Xavier girls basketball outlasts West De Pere in overtime, stays in Bay Conference title chase
By Dustin Riese
For AppletonSportsPage.com
APPLETON – In what was shaping up to be one of the premier girls basketball matchups of the weekend, it was the West De Pere Phantoms facing off against the Xavier Hawks at Torchy Clark Gymnasium. Not only are these the top two teams in the Bay Conference, they happen to be two of the top teams in their respective divisions with West De Pere checking in at No. 6 in the Division 2 rankings and Xavier at No.10 in D-3.
Expected to be a classic, the two teams delivered, but it was the Hawks who were playing from behind late. Trailing 57-50 in the waning stages of regulation, the Hawks got things rolling on both sides of the ball as a pair of 3-pointers from Kylee Standish and Halle Vande Hey pulled the Hawks to within 59-58. They weren’t finished there as they ended the game on an 11-2 run to force overtime before outlasting the Phantoms 72-68 to hand the West De Pere its first conference loss of the season.
“Our girls truly lived our ‘play hard’ fundamental tonight,” Xavier coach Andy Vande Hey said. “I am so proud of their effort tonight. They never quit when they were down and showed terrific tenacity to find a way to win this game.”
The victory pulls Xavier (12-6, 6-1 Bay Conference) to within one-half game of West De Pere (14-4, 7-1) in the Bay Conference standings.
The Hawks couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game as they came out on fire early. After Xavier’s Carsyn Stempa and West De Pere’s Ava VanEss exchanged buckets to begin the game, it was the Hawks using a 6-0 run to take an early 8-3 advantage. Things continued to go well for the Hawks a few minutes later with Standish connecting for a triple followed by the Joy Krull drive and finish to give the Hawks an early 13-6 lead.
That was when things started to tilt in the Phantoms’ favor as the Hawks started to struggle offensively. Xavier was holding an 18-14 lead following a Molly Martine bucket before West De Pere pulled within one with another triple and a Faith Walder steal and finish gave the Phantoms their first lead since early on at 19-18. Anna Rattray added a 3-pointer shortly after to extend the lead as the Phantoms used a 10-0 run to seize control at 24-18.
“We had moments in that first half when our shots were not falling,” Coach Vande Hey said. “This was one of those moments and it was hard to watch at times. Credit the girls for refusing to quit. They kept fighting and eventually things started to tilt in our favor yet again.”
In desperate need of a bucket, Stempa came through with a massive triple to pull the Hawks within 24-22. Halle Vande Hey went to work on the inside a bit later to bring things back to even at 28-28 before the Phantoms took a 30-28 lead at the half.
Stempa and Vande Hey provided a ton of offense for the Hawks as they combined for 40 points in the win, with 21 coming from Stempa and 19 from Vande Hey.
Down, but certainly not out of it, the Hawks did themselves no favors to begin the second half as the Phantoms came out like a team on a mission. Sparked by a few Walder buckets as part of her game-high 24 points, it was the Phantoms off and running early as they opened their biggest lead of the game at 37-28. Their lead would eventually grow to 40-30 as VanEss connected on her third triple of the night as part of her 16-point showing.
Both teams exchanged buckets the next several minutes, but with the Phantoms still holding a 48-40 lead it would come down to the Hawks to figure things out. Sometimes all it takes is one bucket to get things rolling and with Stempa cutting the deficit to, 48-42 it was the Hawks who had life. Her bucket was answered by a pair of Krull buckets and just like that it was a 50-48 game.
Like all good teams do, the Phantoms were able to take the Hawks biggest blows and answered back with authority as their 9-2 run gave them a 59-50 lead with less than four minutes to go. With time winding down and the Hawks seeing their conference title hopes evaporating, Standish took it upon herself to keep things close as she added three of her 12 points to pull the Hawks within one.
A few minutes later, Martine picked up the biggest bucket of the night for the Hawks as her ability to fight for the rebound gave Xavier the 60-59 lead late. Martine finished with 11 points and gave the Hawks four double-digit scorers. Not to be out done, it was the Phantoms answering quickly as Walder closed out her night with her final bucket to give the Phantoms the 61-60 lead late.
Xavier had a chance to win things from the free throw line, but after splitting a pair, the Hawks had to settle for the 61-61 tie, and an overtime. Considering where this team was earlier in the second half, overtime had to be considered a win in itself, but it was the Hawks with bigger goals in mind as they aimed to finish things off.
Following an early West De Pere bucket that put the Phantoms in front 63-61, it was all Hawks from there as they ended the game on an 11-5 run. Seven of those points came as part of their 7-0 run to give them the lead for good with Stempa responsible for five of those points. West De Pere wouldn’t go down without a fight as VanEss capped off her 19-point effort with another 3-pointer to bring the Phantoms to within 68-66. That was as close as things would get as the Hawks took care of the rest from the line to hand the Phantoms their first Bay Conference loss.
“Not only is this a special win for us, but this is also a special night,” Vande Hey said. “Tonight was our annual Card Night which is always a huge hit for the kids. It’s a great way to get our youth program involved and the kids seem to enjoy this night every season.”
Xavier will jump right back into action Saturday as it plays a make-up conference game at Shawano starting at 7 p.m.
Hawks 72, Phantoms 68 (OT)
West De Pere 30 31 7 – 68
Xavier 28 33 11 – 72
WEST DE PERE (68): Clara Hoffman 3, Alexa Rattray 4, Faith Walder 24, Anna Rattray 3, Madisyn Berggren 16, Ava VanEss 19. Fouls: 26. 3-pointers 7 (VanEss 4, Berggren 2, Rattray 1). Record: 14-4, 7-1 Bay Conference.
XAVIER (72): Kylee Standish 12, Joy Krull 7, Halle Vande Hey 19, Molly Martine 11, Elle Krull 1, Annika Heimann 1, Carsyn Stempa 21. Fouls: 18. 3-pointers 4 (Standish 2, Stempa 2). Record: 12-6, 6-1 Bay Conference.