The Wildcats kept that momentum rolling on Wednesday, defeating the Blue Devils by a final score of 46-31.

The team’s defensive prowess and ability to score from any player led Alpena to discover the lead and never let it go.

With this win, the Wildcats move on to the final round of districts to play Traverse City Central on Friday.

“The second quarter gave us some trouble, but I was super pleased with how we handled the rest of the game. We got them in some early foul trouble, which was huge for us, and we just played through one another,” Alpena coach Laura Dubey said. “The most impressive player of the night was Reese (Wisniewski), who really stepped up, made some phenomenal passes, and played incredibly hard on defense as always.”

News Photo by Owen Kinzey The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

Although Alpena didn’t come out of the gates with the most intensity and aggressiveness, the Wildcats scored points at will on Gaylord’s poor defense, resulting in a 9-0 run early.

Reese Wisniewski took advantage of the Blue Devil’s early mistakes, stealing the ball and getting to the rim for seven points.

Aside from Wisniewski, Avery Dubey, Faith Dragiewicz, and Kiera Prue also contributed to the offense.

Despite the offensive success, Alpena was unstoppable on defense, only allowing four points.

Into the second quarter, the Wildcats held a solid 16-4 lead.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

With the offense rolling and the defense playing impeccable, the Wildcats needed to maintain the same pace going forward.

While this was the hope, Alpena’s offense took a major step back, being limited to four points in the second.

On the other hand, Gaylord found more success in offense, achieving a seven-point quarter.

Their scoring came from a diverse group of players, establishing a need for an adjustment going into halftime.

That adjustment was to get the offense into a rhythm and keep building on the lead.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

While the defense struggled to find an answer, giving up twelve points, the Wildcats’ offense stayed perfectly in stride, scoring 12 on its own.

Three players scored four points each for the Wildcats, including Natalie Maychen, Dubey, and Prue.

The Blue Devils were also led by three players, combining for 12 total.

Heading into the final quarter of play, Alpena remained atop with a 32-23 lead, looking to escape with the win.

Several scorers helped lead the Wildcat’s second-largest scoring quarter of the game, finishing with fourteen.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

Defense improved from the previous quarter and played exceptionally well, enough to close out the 46-31 win.

“Now that we’re out of this game, it’s time to focus on TC Central, which is a team we know we can beat and upset,” Coach Dubey said. “We almost beat them at home, so we just have to come ready on Friday and play as a team like I know we can.”

Alpena travels to TC Central tomorrow.

Dubey led the team in points, scoring from all sides, and ended with eleven points.

Down low, Prue was the second-leading scorer, finishing with ten points.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

News Photo by Owen Kinzey The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

News Photo by Steve Jakubcin The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

News Photo by Steve Jakubcin The Alpena High School girls’ basketball team plays Gaylord on Wednesday night in Alpena. The Wildcats took a strong win against the Blue Devils, pushing AHS on to the next game which is the district final against Traverse City Central on Friday.

News Photo by Steve Jakubcin Avery Dubey (21) and Kiera Prue (34) stand together in excitement during Wednesday night’s game against Gaylord in Alpena. The Wildcats defeated the Blue Devils and are headed to district finals against Traverse City Central on Friday.