The Merrill girls put it all together to collect their second win of the season when Wausau East showed up in the MHS Fieldhouse on Friday.
The Jays prevailed 44-15 to improve to 2-3 in the WVC and 2-9 in toto.
The girls took an incredible 18-2 lead into halftime, powered by 8-0 and 10-2 quarters. After the Lumberjacks played within a competitive 11-8 third, Merrill capped off the big win with a 15-5 fourth.
“It was a really good team win for us,” Merrill coach Melissa Yuska said. “Everybody was able to contribute in some way, and we were really happy for that. I did see some nice things defensively, obviously. East struggled to put the ball in the basket. It was nice to be on the other side of that.
“We were able to really break down their defense, and our half-court defense really gave them for the most part one shot and out. We’ve got to keep working hard in practice and carry it over to games so we can get off this roller-coaster ride that we’ve been on.”
The squad was paced by: Renee Sladek (6 p, 7 r, 4 st, 3 bl); Jourdyn Mootz (12 p, 3 r); Andi English (4 p, 7 r); Marissa Bartz (4 p, 3 r, 2 bl); Ellen Donner (5 p, 3 a); Lindsay Krueger (6 p); Emma Sowieja (5 p); and Liz Smith (3 r).
Merrill-FG: 15-37 (41%); FT: 14-20 (70%). WE-FG: 7; FT: 1-9 (11%).
Evergreen chop
The Jays turned a 7-6 deficit into a 20-16 debit in Tuesday’s home game with Everest, but the second half was all D.C.E.
The Evergreens used a 12-2 third to take charge and capped it with a 15-8 fourth for a 43-30 victory.
“If we could have ended the game at halftime, it would have been a nice game for us,” Yuska said. “We only shot 1-for-16 in the second half and that basket came with one minute left. Doing that you’re not going to win many games.
“Marissa had a good game starting for Renee, who was sick and couldn’t play.”
Top performances came from: Mootz (10 p, 6 r, 4 st); Bartz (7 p, 8 r, 3 a); Krueger (3 p, 4 r, 4 st); English (3 p, 3 r, 2 bl); Sowieja (4 p); and Aly Brandvold (3 r).
Merrill-FG: 8-32 (25%); FT: 13-23 (57%). DCE-FG: 15; FT: 8-14 (57%).