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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
SPENCER – Spencer sophomore guard Krystal Weier spent a large amount of time on the bench in foul trouble during Tuesday’s Cloverbelt Conference East Division girls basketball game, but when she got a chance to play she made the most of it.
Weier scored six of her 10 points in the final 1:06 of overtime to lead the Rockets to a 51-48 overtime victory over Marshfield Columbus Catholic.
Weier picked up her fourth foul with 5 minutes left in the third quarter and spent the rest of that period and most of the fourth quarter on the bench watching as Spencer and Columbus traded turnovers, fouls and the lead.
Paige Albrecht’s 3-point play with 1:21 left in overtime gave Columbus a 46-45 lead before Weier scored four straight points to put the Rockets back up 49-46. Kayla Fleischmann scored to bring the Dons to within one with 26 seconds left and Weier capped the scoring with two free throws with 7.6 seconds to go.
Nikki Karl’s 3-point shot at the buzzer missed, sealing the victory for the Rockets (11-4, 9-3 Cloverbelt East).
“(Weier) definitely made a lot of plays on her own,” Spencer coach Dan Brodziski said. “She was in foul trouble, but at the end of the game she stepped up like she has all year for us.”
Spencer took its first lead of the game, 22-20, on a basket by Kyleigh Hebert 1:30 into the second half but the Dons quickly responded with seven straight points – six by Fleischmann, who finished with 12 points.
The Rockets closed to within two at the end of the quarter and a three-point play by Hebert and a basket by Courtney Schulz put Spencer back on top, 34-31, with 5:50 to go in regulation.
The lead changed hands twice setting up a frantic finish. Weier and Fleischmann exchanged a pair of free throws and the score was tied 40-40 before Hebert converted a three-point play with 19.4 secnods left to put Spencer up 43-40.
The Dons tried to set up a play for one of their two better 3-point shooters – Paige Albrecht or Karl – but it was junior Deanna Kaiser who got the open look and drilled a 3-pointer from the top with 6 seconds to go. Spencer couldn’t get a shot up and the game went to overtime.
“That was a great shot,” Columbus coach Darin Green said. “Deanna normally isn’t a 3-point shooter, but she can shoot it. We wanted to get it inside to Kayla and have her kick it out to Nikki or Paige, or even Megan (Arneson), but Deanna was left open and knocked it down.”
Albrecht, who led all scorers with 18 points, had a three-point play to give the Dons what would be their final lead of the game at 46-45 with 1:21 left in overtime. Then Weier took over, scoring six out of the final eight points to help the Rockets get the win and avenge a 40-35 loss to the Dons earlier this season.
The game, for the most part, was uneven and sloppy. Spencer committed 35 turnovers and committed 21 fouls, while Columbus turned it over 26 times and had 22 fouls as each team used full-court pressure and zone defenses to cause problems for whoever had the ball.
“We are young, yet we don’t have to see that kind of pressure all the time,” Brodziski said. “Columbus is a quick team. It was quite a fight to the end.”
Rockets 51, Dons 48 (OT)
Columbus 12 8 11 12 5 – 48
Spencer 7 9 13 14 8 – 51
COLUMBUS (48): Deanna Kaiser 2-3 1-2 6, Abby Studinger 1-1 0-0 2, Elizabeth Manlick 0-1 0-0 0, Paige Albrecht 6-22 5-8 18, Olivia Larson 0-1 0-0 0, Nikki Karl 1-12 2-4 5, Taylor Weister 1-3 0-0 2, Angie Seubert 0-2 1-2 1, Megan Arneson 1-4 0-0 2, Kayla Fleischmann 3-10 6-8 12. FG: 15-59. FT: 15-23. 3-pointers: 3-12 (Albrecht 1-4, Karl 1-7, Kaiser 1-1). Rebounds: 24 (Albrecht 4, Manlick 4). Turnovers: 26. Total fouls: 22. Fouled out: none. Record: 9-6, 7-4 Cloverbelt East.
SPENCER (51): Deanna Szybowicz 1-7 0-0 2, Krystal Weier 2-7 6-6 10, Jenna Hagen 0-2 0-0 0, Danica Johnson 1-2 0-0 2, Stacey Baumgartner 4-8 1-2 9, Courtney Schulz 4-9 1-2 9, Tara Matter 0-0 0-0 0, Kyleigh Hebert 4-11 4-7 12, Aubrie Bissonette 3-7 1-2 7. FG: 19-53. FT: 13-19. 3-pointers: 0-2 (Szybowicz 0-1, Weier 0-1). Rebounds: 35 (Schulz 6, Hebert 6). Turnovers: 35. Total fouls: 21. Fouled out: Baumgartner. Record: 11-4, 9-3 Cloverbelt East.
