Lomira comeback falls short to open Sentry Classic

Lomira got into the bonus with 6:50 left.

Free-throw shooting combined with stops on the defensive end helped the Lions storm back and nearly knock off Almond-Bancroft on Thursday afternoon at UW-Steven's Point.

Lomira lost 55-49 to the Eagles, the No. 10-ranked team in Division 5, to open the Sentry Classic.

The Lions trailed by 3 and had three opportunities in the final 1:30 to tie. They got the ball to an open Whitney Witkowski in the left corner, but she had all two 3s rim in and out.

"She shoots a million shots like that all the time," Cook said. "Sometimes it doesn't fall. They did what I asked them to do, they got to the middle, got it to a shooter and she had two really good looks.

"Nothing to hang our heads on about that. I told them, 'We shoot a million shots and sometimes the one we need to make sometimes doesn't fall and that's part of basketball.'"

Almond-Bancroft (6-1) led by as many as 11 in the second half, but struggled to contain Lomira, and specifically freshman Josie Christian, without fouling.

Christian reached the 21-point mark with 12:08 left. The Eagles called timeout and began to face-guard Christian everywhere she went. Emalee Petrick primarily guarded Christian, who still ended up with a game-high 31.

As good as Christian was, so was Almond-Bancroft junior Mya Dernbach, who had 10 of her team-high 18 points in the second half. She found success driving to the basket and using her 5-foot-10 frame to finish strong.

"It's kind of amazing that she's only a freshman that she can stay that poised, but I also think it was her teammates continuing to work the ball around," Cook said. "They weren't that phased by it.

"Being a young group like this, they worked through it, they figured out when to get her the ball and when they needed to take their opportunities."

Although it took Lomira (4-5) time to get into a rhythm after the change, the Eagles struggled with fouls in the final 10 minutes. After getting into the bonus so early, Lomira paid off the extra free throws.

The Lions went 10-for-12 from the line in the final seven minutes. Christian was a perfect 10-for-10 on the day.

"We were able to get to the basket and get to the free-throw line," Cook said. "That's kind of where we started to claw our way back."

Senior Savanna Frea did not score in the first half, but got going in the second half, scoring 9 points.

Cook credited Frea's teammates in making the right play.

"I think out guards out top did a really good job of looking for her," Cook said. "We got to the basket and sometimes Josie was triple teamed and she was able to read and see where they were coming from and dish it down to Savanna for some really easy buckets."

The game was the latest in a challenging nonconference schedule that Cook has put together. She said she likes the way her team is responding to the challenge.

"That kind of shows our resilience for our team, even though we're a young team," Cook said. "[Today] they realized there was a lot of game left and they buckled down on defense."

PHOTO GALLERY: Lomira vs. Almond-Bancroft girls basketball - 12/26/2024