2nd-half surge powers Witt-Birn girls basketball team to win

The Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School girls basketball team used a big second-half run to pull away from Gillett in a nonconference clash on Nov. 30 in Wittenberg. The Chargers went on to win 47-27.

Witt-Birn had a comfortable eight-point lead at halftime, but Gillett was able to cut it to a two-point game after the hosts were unable to convert a field goal in the first seven-plus minutes of the half. The Chargers’ only three points over that span came from junior Reese Rogowski at the free-throw line.

Rogowski had the team’s first field goal in the second half with just over 12 minutes to play before senior Kaylee Schram grabbed an offensive rebound and scored another bucket to make it 27-21.

It was Rogowski and Schram who carried Witt-Birn to the final buzzer, combining to score 17 of the team’s last 24 points.

“We realized in the second half what we needed to work on, like covering on the screens,” said Rogowski. “So, we came out stronger and more aggressive in the second half.”

“I feel like we just had to play more team basketball. Before we were playing as individuals, not focusing on the team. Once we started talking and everything, it turned out a lot better,” said Schram.

Schram hit a shot before Rogowski converted another to make it a 31-23 game and force a Gillett timeout with 9:21 to play.

Gillett scored four of the next six points to trim Witt-Birn’s lead to six, but the Chargers’ defense buckled down and didn’t surrender another point the rest of the way.

Rogowski got the game-ending 14-0 run started with a free throw. Schram then pulled down an offensive rebound on a missed free throw and scored another bucket.

Junior Jami Wendler made it a 12-point lead after hitting the team’s only 3-pointer of the contest, and Schram bumped the lead to 14 after another field goal.

The Chargers continued to pull away in the waning minutes, with Rogowski adding two more buckets and Wendler scoring on a fastbreak opportunity.

Rogowski finished with 16 points to lead the Chargers, with 12 of those points coming in the second half.

“I had to focus more on what I was doing and take it to the hoop stronger,” said Rogowski of her final half.

Rogowski also tallied seven rebounds and three steals in the contest.

Schram finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Four of the boards came on the offensive end of the floor.

Wendler chipped in seven points, while freshman Faith Resch tallied six points. Resch also had six rebounds.

Junior Kiara Deruchowski dished out four assists and had three steals for Witt-Birn, which improved to 3-1 on the young season.

“We’ve been fixing all our mistakes. Like, we make a mistake and we fix it right away,” said Schram. “We’ve been pretty good team wise, like working together. We just need to talk more.”

Witt-Birn got off to a strong start in the game, scoring the first eight points and soon leading 12-2. Four Chargers scored among the first 12 points, with Schram tallying half of them.

The Chargers’ offense slowed after that, but the hosts kept the lead with strong defense.

Gillett 12 15 — 27

Witt-Birn 20 27 — 47

Witt-Birn (47): Kiara Deruchowski 0-0 2, Reese Rogowski 4-6 16, Jami Wendler 0-0 7, Jadalynn Davids 0-0 2, Faith Resch 0-0 6, Kaylee Schram 0-2 14.

Gillett (27): Alaina Herzog 0-0 12, Carleigh Kaczmarek 0-0 7, Macy Franti 0-0 6, Cheyenne Krueger 0-0 2.

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