Norse fall to Auburndale in WIAA semis
Olivia Killian of Whitehall reached for a loose ball during their regional game against Auburndale on Friday. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
Trinity Aasen of Whitehall attempted to steal the ball from Auburndale’s Hope Schulte during last Friday’s regional game. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
Auburndale came out on fire then closed the first half with a run, ending Whitehall’s season with a 64-46 loss on Friday night.
The fourth-seeded Eagles hosted the fifth-seeded Norse in a game that was close early. Whitehall trailed by a point at 9-8 before Auburndale began a run that included four long jump shots and a basket inside to go ahead 17-9.
The teams exchanged baskets before the Eagles scored 11 straight points to go ahead by 17 with seven minutes remaining in the first half.
Whitehall had some signs of life after consecutive baskets by Kyla Lambeck and Olivia Killian. The Norse trailed by 13 late in the first half, but the Eagles finished with a 10-2 run to take a 40-19 lead into the intermission.
The Norse weren’t able to cut into the lead much in the second half. The team trailed by 22 with 90 seconds remaining before scoring five of the last six points in the game.
Killian scored a game-high 20 points for the Norse. The team got eight apiece from Lambeck and Trinity Aasen while Alexis Correa scored five, Ashlyn Clatt, two and Tyanna Loveng, one.
Whitehall finished the season with a 15-9 record, it’s most wins since the 2008-09 season. The team also won its first Dairyland Conference-Large Division title since the 2010-11 campaign.
