Granton girls get sweep of Owen Withee for best record in years

After defeating Owen-Withee earlier this season, the Granton girls basketball team came into the rematch against the Blackhawks on Jan. 25 confident they could win again. With a solid scoring run by Kristin Strey, the Bulldogs were able to overcome the Blackhawks 41-30 to post one of their best records in recent years.

The first several minutes of the game were pretty close in terms of scoring for both teams, but the Bulldogs eventually worked to build up their lead by capitalizing on Owen-Withee’s passing errors. Granton kicked off the night with a pair of scores from Sam Martin and Megan Walter to get it off on the right foot, and broke free of the game’s only tied moment with the first of six 3-pointers by Strey.

Strey continued to keep Owen-Withee at bay with a series of points during the rest of the first half. She made several steals down-court that in turn resulted in lay-up shots for Granton and she made three other 3-pointers during that same timeframe. Owen-Withee had its own successes, with a 3-pointer by Grace Bottlemy and a 1-for-2 free throw shot by Reina Arndt. At the end of the first half, Granton led by seven, 22-15.

While the first half saw the Bulldogs off to a good start, the start of the second half was a lot slower for the team and allowed Owen-Withee to chip away at the lead. Walter finally broke the dry spell with a shot around the 12:30 mark to keep the lead at 24-19. For the next few minutes, Owen-Withee was able to keep the difference between their scores within six points, coming the closest at the 8:00 mark with the score at 27-25. Following another shot by Walter, Granton began to increase its lead again, getting the final 3-pointer from Strey and their first points from Alexis Pongratz. Between the 8-minute mark and the two-minute mark, Granton had scored a majority of its last points and outscored Owen Withee three to one. The score standing at 39-29, the last couple minutes of the game were filled with free-throw opportunities for both teams as numerous fouls occurred. Owen-Withee was 1-for-4 on its shots while Granton was 2-for-9, the buzzer going off just 20 seconds after Walter scored the team’s 41st point on a free throw shot, ending the game 41-30.

Kristin Strey was the top scorer for Granton, scoring 27 of the team’s points. She hit six 3-pointers and was 1-for-2 at the line. Megan Walter added seven points and was 1-for-5 at the line. Alexis Pongratz contributed four points. For Owen-Withee, Reina Arndt was the top scorer with 14 points.

CHEYENNE THOMAS/STAFF PHOTO