After a two point win against Lincoln East, Millard West girls traveled to Papillion La-Vista South to take on the Titans in a very competitive matchup. Both teams have similar records and were eager to battle it out on the court on Tuesday, Feb. 1.

The game started off with the Titans winning the tip and taking the ball too fast down the court ending up out of bounds. The first score of the night was made by freshman Norah Gessert to put the Wildcats up three, two minutes into the first quarter. This was followed with a Papillion La-Vista South free throw and then another Wildcat bucket to stretch Millard West’s lead to four. Although the Wildcats started off hot, they couldn’t keep this momentum, losing many shot opportunities and giving up several baskets. Before they knew it, they were down four letting the Titans score eight unanswered points. Fortunately for the Wildcats, right before the quarter ended they were able to make one more shot inside the arc to put the score at 9-7.

“Going into the game, we were feeling confident in ourselves because we were coming off a great win against Lincoln East,” junior Elizabeth Hoffman said. “We knew Papio South was going to be another good matchup for us.”

Just 15 seconds into the second quarter, the Wildcats got the ball back and tied the game up with a breakaway layup made by Gessert and assisted by Hoffman. Following this the Titans were able to make a quick bucket before a lull with almost no scoring for several minutes. This was due to each team playing press defense and making blocks, although they couldn’t convert on the offensive ends. This ended with Papillion La-Vista South scoring two more baskets to take a six point lead and then drawing a foul to make it eight. Millard West then started slowing down even more, losing focus, and losing their targets, to give the Titans easy buckets. By the end of the quarter the Titans had scored 11 unanswered points and a buzzer beater three going into halftime.

“I have to give credit to Papillion La-Vista South for their defense,” head coach Marc Kruger said. “They made things difficult for us, but we also didn’t do a good job of being patient and settling for difficult shots.”

Coming out of halftime, Millard West was able to convert on two free throws and start what would become a semi comeback. Within the first three minutes of the quarter, there was a very clear and visible change within the play style of Millard West, with more effort given. The Wildcats were able to put up 10 points to the Titans three. Shortly after the five minute mark hit, Papillion La-Vista South had a quick pass under the rim for a reverse layup. This was the play of the night and gave Millard West a wake up call. Even though they had been scoring more in the quarter, they needed more points to contend with the Titans. The quarter ended 27-22.

“During halftime we knew that we needed to make a change to get us back in the game,” Kelley said. “We came out strong with a lot of energy and teamwork and fought our way back to get the score within three points.”

The fourth quarter began with Gessert converting again on a three point shot to make it a one score game. Following this the Titans were able to put up four points with Millard West making another shot, putting the score at 31- 27. This led to the Wildcat defense having an error and giving the Titans an open lane, resulting in a six point deficit. Millard West then took a timeout, but it didn’t do much good with Papillion La-Vista South coming out stronger to finish the game on top. The final score was 42-34 and put Millard West at 8-8 for the season.

The Wildcats compete against Omaha Westside this Friday, Feb. 4. It is a home game and Westside is favored to win, with the Wildcats hoping to upset.