Springs suffocates Omro after half

Anna Willis and Jasline Loynes wreaked all sorts of havoc to open the second half on Thursday night.

Omro's offense couldn't find an answer against the pair at the top of the St. Mary's Springs zone, helping the Ledgers to a 58-49 home Flyway win and snapping Omro's 10-game winning streak.

Coach Mitch Redig said he thinks it was the length of Willis and Loynes that makes them so effective.

"It's that length and we've talked about the athleticism as well," Redig said. "I think we do a much better job communicating when we play our 2-3 as well.

"The girls do a great job of talking through the cutters, understanding who's on the ball, who needs to play where. That's something they've really taken ownership of."

The defensive effort led to success on the other end as well. The Ledgers went on an 18-2 run to start the second half after trailing by 5 at halftime.

Springs (10-2 overall, 5-1 in Flyway) struck quickly, for that stretch took just 4:13.

During the previous two games against Kiel and Lomira, the Ledgers looked flat to start the second half and were outscored by their opponents. Redig said the team wanted to make sure that didn't happen again.

"That's something we talked about at halftime, that our second halves haven't been great," Redig said. "We've always kind of hit that wall at some point, so just really proud of the way that the girls were able to really dictate on the defensive end, which allowed us some easy opportunities on the offensive end."

Willis scored 8 of her 10 points in the second half, all coming at the rim in transition. Loynes also had a pair of transition buckets and got to the line once. Willis said defense is her strong suit, so she tries to use that to fuel other parts of her game.

"It's a lot of fun with me and Jasline out there," Willis said. "We kind of feed off of each other's energy. My strength is definitely my defense, so I just try to contribute as much as I can."

Later in the half, Springs went on a 10-0 run, which opened up a 57-38 lead. However, the Ledgers only scored once in transition during that span.

Redig said when his team couldn't get out and run, he was impressed with how it was patient and looked for a great shot.

"I thought even when we had to play in the half court in the second half, we did a much better job of sharing the basketball, making that extra pass and then getting to the lane," Redig said. "We were able to get into the bonus early, which was beneficial, and we were able to take advantage of that as well."

Grace Coon was one player who benefitted from the Ledgers' ball movement. She scored a season-high 15 points, including hitting two 3-pointers. One came in the first couple minutes of the game.

Coon said she knew she had to contribute against Omro, and she gained confidence with the early 3.

"It's definitely a big confidence thing, too," Coon said. "I knew coming into this game I was going to need to score just because this is a good team. Once I see that [shot] go in, it helps my confidence a lot."

Omro (11-3, 4-2) finished the game on an 11-1 run to cause slight concern for Springs, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

Ava Koch and Shayli Carter tied with a team-high and game-high 16 points. Each had 9 in the second half and got it going during that final stretch.

Coon said the halftime message from Redig was to just be a step closer to Koch, who came in averaging about 20 during her past 10 games.

"Those girls are strong players, so it was important that everybody stepped up and everybody knew where everyone was and made sure they were locked down," Coon said.

PHOTO GALLERY: Omro at Springs girls basketball - 1/9/2025