Ladies edge Conrad in overtime

The Whitehall High School girls basketball team bounced back from their first loss of the season with a hard fought 52-49 victory over Conrad Saturday at the Manhattan Tip Off Tournament.

The Lady Trojans came back strong after a 40-31 loss at the tournament to Ennis. Head Coach Kelly Nieskens was pleased with how his team responded.

"I thought it was great, when we win the energy battle it takes our team to another level. We play with more confidence. It was nice to see that the girls put the loss behind them and were able to quickly refocus for the next game," he said.

Whitehall had a 33-27 lead going into the fourth, but a late Cowgirl three-pointer sent the game into overtime. Whitehall outscored Conrad 6-3 in the extra period to pick up their second win of the season.

Nieskens said he was excited to see the team handle the more intense moments in the game the way they should.

"We do game situations like that in practice everyday so it was important that the girls understood and executed how they were supposed to. There will be more games and situations like that to come," he said.

Sophomore Asha Noyes had another huge game for the Lady Trojans with 23 points. Junior Dorothy Mastel was also in double figures with 10. Freshman Kendra Klapan had eight, junior Allee Scafani had seven, sophomores Britney Welker and Ashlynn Ellison each had three and freshman Jacy Johnson had one point.

Three games into the season, Nieskens said whether they realize it our not, the defense has kept the team in every game.

"I felt we had a shot at winning our Ennis game, our defense made that possible. We have been inconsistent in our scoring, but our defense has overshadowed that," he said.

Welker led the team against Ennis with 12 points. Noyes added 10 and Mastel had nine points.

The Lady Trojans will host two games this week, the first December 15 against Three Forks. They will battle Jefferson High School Saturday, December 16.

Nieskens said the team will be working on a smoother transition into their offense and keeping the intensity level up in practice.

"That's where players can earn some playing time," he said.