Norse top Eagles after losses to Lancers, Pirates

The Whitehall girls basketball team closed on a high note, winning the third of three road games last week.

The Norse were close in the other two, but lost to Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran by six points and to Cochrane-Fountain City by five. The third game was also close, but the Norse came away with a three-point win. (No further information from the ECIL game was available before the Times went to press.)

Whitehall began this week with a 4-7 overall record, including a 3-6 mark in Dairyland Conference play. The team hosted C-FC on Tuesday, will welcome A/P on Thursday, and then play at Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau on Saturday.

C-FC 48 Whitehall 43

The Norse got off to a fast start, but couldn’t hold on.

Whitehall went on a 9-1 run to take a double-digit lead in the first half and went back ahead by 10 after a three-pointer by Kyla Lambeck and jumper by Paige Lisowski made the score 23-13 with four minutes left in the half.

The Pirates answered, finishing the half with an 8-2 run to pull within four. They continued to surge at the start of the second half and took a 30-29 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the game.

The Norse kept fighting and regained the lead on a three-pointer by Keymileth Mojica Zayas with eight minutes left in the game. But Whitehall would manage just one basket over the next several minutes. C-FC tied the game at 39 then made free throws and another basket to take a 44-39 lead. 

Aryana Ausderau scored to make it a three-point game with two minutes left, but the Pirates would clinch the win at the free-throw line. Whitehall wouldn’t score again until Lisowski knocked down a jumper with five seconds remaining. 

Lisowski scored 14 points to lead the Norse while Ausderau finished with nine points and nine rebounds. 

Whitehall (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Lisowski 5/17-3/6-8-3-14 Herman 1/4-0/0-1-1-2 Kulig 0/0-1/2-0-0-1 Laurila 1/5-1/2-4-4-3 Lambeck 2/7-0/0-7-1-5 Ausderau 4/14-1/1-9-3-9 Klomsten 0/0-0/0-1-4-0 Mojica Zayas 3/7-0/0-4-2-7 Edge 1/3-0/0-2-0-2 Fonstad 0/0-0/0-0-1-0 Waldera 0/4-0/0-1-1-0

Whitehall 50 A/P 47

A 12-4 second half run gave the Norse some breathing room and they’d need it to hang on for the win.

Whitehall trailed by two points at halftime, but a couple of three-pointers by Mojica Zayas early in the second half had the team ahead, 31-30. The teams went back-and-forth before Ida Laurila and Lisowski scored nine of the next 11 points in the game to put Whitehall ahead, 41-35.

A three-pointer put Whitehall ahead 44-37, but the Eagles would fire back. A/P later went on a 5-0 run to pull within one at 46-45. 

Whitehall held them off, however, as Lisowski scored two baskets down the stretch and the Norse would get key stops for the win.

Lisowski finished with 23 points to lead Whitehall while Laurila added nine points and 10 rebounds. Mojica Zayas was second on the team with 10 points. 

Whitehall (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Lisowski 9/25-3/12-4-4-23 Herman 0/4-0/0-0-1-0 Laurila 4/16-1/2-10-5-9 Ausderau 3/4-1/2-6-2-7 Klomsten 0/1-1/2-1-2-1 Mojica Zayas 3/13-1/2-8-2-10 Edge 0/1-0/0-1-0-0 Fonstad 0/0-0/0-0-1-0 Waldera 0/0-0/0-0-2-0