West De Pere and Green Bay Preble delivered everything a rivalry game promises Tuesday night, as the Phantoms beat the Hornets 75-70 on Senior Night in a fast paced and intense girls basketball matchup.
From the opening tip, the energy inside the gym was intense.
Both teams played physical, scrappy basketball, trading baskets and defensive stops.
While Preble stayed within striking distance, West De Pere maintained a lead for most of the first half and carried a 41-32 advantage into halftime.
Preble came out firing in the second half, opening on a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to two.
An and-one basket from Kaely Carter made it a one-point game, but West De Pere answered immediately with a bucket from Molly Walder.
Moments later, Camille Konkol added another and-one for Preble, and after converting a free throw on the next possession, the Hornets tied the game.
From there, it turned into a true battle.
West De Pere would grab a lead, and Preble would respond.
Walder’s and-one with just over nine minutes left put the Phantoms up three, but Gracie Day answered on the other end.
Day later gave Preble a brief one point lead, before Alexa Rattray converted a basket to swing momentum back in West De Pere’s favor.
The teams continued to go back and forth down the stretch, with neither side backing down.
With under two minutes to play, the Phantoms held a three-point lead.
Walder, who had an outstanding night offensively, finished with 29 points, helping West De Pere maintain control late.
The Phantoms sealed the win at the free-throw line, closing out the 75-70 victory.
Senior Alexa Rattray said the win meant a lot, especially on Senior Night.
“(Winning) meant a lot. We came into the game really excited, and it gave us momentum,” she said. “So now we get to go eat cake, so that will be fun.”
Rattray credited the team’s composure during tense moments.
“I think we had to calm down at moments,” she said. “I just brought the team together, told us to calm down and relax, and play our game.”
Head coach Chris Abaray said the moment carried extra weight for his seniors.
“(Winning) is a big weight off the seniors’ shoulders,” Abaray said. “For our girls to see it through and get that good feeling at the end… I think it is a lot more important that we get the win so we can go celebrate.”
Abaray also praised Walder’s performance.
“(Molly Walder) has been shooting the basketball extremely well,” he said. “She’s not needing a lot of time or space to get her shot off… and she’s finding people and space, which is really great.”
On a night filled with intensity and emotion, West De Pere found a way to gut it out– giving its seniors a win to remember.
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