Gaylord locks down late on defense to upend Alpena, 51-43
News photos by Owen Kinzey Faith Dragiewicz goes for the shot in Thursday night’s game against Gaylord at home. The Wildcats lost to the Blue Devils, 51-43.
News Photo by Owen Kinzey Reese Wisniewski dribbles toward the lane preparing for a shot against Gaylord on Thursday. The girls lost 51-43 at home.
News photos by Owen Kinzey Faith Dragiewicz goes for the shot in Thursday night’s game against Gaylord at home. The Wildcats lost to the Blue Devils, 51-43.
News Photo by Owen Kinzey Reese Wisniewski dribbles toward the lane preparing for a shot against Gaylord on Thursday. The girls lost 51-43 at home.
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ALPENA -- Heading into the Alpena High girls' basketball team's first conference game, the Wildcats (2-2) were set to take on the Gaylord Blue Devils.
Led primarily by Avery Parker, Gaylord came out on top in a tight 51-43 victory over Alpena on Thursday night.
Parker ended the game with 28 total points and completed carried the Blue Devils' offense all night.
"We knew going in she was the whole offense. She had 18 in the first half...and she's a playmaker that just made things happen tonight," Alpena coach Laura Dubey said. "You heard the coach. Put the ball in her hands, and she'll make something happen."
For the Wildcats, before their season started, stressing to keep the ball inside the paint and giving the ball to Kiera Prue proved a very effective offense. Right from the jump, Prue dominated, scoring seven points in the first half, leading to an early 7-2 lead.
Parker and the Blue Devils fought back, as Parker led a 12-0 run for Gaylord, scoring nine points on three straight three-pointers.
By the end of the quarter, Alpena fell 16-11, desperately trying to find an answer for Parker.
The second quarter seemed to be the Wildcat's best chance at stopping Parker, only allowing her to get to the free-throw line two times, holding her to just two points.
On the other hand, Alpena found a way to outscore Gaylord, minimizing the five-point lead the Blue Devils held after the first. Avery Dubey's eight-point quarter only set the Wildcats down two points going into halftime.
With the game set at 25-27 going into the third, Alpena needed to keep the momentum rolling before the final quarter.
Outscoring Gaylord by two points in the quarter was a success, mainly credited to holding Parker to two points again.
Playing great defense down the stretch would be the key deciding factor for the Wildcats going into the final quarter tied 35-35.
Although Alpena had been effective and efficient on offense all game, a sudden offense collapse occurred in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats were held to a quarter-low seven points, mostly due to missed free throws and blundered opportunities.
Oppositely, Gaylord and Parker took full advantage of this miscue, scoring a quarter-high 16 points, with 11 more coming straight from Parker.
Eventually, Parker sealed the game away, knocking down every single free throw in the fourth quarter to secure the 51-43 win.
"We'll get them when we go there. We ran our offense, but we just couldn't capitalize on our open shots and opportunities," Coach Dubey said. "I thought we played physical between Kiera (Prue) and Reaghan (Fitzpatrick), but we really need to keep practicing our shooting and getting the ball in the net."
Alpena plays TC West on Dec. 22.
Leading the way in scoring for the Wildcats was Prue with 17 points, and Dubey scored 14.