By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Silver Lake girls gathered themselves after losing for the first time in a year and half and won 62-53 at rival Rossville Tuesday night.
Coming off a 68-58 loss at Centralia, the Eagles faced another road test while many in Silver Lake’s rotation were learning tough lessons under fire.
Junior Kailyn Hanni scored 22 points for Silver Lake in Tuesday's 62-53 win over rival Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sophomore Savannah Wende scored 16 points with four 3-pointers in Silver Lake's 62-53 win over Rossville Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolfe/TSN]
“Every game for us is a growing experience and we grew so much having this experience tonight and last Friday at Centralia,” Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter said. “Getting a road win is awesome, particularly anytime you play in the ‘War on 24.’ You know it’s going to be a battle.”
Perhaps still recovering from the defeat at Centralia, the Eagles fell in an early hole to the Lady Dawgs. The home team extended its advantage to 18-12 late in the first quarter.
But that’s when the Eagles’ Savannah Wende hit the first of several big shots on the evening. She knocked down a 3-pointer, which Kailyn Hanni followed with a 2-pointer to cut the deficit to 18-17.
The second period was all Silver Lake. The Eagles ran off an 18-0 run, holding the Lady Dawgs scoreless for about six minutes. Wende hit three more 3-pointers and tallied 11 points in the period.
“My teammates help me so much. They give me good looks all the time,” Wende said. “I’m mostly a shooter, but I think there’s more to my game than just that. I’m really confident in all levels of my game.”
The sophomore came off the bench to hit five of eight shots in the first half to spark the comeback. She said she doesn’t mind not being a starter and likes being a valuable tool for Porter to utilize.
“I’m just happy to do whatever the coach tells me to do, and I just go into the game and try to do my best every time,” Wende said.
The Eagles outscored Rossville 20-5 in the second period. It turned out to be the only period the Eagles outscored the home team.
“We went on a big run in the second quarter, and then in the third quarter shots aren’t falling, one of our starters gets injured.” Porter said. “So, what do you do? I thought we did a great job managing the clock and getting the shots that we wanted. And we made our free throws down the stretch, which is what good teams do.”
The Eagles improved to 3-1, 3-0 in the Big East League. Porter said that while Centralia is a smaller school, he doesn’t view last Friday’s loss as a disappointment.
“We think Centralia is one of the best teams on our schedule,” Porter said. “They are a really good 1A school, took third in the state last year and they bring everybody back. They’ve got a lot of size and athleticism. So, it was really our first big test for many of our kids.
“In that game, and again tonight, we continue to battle and play the next play, and that’s what good teams do,” Porter said. “Tonight, we found ways to win the game. Against Centralia, we were down 14 at half and we came back and made it a two-point game in the second half. We were right in it in the fourth quarter. So, I’m happy with the way our team battled, especially as inexperienced as we are.”
In Tuesday’s win at Silver Lake, the Eagles were led by Hanni’s 22 points. Wende added 16.
Rossville was led by Rylee Dick, who knocked down five 3-pointers and finished with 28. Nora Burdiek chipped in 15.
SILVER LAKE GIRLS 62, ROSSVILLE 53
Silver Lake 17 20 11 14 -- 62
Rossville 18 5 14 16 -- 53
Silver Lake (3-1, 3-0) – Hanni 5-15 12-13 22, Zordel 0-3 2-2 2, Heiman 0-7 0-0 0, Bolan 1-6 2-4 4, Deiter 3-10 3-8 9, Whitehead 2-3 2-2 6, Wende 6-14 0-0 16, Brewster 1-2 1-2 3. Totals: 18-60 22-31 62 .
Rossville (3-1, 0-1) – Haehn 2-4 1-3 5, Dick 9-22 5-6 28, Sanders 0-3 0-0 0, Sumner 1-2 2, Burdiek 4-15 7-10 15, Mitchell 0-2 0-0 0, Lewis 1-8 0-0 3, Whitmore 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-51 13-19 53.
3-point goals – Silver Lake 4 (Wende 4), Rossville 6 (Dick 5, Lewis 1). Total fouls – Silver Lake 15, Rossville 20. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
