Norse fall to Buffaloes, Lancers

The Whitehall girls basketball team lost a big lead in one game and couldn’t recover after falling behind in another last week.

The Norse went on a big run in the first half and had a 14-point lead on the road against Mondovi last week Tuesday. The Buffaloes chipped away then went on a run, winning the game 62-57. On Saturday, the Norse came out cold and couldn’t catch up, falling at home to Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran, 55-46. 

The losses put Whitehall at 2-3 on the season before Tuesday’s game at Cochrane-Fountain City. The Norse are slated to play at Alma/Pepin on Friday before returning home to take on Alma Center Lincoln this coming Tuesday. 

Mondovi 62 Whitehall 57

A 16-1 first half run put Whitehall ahead, but the road team couldn’t hold on, struggling down the stretch.

The Norse trailed 22-16 before going on the big run to take a 32-23 lead and they held a 37-28 advantage at halftime.

Whitehall went ahead by 11 early in the second half. A runner by Haili Sluga put the team ahead by 12 before a Trinity Aasen jumper made the score 46-32 with about 14 minutes left in the game. 

After a timeout, Mondovi began to chip away. The Buffaloes scored seven straight points to get within seven. The Norse went back ahead by 10 at 49-39 after a pair of free throws by Paige Lisowski, but the Buffaloes wouldn’t go away.

Whitehall had a nine-point lead with about nine minutes remaining in the game, but Mondovi scored 13 straight, including a fastbreak layup that put them a head 53-51 with 3:43 left.

It looked like Whitehall had recovered when Aryana Ausderau scored two straight baskets, the second of which put Whitehall ahead, 57-55, with less than 90 seconds left in the game. The Norse wouldn’t score again, however. 

Mondovi tied the game with two free throws on its next possession then took the lead on a steal and layup with 53 seconds left. After a Whitehall miss, Mondovi scored again to make it a two-possession game with 20 seconds left. 

Lisowski led Whitehall with 15 points, but the offensive attack was balanced as Aasen added 13, Kyla Lambeck scored 12 and Ausderau chipped in with 13. Aasen added 15 rebounds.

Whitehall (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Lisowski 5/18-3/4-1-4-15 Sluga 3/6-0/0-3-4-6 Herman 0/0-1/2-0-0-1 Lambeck 4/10-3/6-7-0-12 Ausderau 4/5-2/4-8-1-10 Aasen 5/19-3/4-15-3-13 Foss 0/0-0/0-0-2-0 Hensley 0/1-0/0-2-1-0 

ECI 55 Whitehall 46

The Norse couldn’t get shots to go in after falling in an early hole.

Whitehall trailed by 13 at halftime, 33-20, and had a solid enough defensive effort to get back in the game. The Lancers managed just 22 points in the second half as Whitehall cut into the lead, but the Norse couldn’t come all the way back.

Lisowski had nearly half of Whitehall’s points, finishing with 21 in the game as the team shot 31 percent from the field. 

Whitehall (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Lisowski 8/19-0/0-5-1-21 Sluga 1/6-0/0-4-0-3 Herman 0/0-0/0-1-0-0 Lambeck 4/11-0/0-5-2-9 Ausderau 1/6-0/0-9-3-2 Aasen 2/12-1/2-6-5-6 Foss 1/3-0/0-4-0-3 Hensley 1/1-0/2-2-1-2