Burlington 40, Union Grove 34
Lady Demons overcome late deficit, knock off defending champs
By Mike Ramczyk
It’s only November, and it was only the conference opener, but the Burlington girls basketball team sent a message to two-time defending champion Union Grove Tuesday night – we’re coming.
The Demons finished the game on a furious 16-2 run, utilizing patience and inside play on offense, and ran away from the Broncos, 40-34, in the Southern Lakes Conference opener for both teams at Burlington High School.
A collective, triumphant scream came from the Burlington locker room minutes after the game, as the Demons realized the significance of this victory.
It was the Demons’ first win over Union Grove since February 2014, as the Lady Broncos have had a stranglehold on the SLC the past two seasons.
“This win was huge,” said junior guard Jessa Burling, who led the Demons with 15 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and four assists. “I don’t think I can even put into words what this means to everyone. Every single person on our team put their heart and soul into this game and we wanted it so badly.”
The collective team effort ramped up with about nine minutes left in the game.
An emphatic comeback
After the Grove built their largest lead, 32-24, after a triple by freshman Peyton Killberg and a steal and bucket by Brooklyn Bull, inside enforcer Jenna Rainey picked up her fourth foul.
Already short-handed with starting Alyssa Kus gone on vacation, the Grove’s 1-3-1 half-court began to wear down.
Holly Johnson banked a 10-foot turnaround, Mackenzie Zwiebel hit and three and Burling swooped in for a lefty layup to cut the lead to 32-31, as the Broncos couldn’t buy a bucket.
Then, Burlington senior forward Megan Wallace took over, laying in a bucket from a strong baseline move and then muscling in another layup and getting fouled by two Grove defenders.
With Rainey on the bench, Burlington went on an 11-0 run to pull away.
Rainey fouled out with two minutes left.
“This was a huge game for us,” said Burlington senior Ashlyn Barry. “We respect Union Grove very much, but this was a big statement for our program. We turned it around by pure grit and the need to prove ourselves.”
During Burlington’s decisive 14-0 run, the Grove missed six straight shots, until Daphne Sieg’s offensive rebound and put-back cut it to 38-34 with 1:11 remaining.
But the Demons hit a few free throws and forced ill-advised shots and turnovers to close out the game.
Defense wins, Grove moving forward
Burlington improved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the SLC, while Union Grove dropped to 2-1.
Burlington head coach Mary Parker said it was a big win for the program.
“We won tonight on the defensive end of the floor with our intensity and tenacity,” Parker said. “We were able to pressure them, and change our defenses up to try to take them of balance. We had great contributions from our bench tonight especially on the defensive end.”
Burlington shot 35 percent from the floor, and the Grove also struggled at 31 percent.
Zwiebel added seven points and six rebounds, and Wallace pitched in seven points and five rebounds.
Bull, last year’s SLC player of the year, was held to eight points, and Janelle Shiffler scored a team-high nine.
Rainey tallied seven.
“This is one loss out of 22 regular season games,” said Union Grove coach Rob Domagalski. “It was a great win for Burlington, and we have to now move forward to our next game versus Westosha on Friday.”
“We will learn from this and get better.”
Burling, who has been a catalyst of the program’s continued improvement from year to year, could barely contain her emotions as she immediately jumped into the arms of two teammates after the handshake line.
“We knew that they were a good team and that they were bound to make a run, but that it was up to us to bring it back,” Burling said. “We kept our composure and pulled back because that’s what we needed to do. Every person on our team, especially the coaches, deserved the win so much and it feels amazing to pull through.”
-
-
-
-
-