Alpena Women’s Basketball Team Seals Free Throw Victory | News, Sports, Jobs

TRAVERSE CITY — The Alpena High women’s basketball team scored a big victory on Friday against the highly challenging Traverse City West team.

The Wildcats defeated the Titans in a thrilling game, with Alpena winning 32-30. Good defense at the right time and clutch-free throw shooting were the keys to Alpena’s success against the West.

“This is a huge morale boost for the whole team and a great moment for Faith (Dragievich) because she was the last girl we could count on and she played great both defensively and offensively. , we were able to win the match.

Alpena eventually won, but West got off to a much better start.

In the first quarter, Alpena spread the ball to four different scorers, including Mara Wisniewski’s big three.

The Titans outscored the Wildcats by 6 points in the first quarter. Traverse City’s scoring was led by Reagan LaCrosse, who had a pair of layups.

The West held a 15-9 lead going into the second quarter and carried that momentum into halftime.

Alpena started limiting turnovers and started defending better, allowing only 9 points.

Near the end of the half, Avery Darby hit two crucial free throws, along with three massive free throws from Dragewicz.

Alpena lost 24-18 in the second half and had plenty of time to fight back.

“I told the girls at halftime that they know their shots aren’t falling, but if they keep shooting and limit turnovers, they’re going to win this game.” , in the end it really helped.”

Defensive changes began to appear as soon as we entered the 3rd quarter. The Wildcats held the West to just four points and Reese scored several steals between Wisniewski and Dragewicz.

Alpena’s defense improved significantly, but their offense began to slow down. The Wildcats also got better in the second half of the game, although he only scored four points.

Alpena had a hotly contested start to the fourth quarter. West had foul trouble starting the quarter, giving Alpena several free-throw opportunities.

The Wildcats tied the game with less than a minute remaining and didn’t look back.

With the game tied 30-30, Dragievic was fouled and sent her to the free-throw line with just six seconds left in regulation. Dragiewicz knocked down both free his throws without issue, securing the victory for the Wildcats.

“The crowd was so loud that when she made the free throw, she said she couldn’t even hear it. I’m very proud to have stepped up,” Darby said.

Dragewicz led the Wildcats with 11 points and Avery Darby had 8 points.

Traverse City West’s leading scorer was Grace Bohrer, who scored seven goals. The Titans also had Ainsley Hewitt and six LaCrosses.

Alpena will host Gaylord on Friday.