Norse pull away from Mustangs, Lancers

The Whitehall girls basketball team took care of business on the road last week, bringing home two double-digit wins.

The Norse went on a run early to take control of their 60-47 win over Melrose-Mindoro last week Monday. On Thursday, the team trailed at halftime in Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran, but a big second half propelled the Norse to a 55-39 win.

The wins kept the Norse within striking distance of the Dairyland Conference-Large Division title. Whitehall sits at 15-7 overall and 13-5 in DC play, behind Eleva-Strum (14-4) and Independence/Gilmanton (15-3). That was before Tuesday’s game in Augusta. Whitehall closes out the regular season in Independence on Friday.

Whitehall was awarded the sixth seed in its Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division Four bracket and hosts (11) Nekoosa this coming Tuesday. The winner of that game will play at (3) Bangor with the sectional final, likely at (2) La Crosse Aquinas, set for Saturday. 

Whitehall 60 Mel-Min 47

An early 12-0 run put the Norse in control and they cruised for the victory.

The run began with a three-pointer by Haili Sluga before Aryana Ausderau scored on a put-back to give Whitehall a 13-6 advantage. Paige Lisowski knocked down a three from the top of the key, putting Whitehall ahead by 10 before Trinity Aasen took a rebound coast-to-coast for a layup and Lisowski scored in transition to make the score 20-6 and spark a Mel-Min timeout with 9:46 left in the first half.

The Mustangs were back within 10 a few minutes later, but Kyla Lambeck made a three for Whitehall with six minutes left in the half. Aasen later drilled a deep three-pointer to make the score 28-14.

Brian Pank banked a three-pointer in with 10 seconds left in the half to give the Norse a 34-17 lead at halftime. 

The Mustangs pulled within seven with about eight minutes left in the game, but the Norse answered and went back ahead by double digits shortly after.

Lisowski’s 14 points were a game-high while Aasen scored 11 and Lambeck finished with 10.

Whitehall (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Lisowski 5/15-2/8-4-4-14 Sluga 2/5-2/2-3-0-8 Herman 0/2-0/0-0-3-0 Lambeck 3/8-2/6-8-0-10 Ausderau 4/8-1/4-8-3-9 Pank 2/6-3/4-7-4-8 Aasen 3/12-4/4-11-4-11 Klomsten 0/0-0/0-0-1-0 

Whitehall 55 ECI 39

The Norse took control of the game in the second half.

Whitehall trailed by a point, 18-17, after a slow first half. The team got going offensively in the second, putting up 38 points to pull away for a win. 

Aasen scored 21 to lead Whitehall while Lisowski added 13. 

Whitehall (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-points) — Lisowski 4/12-2/2-8-13 Sluga 0/1-5/6-4-5 Herman 2/6-0/0-2-4 Back 0/0-0/2-1-0-0 Lambeck 2/12-1/2-4-6 Ausderau 0/2-1/2-8-1 Pank 1/5-0/0-5-2 Aasen 8/15-3/5-11-21 Klomsten 1/2-0/0-1-2 Foss 0/0-1/2-0-1