VERDIGRE — Leading by six points early in the fourth quarter, Elgin Public-Pope John let victory slip away as Niobrara-Verdigre rallied to win 58 to 53 in the season opener for the Wolfpack.
Up 44 to 38 with seven minutes left in the game, the Wolfpack saw control of the game slip away as the Cougars outscored them 20 to 9 down the stretch to earn the victory.
The Wolfpack went cold from the field, held scoreless for over three minutes. At the same time, the Cougars got hot as McKayla Eisenhauer had eight points in a row and teammate Reagan Larsen added four to take a 48 to 44 lead.
Two free throws by Stephanie Bode broke the dry spell for the Wolfpack at the 3:20 mark. She added two more a minute later and the Wolfpack trailed 52 to 48.
EPPJ cut the lead to three points twice in the final 90 seconds of the game, the last time coming when freshman Baylee Wemhoff connected on a trey with six seconds left.
For the complete story, see the print edition of The Elgin Review
