By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
McFarland scored six points on consecutive possessions late in regulation and beat Waterford 58-45 Feb. 24 in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal girls high school basketball game at McFarland.
The loss brought the Wolverines’ season to a close. Waterford opened the playoffs with a 67-35 victory Feb. 21 at home in a regional quarterfinal game against Elkhorn.
Coach Dena Brechtl said a one-point deficit quickly turned into a seven-point deficit when McFarland scored six points on back-to-back possessions with about five minutes left in the game.
Brechtl said the Wolverines were unable to score late to close the gap, and were forced to put a good-shooting McFarland team on the foul line.
“We played some very good basketball, but needed some key scoring at the end,” Brechtl said. “A few defensive breakdowns made it tough on us, and allowed them to stretch the lead.”
Waterford entered the game as the sixth seed in its regional bracket. McFarland was seeded third. The Spartans (18-6) outscored the Wolverines 24-22 in the first half and 34-23 in the second half.
“McFarland has two players that really hurt us,” Brechtl said. “Katie Rounds and Annalise DeMuth, both six feet tall and McFarland’s leading scorers, were tough for us to handle. We were emphasizing that we would need to play 36 minutes of basketball to beat this team.”
Rounds scored a game-high 30 points. DeMuth added 17. Katie Rohner led Waterford (12-12) with 12 points. Kathleen Fitzgerald added 10.
Waterford beat Elkhorn twice this season in SLC play, and did not struggle in the third matchup between the two teams.
“We came out dominant, and played some strong defense and knocked down some nice shots,” Brechtl said. “We played together by moving the ball and including everyone in the mix. We rebounded very well, and looked even stronger than we did the first two times we played Elkhorn.”
The Wolverines led 34-20 at halftime, and outscored the Elks (1-22) 33-15 in the second half.
Maddy Anderson and Rohner each scored 13 points to lead the Wolverines.
“In addition, Myranda Schuttenhelm came off the bench to hit some nice outside shots for us,” Brechtl said. “Everyone was able to get in and play. It was a great first tournament game for us.”
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