Hamilton Girls Push No. 2 Pius to the Limit

The Hamilton girls basketball team stuck with the script Wednesday night and nearly pulled off one of the bigger upsets of the season.

The Chargers kept their cool throughout and kept the game at a manageable pace. They gave it their best shot, but lost to second-ranked Pius, 42-39, in a non-conference basketball game at Hamilton. Pius improved its record to 18-1 for the season while Hamilton dropped to 10-7 for the season.

“When you go toe to toe with the No. 2-ranked team in the state of Wisconsin and have it go right down to the end, I can’t be anything but proud of my kids,” Hamilton coach Dan Carey said. “We had great intensity and gave a tremendous defensive effort. They sold out on defense and we were right there at the end. I have no complaints about my team.”

The Chargers got a solid performance from senior guard Jamie Destache, who had three 3-pointers and led Hamilton with 11 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

“We came to play, we fought hard, but came out on the losing end,” Destache said. “I have mixed feelings, bittersweet, I’m happy with the way we executed our offense and played defense, but we missed some bunnies.”

The Popes, ranked second behind Nicolet in the WisSports.net poll, never could shake off the Chargers. After Terri Bender hit two free throws with 30 seconds left, Pius held a 41-35 lead. At that time, it looked as if victory was assured.

The Chargers, however, made one final run.  Two baskets by Jenny Shernell cut the Popes' lead to two with 5.7 seconds left. Pius' Julia Borsari hit the second of two free throws after being fouled. And Hamilton had one last shot. The Chargers, however, could not get off a good shot and the Popes escaped out of Sussex with the victory.

“This was a tough matchup for us,” Pius assistant coach Jeff Lemmermann said. “They exploited our lack of size and they played good defense. “

Hamilton’s front court of 6-foot-3 senior Courtney Lemon, 6-0 junior Danielle Latt and 6-0 freshman Mackenzie Latt gave the Popes fits.

Pius tried to rattle Hamilton with its full-court press, but for the most part it proved unsuccessful.

“We didn’t get caught up in the fast-pace, helter-skelter game that they like to play,” Carey said. “And when we did go fast pace, we did get good shots. We got good shots all night long.”

Hamilton has had its share of ups and downs this season. The Chargers lost Lemon for three games this season. Her return and the emergence of talented freshman forward Latt provide them hope going into the state tournament.

“We’re getting better, we’re just starting to click,” Lemon said. “We know that teams aren’t going to want to play us. We’re just so ready for the state playoffs.”

Box score

Pius          11-8-8-15—42
Hamilton 12-7-7-13—39

Pius: Nellen 3 0-1 9, Borsari 1 1-4 4, Terri Bender 5 7-10 17, Matkovich 3 2-2 8, Hagen 0 1-2 1, Tiara Bender 0 3-4 3.  Totals 12 14-23 42.

Hamilton: Krohn 1 0-0 3, Destache 3 2-2 11, Menzia 0 0-1 0, Shernell 3 0-2 6, Latt 5 0-0 10, Lemon 4 1-1 9. Totals 16 3-6 39.

Three-point baskets: Pius: Nellen (3), Borsari. Hamilton: Krohn, Destache (3). Total fouls: Pius 11, Hamilton 21. Fouled out: Destache, Menzia.