Loyal girls end season with big win, big loss

The Loyal girls basketball team reached the end of their season after losing in the second round of the WIAADivision 5 playoffs last Friday night.

The girls’ playoff run began by taking on Northland Lutheran (NL) at home on Feb. 25. Loyal was the number-eight seed and Northland Lutheran number nine. Despite their close rankings, the Wildcats did not prove to be much of a challenge for the Greyhounds.

Loyal’s Mallory Jakobi scored the first points of the game, with a 3-pointer two-and-a-half minutes in. Her teammate Jordynn Corder made a free throw not long after that. NL responded with a 2-point basket, but was then held scoreless for the next three minutes whileAutumn Zvolena popped in three buckets for the Hounds. That left the score at 10-2 with the half halfway over.

As the game continued, NL made a few baskets here and there, but not enough to counter Loyal’s offensive onslaught. Loyal went on a 9-point run followed by a 4-point run, led by Zvolena and Olivia Nikolai. By the close of the half, the Greyhounds were up 26-11.

In the second half, Loyal scored about the same number of points, adding 30 more to their total. NL doubled their scoring output. However, it was not enough for the Wildcats to catch the Hounds. Loyal won 56-33.

Earning the most points for Loyal was Nikolai with 22 points scored. She made four 2-point field goals and three 3-point field goals. A sharpshooter from the free throw line, she went 5-for-5. Zvolena scored 12 points, including five 2-pointers, making both of her free throws. Annika Schley and Jordynn Corder had six points. Jakobi and Payten Wolf had three. Summer Smith and Andrya Wilke had two.

The Greyhounds brought down a collective 27 rebounds, with 13 on offense and 14 on defense. A third of those rebounds were courtesy of Zvolena, who made five offensive and four defensive rebounds. She also had five assists.

After defeating NL, the Greyhounds traveled to Wisconsin Rapids to take on Assumption, which they knew would be a tough game considering that Assumption was ranked number one in their playoff bracket and had knocked the Hounds out of the playoffs in multiple past seasons.

Indeed, the Royals took the crown in the Friday night contest, defeating Loyal 55-14.

Loyal finished its season with a 5-9 record in conference, good for sixth place in the Cloverbelt—East, and a 10-14 record overall. Zvolena led her team in points scored, with 12.5 points per game. Nikolai was a close second with 11.4 points per game.

The Loyal girls basketball team will look substantially different next year, as Zvolena and Nikolai will graduate this spring, along with teammates Hannah Strey, Alexis Meyer, and Corder.

Editor Valorie Brecht contributed to this report.

VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTO