Heading into a weekend matchup with Columbus Catholic last week, the Three Lakes-Phelps girls basketball team was facing the No. 5-ranked girls team in the state in D5. The Lady Jays held multiple leads throughout the back-and-forth affair, ultimately ending in a 54-47 win for the visiting Dons.
The loss also snapped a four-game winning streak the Bluejays were holding.
“Although we didn’t come away with a win, I was very pleased with the effort and energy our girls played with the whole game. I love the way this team has come together since our loss at Merrill,” said Head Coach Michele Brown after the game. “We’ve been playing at a much more intense level with more focus. We need to keep that level of play going as our schedule doesn’t get any easier in the last three weeks of the season.”
The visiting Dons came out of the gates aggressively and held an early 8-2 advantage. Three Lakes-Phelps settled into the contest and battled back later with baskets from senior Kassidy Williams and sophomore Rylee Glembin to make it a 16-13 deficit with about seven minutes to play in the first half.
Things continued to teeter as big shot after big shot fell, but none other than a 3-pointer by sophomore Malia Szews at the buzzer to tie things at 26-all heading into halftime.
A swarming Dons defense came out in the second half, and did so without fouling.
The game continued to have a similar feel to the first half, as both teams traded the lead in the second half. Things were tied at 31-31 early on in the second stanza, before Williams drilled a corner three to take a 34-31 lead. Later on, Williams secured an offensive rebound that led to a straight-away 3-pointer by teammate Kylee Wilson for a 45-43 lead with about five minutes to play.
Columbus Catholic ended the game on an 11-2 run, which included crucial free throws, to secure the win.
“We were still down by one with under a minute to go when they would get to the hoop, make the shot, and get fouled. They made the free throw and were able to take a four-point lead. We were unable to score in the last three and a half minutes of the game, which was the deciding factor. We had chances but missed a couple shots, missed some free throws and had a turnover,” Brown explained as to what changed late in the game.
Williams and Paige Brafford led the team with 13 points apiece, while Glembin had 11 points. Williams had eight first-half points, while Brafford had nine and Glembin had six.
Before the Columbus Catholic game, Three Lakes-Phelps opened the week by hosting an Edgar team out of the Marawood-South Conference. The Lady Jays’ defensive prowess was a key point in the win, as they held the Wildcats to just 34 points.
Coach Brown said this was another team effort, as seven players were in the scoring column and also contributed on the defensive end.
“We had a solid team win against Edgar,” she stated. “This was another game where we needed all of our players to contribute, and they did. The stats don’t show all the other things that happen in a game, like the defensive effort, the hustle and taking care of the ball.”
Glembin and Szews combined for 12 of the 26 first-half points for the Lady Jays, as they led 26-16 at the break. Glembin had seven, and Szews had five in the first 18 minutes. Edgar scored 12 of its 16 points from 3-point baskets in the first half, and only had one in the second half. Glembin went on to score another nine points in the second half to lead the team in scoring with 16.
“While there were many bright spots in this game, the player who had her best game of the season was Rylee Glembin. She played the way she is capable of playing,” said Brown. “She’s struggled on the offensive end most of the season, so to see her have a breakout game against a good team is awesome.”
Three Lakes-Phelps continued its defensive dominance in the second half and held Edgar to just 15 points, while scoring another 28 points.
The team had its best shooting night of the season, hitting just under 43% of its two-point field goals and nearly 37% of its 3-point shots.
Szews finished the night with another consistent performance of 12 points and 12 rebounds.
She also had four assists and two steals. Brafford had 10 points and five rebounds.
The team also had a game on the road last Thursday against Hurley, winning the contest 54-27.
Three Lakes-Phelps, now 10-4 overall, traveled to face Gresham this past Tuesday before they host NLC rival Florence this Thursday, Feb. 5, at 7:15 p.m.
“We will host Florence, another top team in D5, in a conference rematch, which we lost in early January. The following week, we will host Lena, yet another top team in D5, take on Crandon, and then host Laona-Wabeno on February 13th, in another big game. All these games matter in seeding for the playoffs,” said Brown on the tough schedule down the stretch.
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