(Atlantic) The Atlantic girls’ basketball team built a dominant lead through the first three quarters and held off a late rally by Creston to secure a 51-47 victory on Saturday afternoon in Atlantic.
The Trojans stormed ahead with a 23-13 advantage in the opening quarter, extending their lead to 30-18 at halftime. Makenna Schroeder ignited the offense with a stellar 14-point performance in the first half, including three shots from beyond the arc. Zoey Kirchhoff contributed another three-pointer to round out the early scoring effort. Atlantic continued to press their advantage, stretching the lead to 42-26 by the end of the third quarter, with Lila Wiederstein’s steals and fast-break finishes playing a key role.
Creston mounted a fierce comeback in the fourth quarter, using a two-three zone defense to force turnovers and convert them into points. The Panthers outscored the Trojans 15-5 in the final frame, narrowing the gap to 47-43 late in the game. Hollynn Rieck, Brynn Tussey, and Kadley Bailey each drained three-pointers during the rally. However, Atlantic managed to close out the game, with Katrina Williams three-play late in the game holding off the Panthers for the win.
Makenna Schroeder led the Trojans with 16 points, while Paytn Harter added 11. Lila Wiederstein and Katrina Williams chipped in 10-points each. For Creston, Kadley Bailey led all scorers with 16 points, followed by Hollynn Rieck with nine and Brynn Tussey with seven.
With the victory, Atlantic improves to 6-4 on the season, while Creston falls to 2-7.
Click below to listen to Atlantic Head Coach Dan Vargason’s postgame comments
