By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
SPENCER – One spurt was all the Spencer girls basketball team needed to separate itself from Chetek.
After a sluggish start, the Rockets scored the first 19 points of the second quarter and rolled to a 52-37 win in a WIAA Division 3 regional quarterfinal Tuesday night at Spencer High School.
Spencer trailed 15-10 after a first quarter in which it scored just two points over the final 3 minutes. A change in defensive philosophy helped turn things around over the next 6 minutes as the Rockets forced seven turnovers and four missed shots. The 19-0 run put Spencer up 29-15 and the Rockets led by at least eight the rest of the way.
“I don’t know if we thought it was going to be easy or what, but we changed a couple of things defensively, went with more of a full-court pressure defense and sometimes that gets our girls’ blood flowing,” Spencer coach Dan Brodziski said. “We were just flat-footed and had no energy (in the first quarter).”
Krystal Weier scored six points and Courtney Schulz and Kyleigh Hebert each had four in the spurt for the Rockets, who improve to 16-7 with their second straight win.
“We really played good as a team and really connected. That is how we usually play,” Weier said. “In the first quarter, we didn’t really know much about Chetek. We kind of saw how they played and we picked it up a little bit.”
Chetek closed to within eight after a basket by Lindsey Hassemer with 6 minutes left in the third, but the Bulldogs didn’t score for another 4 minutes and Spencer went back up by 13 after a basket by Deanna Szybowicz and a free throw by Weier, who led the Rockets with 14 points.
Spencer gets another crack at Cloverbelt Conference East Division rival Neillsville (19-4) in a regional semifinal Thursday at Neillsville. The Warriors beat Spencer twice during the regular season, both times by double digits.
“The second time we played them it was a three-point game at halftime,” Brodziski said. “They are a very good shooting team and we had a few breakdowns, they scored five quick points and their lead went from three to eight.
“We’re going to work on some of the things that worked against them last time. Offensively, we have to take better care of the ball and hopefully make a few more shots.”
Rockets 52, Bulldogs 37
Chetek 15 6 11 5 – 37
Spencer 10 22 11 9 – 52
CHETEK (37): Kirstin Bowers 2-6 0-0 5, Becky Fijalkiewicz 2-6 0-2 5, Brandi Thomas 0-2 0-0 0, Melissa Meister 0-0 2-2 2, Lindsey Hassemer 3-5 1-2 7, Heather Jahn 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Murray 6-12 3-6 15, Josie Reisner 0-0 1-2 1, Megan Hach 1-6 0-2 2. FG: 14-37. FT: 7-16. 3-pointers: 2-4 (Fijalkiewicz 1-2, Bowers 1-2. Rebounds: 16 (Hach 5). Turnovers: 20. Total fouls: 24. Fouled out: none. Record: 5-16.
SPENCER (52): Deanna Szybowicz 3-6 0-0 6, Krystal Weier 3-15 7-10 14, Jenna Hagen 0-1 4-4 4, Danica Johnson 0-2 2-4 2, Stacey Baumgartner 2-3 1-2 5, Courtney Schulz 3-7 1-2 7, Tara Matter 1-5 0-0 2, Kyleigh Heberg 6-8 0-1 12, Alyssa Brostowitz 0-0 0-0 0, Aubrie Bissonette 0-5 0-0 0. FG: 19-52. FT: 15-23. 3-pointers: 1-3 (Weier 1-3). Rebounds: 31 (Baumgartner 9). Turnvoers: 16. Total fouls: 17. Fouled out: Schulz. Record: 16-7.
