Defense.
That’s what is keeping Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s girls’ basketball team in the hunt for a Central Wisconsin 8 Conference championship.
That defense also limited Weyauwega-Fremont to four field goals Feb. 5 in a 38-20 loss to the Chargers.
Although W-B scored only 14 points in the first half, the Chargers held the Indians to a pair of Karissa Akey free throws in the first quarter and led 14-2 at the break.
The Indians didn’t hit a basket until Kiley Akey’s three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter cut the Chargers’ lead to 21-6.
W-B took a 23-6 lead into the fourth quarter and outscored the Indians 15-14 the rest of the way.
Alyssa Goode opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to make it 23-9 , but the Indians never got any closer the rest of the way.
It was tough night for us,” coach Joe Titus said. “Thirty-one turnovers and giving up 15 offensive rebounds put them in the driver’s seat. Our kids played hard. Tonight, they were just the better team.”
The game turned into a defensive battle, according to Titus.
“Defensively, we did a good job,” he said. “This is a team that averages about 60 points a game and we held them to 35 and 38 points this year. That says a lot about our team.”
Karissa Akey led the Indians with nine points. Corrissa Konkol was the only player to finish in double figures, as she led the Chargers with 10.
The Chargers improved to 17-1 overall and 10-1 in the CWC-8, while the Indians fell to 12-6 on the season and 7-4 in conference play.
“We really hang our hat on the defensive end and the kids showed that tonight,” Titus said. “We just need to regroup and get ready for the stretch run.”