PHILLIPS — It was a nailbiter in which the Phillips High School varsity girls basketball seemed to will their way to a 79-73 overtime victory over visiting Cameron to win the regional final in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament Series.
The No. 3 seed Cameron got the jump on No. 2 seed Phillips early, with a mix of 2 and 3 point baskets the Comets found themselves up by 12 points and maintained a 10 point lead for much of the first half. Phillips came back strong at times but the Comets kept executing shots and had a 33-25 lead at halftime.
The Comets didn’t let up in the second half and even when Phillips tied the game at the 14 minute mark the Comets still kept extending big leads. But the Loggers never gave up. With a mix of rebounds, steals and breakaways Phillips found themselves tied 68-68 at the end of regulation. The 4 minute extra period was a back and forth battle that came down to fouls and free-throws, and creating those big breaks. The minutes turned to seconds and Loggers padded their 1 point lead into 3, and then 6 when the buzzer sounded.
The Logger scorers were led by junior guard Mataya Eckert and senior guard Kacy Eggebrecht, each scoring 24 points, along with senior forward Brooke Eckert with 21, senior shooting guard Alie Williams and senior forward Halle Lehman, each with 3, and junior guard Lilly Miller and junior forward Kendra Timmers, each with 2.
The Comets scoring was led by freshman forward Inez Schmidt 26, followed by junior guard Alexis Kuffel with 14, freshman guard Bailey Olson and junior forward Olivia Leschisin, each with 13, junior forward Cora Romsos, 4, and junior guard Maddie Severt with 3.
After the game, when asked where the team found it in themselves to turn this game around, junior guard Mataya Eckert said the girls talk about what they wanted for themselves in the future as a team and they talk about how they are going to get there. The team found the higher intensity they needed on defense with the help of key steals from Kacy Eggebrecht and others who created needed scoring opportunities.
“We started talking more and our energy got up and we started hustling after the ball more and we started playing like we usually do,” she said.
Senior forward Brooke Eckert was also a player who made the baskets and forced a turnover at crucial times when it seemed that all the momentum was with the Comets. She also credited a team effort in turning the game around.
“We just kind of picked it up and brought our energy back and we’re ready for the next game,” she said.
It really was anybody’s game toward the end, with key starters on both teams in danger of fouling out. The team “really locked in on defense” and even if they were in foul trouble they still stuck to their players and were there to back each other up.
“We knew that some of their players were in foul trouble, and some of our players were in foul trouble, and we just had to push through it,” Mataya Eckert said.
“We were thinking who we could foul, who we couldn’t and what their free throw percentages were and stuff like that, and coach Mike called the right timeouts,” said Brooke Eckert.
For their efforts the No. 2 bracket regional champ Loggers will face the bracket 1 regional champ McDonnell Central Catholic High School in the sectional semifinal held at the neutral site of Ladysmith at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29. The No. 1 seed McDonnell Catholic defeated No. 4 seed Stratford 85-41 on Saturday in Chippewa Falls.
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