Lightning rides hot start, Stage to win

Updated: Friday, 06 Jan 2012, 11:21 PM CST
Published : Friday, 06 Jan 2012, 11:14 PM CST

APPLETON - The Appleton North girls basketball team knew a win against Fox Valley Association co-leader Fond du Lac on Friday night would confirm the Lightning as a contender for the FVA title it shared a season ago.

North, though, knew it wouldn’t be easy, not with Fond du Lac coming off its first FVA loss of the season on Tuesday.

Nonetheless, behind a hot start and a career game from Jennie Stage, the Lightning served notice it once again will be factor in the FVA as it handled the Cardinals, 57-51, in the FOX 11 girls basketball game of the week.

“It’s only one game that separates us,” North coach Joe Russom said about trailing Appleton East by one game in the FVA. “We know any night anybody can knock somebody else off. It’s pretty deep, our conference. It’s a matter of us playing consistent basketball.”

In the first half, North consistently dominated Fond du Lac, ranked No. 4 in the FOX 11 Top 11 girls basketball poll. The Lightning jumped to a 16-2 lead as everything was going right.

North was scoring from inside and out and its pressure was overwhelming the Cardinals. Fond du Lac did trim the lead to eight points midway through the second quarter, but the Lightning stretched it back to 32-19 at the break.

How North was able to separate itself from Fond du Lac was its pressure. Fond du Lac committed 18 turnovers and the Lightning scored 16 points off those miscues.

“We jumped out of the gates pretty early,” Russom said. “We did everything we wanted. We couldn’t have scripted it any better. That was huge for us because in the second half they took it to us on the boards. That’s their game.”

Fond du Lac, which was coming off a home loss to Kimberly on Tuesday, didn’t fade, however. In the second half, the Cardinals turned the ball over just four times and the tandem of Karson Stacey and Taylor Penning combined to score 21 second-half points.

Russom said part of the reason Fond du Lac had success was North stopped playing its game.

“Our game is to push it,” Russom said. “We don’t have any height and I always have felt speed negates height. We have to run them. That’s what we didn’t do in the second half. They did a great job of getting back and making us beat them in the half court.”

Fond du Lac got within five points at 51-46 and Stage admitted she was looking at the scoreboard.

“A little bit, a little nervous,” Stage said. “At the end of the game, when we’re ahead like that, we have to work with the time. I was little bit nervous, but we worked it out.”

That was the closest it would get. North salted the game away at the free throw line, going 14-for-19 in the fourth quarter.

“We got seniors, they know how to do it,” Russom said. “I had faith in these kids.”

The one kid Russom really has faith in is Stage, who scored a career-high 22 points. At 5-foot-8, Stage is undersized in the post, but her quickness and all-around offensive game allows her to play big.

“Stage is a 5-foot-8 kid that has the heart of a 6-foot-2 kid,” Russom said. “She just busts her butt. She’ll outwork you. She’s one of those kids you love to have on your team. She’s a pest on defense and rebounds.”

When asked how she gets her points, Stage said, “The key is to be stronger than the other player and get lower. I always say, ‘Go for the knees.’ Get lower than them and go under than them. If you can’t be tall, find a way to get around them.”

• Notes: Stage scored all of North’s points (9) in the third quarter. … Stacey entered the game averaging 6.1 points per game, but led Fond du Lac with a career-high 20 points, while Penning added 14. … Fond du Lac has lost three of its last five games. … North has won four games in a row. … Fond du Lac next plays Friday at home against Menasha. … Next Friday, Appleton North hosts Appleton East.
• Game ball: Stage, who had a career game.
• Numbers game: 18 First-half turnovers for Fond du Lac.

APPLETON NORTH 57, FOND DU LAC 51
Fond du Lac……...10 9 13 19 - 51
Appleton North….19 13 9 16 - 57
Fond du Lac (7-3, 5-2)
Karson Stacey 20, Brianna Wagner 8, Taylor Penning 14, Ashlin O’Brien 2, Emily Riese 7. 3-PT: 3 (Stacey 2, Penning 1). FG: 19-44. FT: 10-18. Turnovers: 22. F: 22. Fouled out: None.
Appleton North (8-2, 5-2)
Mackenzie Greisch 3, Jordyn Dudley 9, Jennie Stage 22, Meg Riebau 7, Jenny Jones 7, McKenzie Clemons 3, Kati Baker 6. 3-PT: 3 (Dudley 1, Jones 1, Clemons 1). FG: 18-45. FT: 18-25. Turnovers: 13. F: 20. Fouled out: Dudley.

doug.ritchay@wluk.com