Sunday, September 15, 2024
BY RICH PALZEWIC
SPORTS EDITOR
SUAMICO – Emma Nagel had her usual big game, Peyton Coughlin was clutch off the bench and the Bay Port girls’ basketball team outlasted De Pere in a battle of two of the top teams in the state.
The No. 4 ranked Pirates hung on for a 65-59 Fox River Classic Conference victory over the No. 6 Redbirds Dec. 11 at Bay Port High School.
Nagel poured in 14 points and added 11 rebounds and six assists, while Coughlin had 10 first-half points to help keep the Pirates undefeated (5-0 overall, 4-0 FRCC).
Reagan McIntyre also had a big game for Bay Port with her 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“We work really hard on defense, so sometimes we can relax a little bit on offense and catch our breath,” said Nagel, who is averaging 15.8 points per game. “I know that everyone on this team crashes hard for rebounds because those are our second chances. We played our game and stayed calm.”
With Bay Port leading just 59-56 with under three minutes remaining, Grace Krause scored the last six points of the game for the Pirates on free throws to ice the contest.
Bay Port jumped out to a 24-7 lead with its pressure defense, only to see De Pere (6-1, 3-1) claw to within 10 at the half (30-20).
“We always tell our girls that we need a fast start, but I think that’s the first time in five years I’ve seen a Bay Port team come out like that,” said Bay Port head coach Kati Coleman. “The girls really wanted to beat De Pere and play well because they knew it was a big game. It’s always nice to win, but it’s even nicer to win against a quality team.”
The Pirates bumped the lead back to 16 in scoring the first six points of the second half, only to see the Redbirds outscore Bay Port 36-23 over a 12-minute span thereafter before Krause drained her six consecutive free throws.
“It’s kind of a case where you pick your poison against Bay Port,” said De Pere head coach Jeremy Boileau. “They have a lot of weapons inside and out, but we dug ourselves a hole early on and Bay Port came out fast. It took us a while to settle in. We got a little impatient with some of our shot selections and had some early turnovers.”
Krause ended with nine points, while De Pere’s Natalie Cerrato led all scorers with 22 points, including five three-pointers.
Jordan Meulemans and Rachel Kerkhoff tallied 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Redbirds.
Box score
De Pere: 20, 39 – 59
Bay Port: 30, 35 – 65
