By NICK BRILOWSKI
Special to the Gazette
The Stevens Point Area Senior High girls' basketball team almost reached the summit, but couldn't quite get over the top of the hill.
Trailing Wisconsin Rapids by as many as 11 points in the third quarter on Friday night, the Panthers cut the lead to two points in the fourth quarter, but was unable to come all the way back in a 37-33 defeat to the Red Raiders at SPASH Fieldhouse.
Turnovers haunted the Panthers (3-4 overall, 3-3 Wisconsin Valley Conference) in the first half as Wisconsin Rapids jumped out to an 11-8 lead after the first quarter and a 23-14 edge at halftime.
"We haven't started well in any of our games this year," SPASH head coach Kraig Terpstra said. "We need to make some changes. After seven games, it isn't coincidence anymore, it's a pattern."
Baskets were difficult to come by in the first half for SPASH, but the one bright spot in the opening 16 minutes of play was the return of senior guard Kara Kujawa.
Kujawa, who was playing in her first game since injuring her ankle in the Panthers' first game of the season, came off the bench to score all eight of her points in the contest.
"It was real big," Terpstra said of having Kujawa back in the lineup, "but in a way it hurt us. I'm ecstatic she's back, but she only had two days of practice and that hindered our ability to play together. She kind of got tired in the end.
"I really thought she would be a spark for us because she plays so hard."
Despite the offensive struggles in the first half, the Panthers managed to chip away at the Red Raider lead following halftime.
A big part of SPASH's resurgence was the play of point guard Shannon Collier. After being held scoreless in the first half, the speedy left-hander was able to use her quickness to get to the basket en route to a team-high 10 points.
"She really attacked their pressure much better (in the second half)," Terpstra said of Collier. "The pace was where we wanted it to be."
After trailing by double-digits early in the half, the Panthers were able to cut Wisconsin Rapids' lead to two, 27-25, on a three-point play by Kelly Jablonski.
However, the Red Raiders were able to answer SPASH's rally as Sarah Oligny and Jenny Wirtz recorded back-to-back lay-ups to stretch the guest's lead back up to six, 31-25, and never looked back.
Wirtz led Wisconsin Rapids with 10 points while Oligney added nine for the Red Raiders who improved to 3-3 overall and 3-2 in the Valley.