By Brenda Erdahl:
Down by five with a little over a minute left in the game, the Irish girls’ basketball team came up with some big plays to secure their first win of the season.
“It was a total team win,” Head Coach Tim Staloch said of the girls 63-59 victory over Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted.
The girls went on the road Tuesday, Dec. 21 to play the Lakers on their home court. Down 28-37 at the half, the Irish didn’t panic but continued to play together, getting great contributions from every member on the team, Staloch said.
In the second half, the Irish outscored the Lakers 35-22 with the help of some balanced team defense. When put to the test in the last minutes of the game, the girls were able to come up with some big defensive stops, clutch free throws and shots down the stretch.
Madison Schlicht led scoring for the Irish with 23 points. She also had six rebounds. Emily Weese scored 12 points with 10 rebounds and Gwen Geyen contributed 11 points. Geyen was also 1 for 1 from the three-point line against the Lakers.
The Irish play next on Tuesday, Jan. 4 at home at 7 p.m. against Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa.