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Bears fall to Wilton in neck-and-neck battle
by Gregory R. Norfleet · Sports · December 07, 2017


An early West Branch lead slipped away and turned into a neck-and-neck battle for three quarters until the clock ran out in favor of the visiting Wilton Beavers, 76-74.


The Bears dropped in 28 points in the third quarter in an apparent momentum shift, but the Beavers hung on to edge out the home team.

“We started letting their player get the ball where they wanted it,” Head Bears Coach Jarod Tylee said. “They are good players so they are going to find ways to score. We need to do both.”

West Branch double-digit scorers include senior Tatum Koenig with 23, freshman Sasha Koenig with 15, sophomore Taylor Thein with 14 and sophomore Mackenzie Heise with 10. Wilton’s top scorers included junior Emily Lange with 29, junior Kortney Drake with 19 and junior Aubrey Putman with 15.

“Emily (Lange) had some big shots for us at the beginning and got us back into it,” Head Beavers Coach Jeremy Putman said. “She stepped up for us tonight.”

The two teams looked similar in the stat book with West Branch dropping in eight three-pointers to Wilton’s seven and each team with 28 rebounds. The Bears had 16 assists while the Beavers had 15. Both teams shot 50 percent from the field.

West Branch was called for more fouls, with 23 by game’s end, compared to 12 against Wilton. The Beavers sank 53.8 percent from three-point range compared to West Branch’s 40 percent, and Wilton put in 60 percent of its free-throws compared to 40 percent from West Branch.

The Wilton coach said the team seemed to drag getting off the bus until getting warmed up in the game, but said the Bears forced them to wake up.

“(West Branch) has got a lot of good athletes and quickness out there,” Putman said.

Both coaches said they used time-outs to break momentum shifts and keep players focused on what they do well.

“We didn’t look like we were on the same page defensively,” Tylee said.

Late in the game, West Branch focused on stealing the ball and making baskets.

“I have a team I firmly believe in, and our kids are tough,” the Bears coach said. “We just have to execute better.”

He said the players’ effort pleased him all night.

“There’s no lack of effort or lack of hustle on our team,” Tylee said. “We just need to be better mentally at basketball. That’s what we’ll improve on in the next couple weeks and hopefully we’ll get something going.”

Putnum said he wanted the Wilton players to take time and avoid “empty possessions.”

“I told them we have to play smart basketball and take good shots every trip down the court and take care of the ball — we need to get a shot every trip down the court,” he said.

Fans may find it fitting, considering the outcome, that both teams’ top scorers — Wilton’s Lange and West Branch’s T. Koenig — got their teams going with back-to-back baskets.

Lange also sank the third basket for a 4-2 lead, but West Branch went on a nine-point run with field goals by S. Koenig, Riley Vaughan, T. Koenig and a three-pointer by Thein before Wilton called time-out trailing 12-4.

Upon returning, the Beavers’ Drake sank a basket and Wilton benefitted from four West Branch fouls, three of which earned them trips to the free-throw line with senior Alexis Maurer and Aubrey Putman combining for 4 of 6 made opportunities. Score Bears still up 12-10.

Thein put in two baskets for five points, matched immediately after by Lange, and the Bears led 17-15 at the end of the first quarter.

Lange kept going into the second with two more treys and a 21-17 lead, prompting a West Branch time-out.

S. Koenig dropped in a three-pointer, then a Bear foul put A. Putman at the line for another two. After a Wilton foul, S. Koenig put in the back end of two opportunities, then stole the rebound for another basket to tie the game at 23.

Two more fouls called on West Branch resulted in just one of three freebies between Maurer and junior Linsey Ford, but Lange swooped in with five more points on two baskets.

West Branch freshman Taya Young made her presence known with a three-pointer, which Wilton countered with a trey from senior Kali Milder and a two-pointer from A. Putman, closing the first half with Wilton ahead 33-26.

West Branch came back with three straight baskets from the Koenig sisters, tying the game at 33. Wilton pulled away again with five points from Drake and a basket by A. Putman.

The Bears’ Young sank a basket to close the gap to five when West Branch called time-out.

Returning to the court, West Branch put in eight points with half by Heise and half by the Koenigs, interrupted only once with a basket by A. Putman. This time, Wilton called for a time-out trailing by 1, 43-42.

Lange’s only point of the half came off a free throw, then Thein and T. Koenig hit back-to-back treys for a 49-43 Bear lead and another West Branch time-out.

The final 2 1/2 minutes resulted in two T. Koenig baskets and a Young free-throw to give West Branch five more points; while Drake made two baskets, Milder sank a three-pointer and A. Putman put in a free-throw.

At the end of three, West Branch scratched out a 54-51 lead.

The fourth quarter alone gave the fans their money’s worth, with the Bears and Beavers counting up 10 ties or lead changes in the next six minutes of the eight-minute quarter.

Lange threw down a three-pointer, Heise sank two, Milder put in a free-throw, Heise sank another two and Lange another trey. Wilton called time-out after 87 seconds and a 58-58 tie.

Drake scored, then West Branch’s Abbey Fryauf got on the board, and Mauer sank a free-throw. Young hit a two, followed by Drake with four on two shots. Heise made a basket and Thein sank another triple. Another Wilton time out with West Branch ahead 67-65.

Lange made two at the free-throw line, the T. Koenig sank a basket, followed by a Maurer basket. A. Putman scored both ends of one-and-one as did Ford, and suddenly Wilton had a four-point lead, 73-69.

S. Koenig put in a basket and West Branch called time-out trailing 73-71 with 50 seconds on the clock.

A Bear foul put Drake on the line, which scored two more points. T. Koenig responded with a three-pointer to make it 75-74, Wilton, with 7.3 seconds remaining.

Wilton made an in-bound pass and was immediately fouled, with Drake scoring one off two chances and 5.7 seconds left.

West Branch was unable to make a shot on its final possession. Final score; 76-74 Beavers.

1 2 3 4 T

WB 17 9 28 20 74

Wil 15 18 18 25 76

West Branch stats: Abbey Fryauf 1 0-0 2, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 fouls; Riley Vaughan 1 0-0 2, 2 rebounds 1 foul; Kaiya Luneckas 4 rebounds, 5 fouls; Tatum Koenig 10 1-1 23, 2 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 8 steals, 1 block, 2 fouls; Bridget Buol 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 foul; Taylor Thein 5 0-1 14, 4 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 1 steal; Taya Young 3 1-4 8, 1 3-pointer, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 fouls; Sasha Koenig 6 2-3 15, 1 3-pointer, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals, 3 fouls; Mackenzie Heise 5 0-1 10, 1 rebound, 5 fouls. Totals 31 4-10 74, 8 3-pointers, 28 rebounds, 16 assists, 16 steals, 1 block, 23 fouls.

Wilton stats: Kortney Drake 8 3-5 19, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 4 fouls; Kali Milder 2 1-2 5, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal; Lexi Maurer 1 3-6 5; 1 assist, 1 steal; Emily Lange 10 3-4 29, 6 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 3 fouls; Aubrey Putnam 3 8-14 15, 1 3-pointer, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 foul; Linsey Ford 0 3-4 3, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steals, 1 block, 4 fouls. Totals: 24 21-35 76, 7 3-pointers, 28 rebounds, 15 assists, 12 steals, 5 blocks, 12 fouls.



West Branch 58, Monticello 65

West Branch travelled to Monticello and fell to the host team in overtime, 65-58.

1 2 3 4 OT T

WB 13 5 14 19 7 58

Mont. 11 15 17 8 14 65

West Branch stats: Abbey Fryauf 1 0-0 2, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 4 fouls; Riley Vaughan 1 0-0 3, 1 3-pointer, 1 steal, 1 foul; Kaiya Luneckas 1 0-2 2, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 fouls; Tatum Koenig 12 5-5 34, 5 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 fouls; Bridget Buol 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 foul; Taylor Thein 0 1-2 1, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 fouls; Taya Young 3 0-0 7, 1 3-pointer, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 fouls; Sasha Koenig 3 0-0 9, 3 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 5 fouls; Rylan Druecker 1 steal; Mackenzie Heise 0 0-2 0, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 5 fouls. Team totals: 21 6-11 58, 10 3-pointers, 34 rebounds, 13 assists, 9 steals, 2 blocks, 26 fouls

Monticello stats: Caitlyn Cruise 1 steal; Taylor McDonald 8 5-8 23, 2 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, 1 foul; Tori McDonald 0 0-2 0; Maddie Fellinger 2 0-0 4, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 5 fouls; Lauren Ries 5 9-12 20, 1 3-pointer, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 4 fouls; Maddie Lambert 2 3-6 7, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steals, 2 fouls; Carly Hayen 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 block; Jordan Kuber 5 1-3 11, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 fouls. Team totals: 22 18-31 65, 3 3-pointers, 38 rebounds, 14 assists, 11 steals, 4 blocks, 14 fouls