One game doesn’t make or break a season.
That’s the message coach Doug McElrone had for the Pulaski girls basketball team Nov. 18 following a season-opening loss to New London.
While the Red Raiders took a 28-19 lead into the locker room at halftime, they were outscored 38-23 over the final 18 minutes and ended up on the short end of a 57-51 final in a nonconference matchup on the Bulldogs’ home court.
The Red Raiders led by as many as 12 points in the first half. Seven of Pulaski’s first eight baskets in the game came from behind the 3-point line as the Red Raiders built a 23-12 lead. New London never got any closer than eight points the rest of the opening half.
“They were running a 1-3-1 zone, and we were attacking the basket,” McElrone said. “They collapsed; we were kicking it out and knocking down shots. We have good shooters. I’m not going to tell them to not take open looks.”
Those shooters included Olivia Sprangers, who scored 15 of her game-high 27 points in the first half.
As good as Pulaski was at hitting shots over the first 18 minutes, the second half turned out to be a different story.
Josey Shaw hit a 3-pointer to give the Red Raiders a 31-21 lead in the opening minute of the second half, but Pulaski didn’t make another shot until Sprangers’ 3-point play with just over six minutes to go in the game. By then, the Bulldogs had erased that 10-point deficit and used a 14-0 run — including nine points from Morgan Jones — to take a 35-31 lead.
Ella Grable’s 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead up to that point, 40-32, before Pulaski’s Linde Lemerond cut the lead to six with a pair of free throws.
Sprangers then scored the Red Raiders’ next 12 points. Her two free throws cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 43-42.
“The girl can play, and she’s a gamer,” McElrone said. “She makes this team go.”
However, Pulaski never got any closer down the stretch, as New London responded with a 12-0 run that pushed the lead to 13 points.
Sprangers was the only Pulaski player to finish in double digits. Shaw, the only freshman in the starting lineup, added nine points, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Jones led the Bulldogs with 18 points, including 14 in the second half, while Jenna Handschke and Sarah Daly added 11 and 10, respectively.
“We went very cold,” McElrone said. “We got complacent with the offense we were running in the first half against the same defense. Their physicality kind of took us out of that a little bit, and that’s the name of the game. You have to be able to match that, and we didn’t do a good enough job of that in the second half.
“I thought we came out and played hard in the first half. We talked at halftime about how they’re going to come out, and they’re going to look to punch you in the mouth. We did not respond well to that, which is very weird for us, because we’re a defensive team. For us to give up 38 points in the second half is not like us.”
The Red Raiders hit the court for the first time since a season-ending loss to Marinette last year in a WIAA Division 2 regional final.
McElrone believes his team has a chance to compete with the top teams in the Fox River Classic Conference. De Pere won the FRCC last season with a 18-0 record, but, like Pulaski, saw its season end in a regional final. The conference also includes six-time state champion Notre Dame, Ashwaubenon, Bay Port, Green Bay Preble, Green Bay Southwest, Manitowoc, Sheboygan North and West De Pere.
“There are no nights off,” McElrone said. “The top of the conference is really, really good. I’d put it up against anybody as far as the conference goes, this year especially. But guess what? That prepares us for the year no matter what the record says. I think last year was the first year the FRCC did not have a team make it past a regional final ever. It’s kind of a bounceback year for that, and the conference is going to be really good.”
Pulaski’s home opener Dec. 5 is also the Red Raiders’ FRCC opener against Sheboygan North.
“We have a freshman and sophomore starting (Shaw and Anya Hasser), so we have a lot of good things happening,” McElrone said. “We’re excited for the year. We’re only six days into the season. We had a really good summer. A game is different. Now they have their feet wet and know what it takes. I think we’re going to be just fine.”
The Red Raiders’ first week of their 2025-26 schedule also included road games at Shawano on Nov. 20, Oshkosh North on Nov. 21 and Menasha on Nov. 24.
“We have four games in six days,” McElrone said. “We don’t have any time to dwell on it. Tomorrow, we’re getting ready for Shawano with (Leah) Nordin. She’s a nice ballplayer, and we’ll give it everything we’ve got, that’s for sure.”
