By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
The Amherst High School girls basketball team took advantage of fouls Tuesday, Nov. 27, to come back in the second half and hand the Pacelli girls a 45-38 loss.
The Falcons took advantage of 24 fouls on Pacelli to pull out the victory, even though they were able to convert only 11 of 23 attempts, often missing the first shot while in the bonus situation.
"It was a very physical game," said Falcon coach Shelli Haferbecker. The team has been working to improve its free throwing, with the players running if they miss free throws during practice. "Sooner or later it's going to pay off," she said.
After losing four starters from last year's team to graduation, Haferbecker said the squad is starting to come together. "We're waiting for all the players on the team to play their type of game," she said. "We're getting two or three here and there. We haven't had our five starters playing their really best games, but they're starting to get their confidence."
Pacelli coach Jim Warzinik said he feels the Cardinals are just working on getting in shape for the game. "It's early in the season," he said, "we're optimistic. We play with a lot of heart and determination. I think when we get in basketball condition, those 'Ws' will start falling."
While the Cardinals have started out slowly at 0-3, he said he's not concerned. "The thing about basketball is it's not a sprint, it's a marathon."
As far as the fouls, Warzinik said the Cardinal are a physical squad. "We like the physical game," he said.
Pacelli senior Emily Radomski got in foul trouble early, picking up three fouls in the first quarter, then her fourth before halftime. She fouled out with 5:55 to go in the fourth quarter after scoring nine points.
In addition to the foul problems, the Cardinals started without senior guard Emily Swanson, who injured her ankle. "Emily is certainly an important part of our offense," Warzinik said, who didn't expect her to play. "It was up to her. She gutted it out and had a couple of steals. She's going to be a heck of defensive player."
Pacelli jumped out to a 10-2 lead, but Amherst cut the deficit to 12-9 by the end of the first quarter.
After Amherst drew to 12-11 to start the second quarter, Stephanie Fischer put in a couple of jumpers and Stephanie Johnson added a three-pointer to extend the Pacelli lead to 19-11 with almost six minutes left in the half.
The Cardinals then went scoreless the rest of the half as Amherst slowly came back. The half ended with Pacelli up 19-18.
Lynsey Allen scored for the Falcons at the start of the second half, giving them their first lead of the game, 20-19, and they never trailed again, taking a 28-22 lead before Pacelli closed it to 31-27 at the end of the third quarter.
The Cardinals got to within two, 38-36, with 2:33 left in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons then pulled away, scoring their final five points from the free throw line.
Allen and Jamie Krutza led the way for the Falcons, scoring 13 points each. Eight of Krutza's points came from the free throw line. They were the only two Falcons in double figures.
Johnson led the way for Pacelli with 11 points, including three three-pointers. Radomski and Stephanie Fischer each had nine.
The victory improved the Falcons' season record to 2-1 and 1-0 in the Central Wisconsin Conference Large Schools Division, while Pacelli's conference mark is now 0-1.