Girls Basketball: Shawano opens up season with tight win

SHAWANO — The Shawano Community High School girls basketball team got its season off to a positive start on Tuesday, knocking off Merrill 51-45 in a nonconference clash.

Implementing a new defense and trying to get new players accustomed to the varsity level of play, Shawano coach Ryan Koenig knew that a slow start was possible. His worries came true, but the Hawks responded in a big way.

Merrill jumped out to a 16-8 lead a little over halfway through the first half before Shawano found its rhythm.

The Hawks new-look defense helped sophomore Odessa Arce steal a couple of passes, leading to fastbreak buckets from junior Taylor Johnson and Arce. The baskets capped a 7-1 run that gave the hosts a 20-19 halftime lead.

“In practice, we run a lot. We’re more conditioned. Then they (Merrill) started getting slow, started fouling,” said junior Rachel Reed on the momentum switch at the end of the first half. “We felt a spark, an energy when we got two fastbreak layups. That just really set the tone right there and we just kept pushing from there.”

The momentum carried over into the second half for Shawano, which worked out to a 45-30 lead. Merrill ended the game on a 15-6 run, but Shawano was able to do just enough to hang on for the win.

“I think just the fact that this was our first game playing together and trying to get that chemistry,” said Arce on what led to the team’s surge in the middle of the game. “All it took was a half for us to get it and click. Then in the second half, we had it. We knew what we were doing, we knew the flow, we knew what we had to do and that we had to work together.”

Arce finished with eight points off the bench and helped Shawano’s defense make finding easy baskets for Merrill a burden.

The tempo of the game was dictated by the Hawks’ defense. The unit applied heavy pressure to the ball at all times, which led to long possessions for Merrill before a shot was finally taken. When the Bluejays missed a shot or turned the ball over, Shawano pushed the ball down the floor quickly to create its offense.

Before the season opened, Reed mentioned how the team’s defense would ignite the offense, and that statement came true in the season opener.

Reed was the host’s top scorer on the night, tallying 16 points. Reed scored Shawano’s first basket in the first and second half, knocking down a 3-pointer each time. She finished with three 3-pointers for the game.

Sophomore Brianna Wright scored seven second-half points and finished with 10 for the game.

For a team that rosters no seniors and a number of first-year varsity players, Koenig was thrilled the group persevered and got its season off to a positive start.

“It’s huge because everything you did and worked hard for (in practice), you get a reward for that right away,” said Koenig. “So now we have a reward on that work effort, so if we continue doing that and keep getting rewarded, you keep working harder and harder because you got a taste of that victory.”

Shawano will look to keep things rolling on Thursday when hosting Sturgeon Bay in another nonconference matchup.

Merrill 19 26 — 45

Shawano 20 31 — 51

Shawano (51): Lydia Beyer 1-2 3, Brianna Wright 5-6 10, Odessa Arce 0-2 8, Rachel Reed 3-8 16, Taylor Johnson 0-2 4, Brooke Theis 0-0 4, Avery Dreier 2-4 6.

Merrill (45): Grace Heldt 0-0 3, Courtney Krueger 0-0 14, Nicole Zoellner 3-8 3, Erin Murray 2-4 4, Claire Drew 0-0 3, Reese Mrachek 3-6 8, Ashley Prebeg 0-0 10.

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