. This snapped a six-game winning streak for Green Bay Southwest, which finishes its regular-season schedule with three of four games at home. The opposite can be said for Bay Port, which will be on the road for three of its final four regular-season games.