Lady Demons prepare for postseason
By Mike Ramczyk
DELAVAN – Ashlyn Barry’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the half put Burlington up 32-14 over the host Delavan-Darien Comets, and it was a sign of things to come.
The long-range shot foreshadowed a big second half for the Lady Demons, who forced plenty of turnovers and repeatedly broke the Comets’ full-court press in a 56-39 blowout.
Burlington, which won its third straight game, capitalized from 19 steals and 15 assists, as the offense moved the ball well and created open looks down low for Megan Wallace, who scored 13 points and added nine rebounds.
Jessa Burling scored a game-high 15 points.
Barry paced the defense with eight steals.
Burlington led by as many as 26 points in the second half, with a 45-19 lead midway through the second half.
Delavan kept the lead around 20 points, but Burling was able to penetrate and score late, and a few buckets down low from Adeline Jachim and Holly Johnson extended the margin.
“We did a good job finishing around the basket tonight,” said Burlington coach Mary Parker. “When we moved the ball, and got ball reversals, we were able to get them out of position on defense, which opened up some easy looks for us. Defensively, we were able to pressure them into some turnovers.”
Burlington improved to 11-9 overall and 8-4 in the Southern Lakes Conference. The Demons sit two and a half games behind conference-leading Wilmot and Union Grove (both 11-2).
While the Demons can’t win the conference title, they can knock off Wilmot Thursday for their last home game.
Delavan-Darien got 11 points from Kenna Timmerman. The Comets were without top player Kat Lopez, who was out with an injury.
“It feels really good, especially since the seeding meeting is this weekend,” Burling, who averages 17 points per game, said of the win. “This helps us get a better seed, which is exciting.”
“It would be nice to split with Wilmot, who beat us earlier in the season. We are focusing on basic things. We have to do a little bit better job of boxing out and rebounding. We need to do whatever we can to make things easier. Our team is starting to click, and it would definitely be nice to make a run in the playoffs.”
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