Junior Kate Wulf knocked down a trio of fourth-period 3-pointers Saturday, propelling her squad to a 55-49 win against Omaha Gross on a chippy afternoon at Blair High School.
Both teams earned bruises in the lane, but it was the Bears' 11 long-range makes that proved to be the difference. The home squad improved to 2-1 overall with the win.
“I just really wanted to get a 'W,'” Wulf said after her 16-point performance. “Gross Catholic is a super physical team. We knew that coming in, so I'm really proud of how we battled — didn't give up.”
Freshman Cadence Field scored Blair's first bucket of the decisive fourth quarter, but Wulf's next three baskets made sure the Bears stayed out front for much of the final 8 minutes. All three makes came from beyond the arc.
Addie Sullivan later added a 3 of her own at 51-47 before Field's next 2-point bucket pushed the home squad's advantage to 53-47.
Gross continued its effort to come back during the final minute, but free throws by Field kept the Cougars at bay. She finished with eight points, while Taytum Macholan totaled 11 with three 3-point makes — one shy of Wulf's team lead.
“This is what we needed to regain confidence and know we can do it,” Wulf said, noting how BHS entered Saturday coming off of a loss to Waverly earlier in the week.
The Bears, however, earned a 33-29 lead through two quarters against the Cougars, sinking five 3-pointers for a 21-15 advantage through the first 8 minutes. Macholan made the first for a 7-2 advantage before back-to-back makes for Wulf and Madeline Chikos pushed the first-quarter lead to nine points.
Chikos added her second long-range bucket before the end of the period as did Beau Wendt, who used the backboard glass to find the bottom of the net.
Macholan notched a corner 3 during the second quarter, too, but BHS largely used free throws to hold the scoreboard advantage into halftime. Notably, the game started to get chippy during the second 8 minutes as fouls mounted with both teams earning flop warnings from the referees.
In the third period, though, the visiting Cougars earned their first lead of the game at 36-35, finishing off a 7-0 scoring run. Field scored at the rim to get the lead back, which the Bears held into the fourth and, ultimately, at the end of the game.
Coach Matt Aschoff's team tentatively next plays Friday during the first round of the Eastern Midlands Conference Tournament. Matchups were unavailable as of press time.
BHS BASKETBALL LINE SCORES
Saturday
Blair 55, Omaha Gross 49
OG (3-1) 15 14 7 13 — 49
BHS (2-1) 21 12 4 18 — 55
Scoring: BHS — Kate Wulf 16, Taytum Macholan 11, Cadence Field 8, Madeline Chikos 6, Addie Sullivan 6, Hayden Frink-Mathis 3, Beau Wendt 3, Claire Anderson 2.
OG — Lily Riha 15, Peyton Yarpe 10, Sienna Miller 10, Eva Wurgler 8, Brooklyn Donaldson 4, Alyssa Cap 2.
