Abby girls push Prentice in overtime thriller

The Falcons came excruciatingly close to picking up back to back victories as they enter the WIAA playoffs this week.

Abbotsford capped their regular season with an overtime thriller at home against Prentice. The Falcons had gone toe to toe with the Buccaneers in their first meeting in Prentice, and the ladies felt they could do even better at home.

“They felt as though they should have won the last time we played Prentice,” Falcons head coach Ally Mersole said. “That played a big part, the girls really wanted to end their regular season with a win at home.”

Wicked weather forced the cancellation of Abbotsford’s Thursday game with Marathon, but cold temps did little to dampen the Falcons hot streak of play.

Alea Graff, Bridgett Pogodzinski and Sydney Falteisek dropped threes on Prentice in the Abby’s their first three possessions, giving the Falcons a 15-8 lead with twelve to go in the first half.

Pogodzinski and Mya Ruesch led the way for Abby, scoring eight and seven points, and after one half of play, the Falcons held a slim 28-27 lead at the break.

Kianna Hartmann kept the ‘Bucs in the game, with her game high 33 points. Hartmann flashed her all-court game in each half, splashing seven triples - four in the first half and three in the second.

Hartmann and Serena Moore’s drives gave Prentice an edge in the second half. The Bucs attacked the interior, getting to the line 28 times to Abby’s seven.

“The other team kept making them and we kept fouling,” Meserole lamented. “We just did not get to the line as many times as we would have liked to.”

Prentice opened the second half on an 8-0 run that made it 35-28 with 15:40 to play, but Abby righted the ship with a 9-4 run to pull to 39-37 with 11:46 to go.

Five Falcons scored multiple baskets, and Abbotsford stayed within striking distance even with the foul trouble. The Bucs extended their lead to 50-41 with seven minutes remaining, but clutch shots by Ruesch, Briseida Escalera and Brissa Diaz closed the gap.

Catie Clement pulled off an acrobatic maneuver in the paint to make it 54-51, and Escalera and Diaz were extremely effective in the final frame, scoring nine and eight points, but Prentice remained in front 61-57 with only 46 seconds left.

Abbotsford was not done yet, and their comeback was not over. A basket by Ruesch was followed by a bucket from Escalera with less a handful of seconds to go sent the game into overtime.

It was a new experience for Abbotsford, which had not played an overtime game in years. That led to some indecision on Abby’s part, especially with several girls playing with four fouls.

“In four years the Abbotsford’s girls program has never gone to overtime,” Meserole explained. “I think the learning experience of what it’s like to play in overtime will be a good lesson for the program in general.”

Prentice drew first blood, taking a 64-61 lead, and out-scored Abby 12-7 in the extra frame, dropping the Falcons to 4-12 on the season. Ruesch led the way for Abby with a team high 17 points and 12 rebounds. Falteisek collected 12 points and Escaleara recorded ten points.

Clement added eight points and Pogodzinski, Diaz and Graff all finished with seven points. Graff was just shy of a double-double, corralling 10 boards.

Far from disheartened by the loss, Meserole and her players were encouraged by it, knowing that they are playing arguably their best ball of the season.

“I went into the locker room and happy, knowing that we got it to overtime. We didn’t give up and battled back,” Meserole said. “That to me is more important than our wins and losses. It shows that we can play with these tough teams and really challenge them”

RIM RATTLER -Cade Faber goes airborne for one of several booming dunks as Rib Lake’s Michael Borcardt stands by, powerless to stop Faber.STAFF PHOTO/ROSS PATTERMANN