FVL rallies to beat rival Xavier

Updated: Saturday, 21 Jan 2012, 12:10 AM CST
Published : Saturday, 21 Jan 2012, 12:02 AM CST

APPLETON - Near the end of the third quarter Xavier had built a 23-14 lead over rival Fox Valley Lutheran and it appeared the Hawks would hold serve in a key Eastern Valley Conference girls basketball game.

But just when things looked their bleakest, the Foxes played their brightest basketball of the evening.

Sparked by eight points from Erin Riley, FVL outscored Xavier 18-5 to grab a four-point lead and the Foxes held on from there to defeat the Hawks, 37-36, in the GameTime Game of the Week.

â€Å"At that point, I thought we battled hard, but they’re just going to pull away or maintain that lead and we’re going to go home and say, ‘It was a tough battle,’” FVL coach Rev. Dave Wenzel said. â€Å"The kids responded very well. I don’t think they looked at the scoreboard like I did. They just made things happen.”

Up to that point, FVL, which entered on a two-game losing streak, found out why Xavier was holding teams to a conference-low 32.4 points per game.

Before FVL’s 18-5 run, it had just 14 points and 16 turnovers. FVL couldn’t get anything easy. In fact, FVL committed 11 turnovers in the first quarter, but only trailed 8-4.

â€Å"As bad as it was, I was still relatively happy,” Wenzel said about the first quarter. â€Å"I’ve seen Xavier just destroy teams with that press. I’ve been in this gym and down 20-4 after the first quarter. (The score was) 8-4. I wasn’t really happy with the four, but we were only down four.”

FVL’s defense also came to play and made sure Xavier, ranked No. 9 in the FOX 11 Top 11 girls basketball poll, didn’t run away from it. The halftime score was 14-11, but this is when Hawks leading scorer Michaela Machurick took over.

The junior hit three 3-pointers to give the Hawks their nine-point lead and it appeared the Foxes had no chance to rally. That’s when Riley decided to get in on the fun.

Riley nailed a 3-pointer and on the next possession she drove to the basket, made a layup and was fouled. She converted the free throw and all of a sudden FVL trailed just 23-20.

And a basket by Abby Radue got FVL within 23-22 after three quarters.

Riley knew it was do-or-die.

â€Å"I thought we can’t wait any longer, we have to step up now,” Riley said.

In the fourth, Xavier responded with five quick points, including a 3-pointer from Karley Hehli to increase the lead to 28-22.

However, FVL scored 10 straight points – five from Abby Huntington – to end the 18-5 run and give the Foxes a 32-28 lead, a lead they would never relinquish.

FVL's game-changing run came from nowhere, so what happened?

â€Å"I think we opened up our offense a lot and made some nice cuts and hit our cutters and we finished,” Riley said. â€Å"The first half we weren’t finishing.”

Wenzel was pleased with his team’s clutch play.

â€Å"We had a solid fourth quarter; the girls played well,” Wenzel said. â€Å"What we struggled with all year is executing on both ends of the court. I thought tonight was - I don’t think we played a great 32 minutes - but there was more consistency. We got good looks on offense and for the most part limited them to one shot and that was huge.”

What also was huge was what the win meant for FVL. The Foxes, Xavier and Freedom each entered Friday’s play with one league loss. FVL and Freedom each won Friday, so they are tied with one EVC loss, as Freedom is 7-1 and FVL is 6-1. Xavier is 6-2.

â€Å"It was very important for us to get this,” Wenzel said. â€Å"We lost a couple in a row. To get the win on their court is big. We still have to take care of business.

â€Å"It gives us confidence heading into the second half of the season.”

• Notes: Riley scored all nine of her points in the second half. … Huntington also scored nine for FVL. … Machurick led all scorers with 14 points and she scored all of Xavier’s nine points in the third quarter (three 3-pointers). … Hehli added 11 points for Xavier. … FVL was 3-of-16 from the floor in the first half. … FVL committed 21 turnovers, but only 10 after the first quarter.
• Game ball: Riley, who sparked FVL’s key rally.
• Numbers game: 8 Points Riley scored in FVL’s big run..

FOX VALLEY LUTHERAN 37, XAVIER 36
FVL…....4 7 11 15 - 37
Xavier…8 6  9 13 - 36
FVL (8-3, 6-1)
Katie Doell 5, Abby Huntington 9, Taylor Hammer 7, Grace Schultz 5, Erin Riley 9, Abby Radue 2. 3-PT: 3 (Doell, 1, Huntington 1, Riley 1). FG: 12-34. FT: 10-17. Turnovers: 21. F: 13. Fouled out: None.
Xavier (8-2, 6-2)
Karley Hehli 11, Lexi Kersten 2, Megan Gresl 4, Erin Garvey 2, Michaela Machurick 14, Aimee Conley 3. 3-PT: 6 (Hehli 1, Machurick 4, Conley 1). FG: 14-32. FT: 3-7. Turnovers: 23. F: 17. Fouled out: Hehli.

doug.ritchay@wluk.com