PATIENCE PYAN and TINA L. SCOTT

The Merrill Girls Basketball Team traveled to Stevens Point for a conference match-up on Dec. 6, 2022. The girls trailed 1-11 early in the first half and struggled early on to score. About three quarters of the way through the first half they battled back and got it within 3, with a score of 13-16; however, that let go again and went down to 17-24 at halftime.
The score remained 17-24 for about the first quarter of the second half. Scores went back and forth, with Stevens Point maintaining the lead.
Towards the end of the game, the Merrill girls got it within 2, with a score of 36-34, but they couldn’t quite get over that bump and pull ahead and went on to lose the game 39-49. The Bluejays had 23 turnovers, and the Panthers scored 24 points off those turnovers. On the bright side, the girls continue to be impressive from the free throw line, shooting 75%. Merrill Girls were led by Maddie Drew (15 pts, 2 reb, 1 stl), Mia Ott (12 pts, 3 reb, 3 stl), and Alayna Pozorski (9 pts, 1 stl, 1 reb).
Box Score
Merrill 39 @ SPASH 49

The Merrill Girls Basketball team traveled to Elmwood on Dec. 28-29, 2022, for their Holiday Tournament. The girls played one game each day.
On the 28th, Merrill played Augusta, and the girls started the game with a 9-0 run. A little less than halfway through the first half, the score was 23-10, and the Bluejays went on a 15-0 run and only allowed 4 more points the rest of that entire first half of the game. The Bluejays were winning 50-14 at halftime.
The start of the second half was a little rough, as there was no score change for either team for about six minutes, but eventually the Lady Jays found their groove again. The girls led in just about every category, scoring an impressive 39 points off the 30 turnovers forced. They went on to win big 76-32. Merrill was led by Maddie Drew (19 pts, 1 reb, 3 stl), Sophie Wendorf (14 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast), Alayna Pozorski (12 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast), and Freshman Kaela Clerveaux (9 pts, 6 reb, 2 stl) also got on the books scoring.
Box Score
Merrill 76 @ Augusta 32

The next day the Bluejays played Alma/Pepin in the Tournament Championship and it was pretty similar to the day before. The Bluejays came ready to play and immediately jumped on Alma/Pepin, scoring 21 points before their opponents had even made a basket. The Bluejays led in pretty much every single category, including shooting %, rebounds, assists, and steals, and also scored 25 points off the 27 turnovers made by their opponents. Merrill held on to this lead for the entire game, not giving it up once. They went on to win the game 62-27, winning the Tournament. The Lady Jays were led by Alayna Pozorski (20 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast), Maddie Drew (8 pts, 3 reb, 4 stl), Mia Ott (7 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast), and Sophie Wendorf (7 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast).
Box Score
Merrill 62 @ Alma/Pepin 27