Millard West girls basketball hit the road again to travel to Elkhorn South to play the Storm. The Wildcats came into this game 4-0 looking to keep the undefeated streak alive. The Storm came into the game 2-2 looking to spoil the wildcats early success.
The Wildcats would find success early in the game because of strong team defense and a heavy press that Elkhorn South would struggle to break through.
“Going into the game the plan was to just keep the momentum,” freshman Kylee Millard said. “We had found success early and wanted to keep the momentum rolling into each game.”
The offense would capitalize on the extra possession the defense created by putting up a 26 point 1st quarter and giving the Wildcats a 26-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“It’s always great to get off to a good start,” head coach Marc Kruger said. “It helps everybody’s confidence and helps the team just play relaxed and together.”
The storm would get on the board due to a three pointer by freshman Rowan Swartz. But the Storm offense would continue to struggle. The Wildcats led by a 15 point first half performance by Neleigh Gessert would continue the success they found in the first quarter and head into halftime with a 41-8 lead.
“During halftime coaches just wanted to make sure we stayed locked in and didn’t check out mentally,” freshman Emily Lovette said. “ Even though we had a big lead he wanted us to continue to play hard and play physical basketball.”
After one shift at the start of the second half the Wildcats would pull their starters but the team kept playing strong. Junior Nolan Gomes would lead the bench in scoring with four points.
The Storm would get the offense alive a bit once West took off the press and scored 17 in the third quarter almost tripling their score.
“The girls did an excellent job of executing their game plan defensively,” Kruger said “That led to a lot of easy transition baskets. And we also shot the ball extremely well, and that always helps.”
The fourth quarter would end up low scoring due to a running clock and the shot clock turned off. Millard West made an important point to get everyone playing time to help the team grow for this year and next year. Ultimately, 12 different players got on the court and 10 different players scored a point for the team. The wildcats would score 4 and the storm would score 2. They give the Wildcats a 62-27 win.
The wildcats advanced to 6-0, they will be back in action in the Metro Holiday Tournament. They received the 2 seed and will play their first game of the tournament on Dec. 29, at 8:45 against the winner of a play-in game between Omaha Northwest and Elkhorn South.
