ELGIN — Up by 18 points in the first half, the Wolfpack needed free throws in the final minute to preserve a 46 to 42 victory over top-ranked and unbeaten Fullerton.
Leading by just two points with a minute to play, the Wolfpack made four of five free throws to hold off the Lady Warriors.
As the final buzzer sounded, EPPJ Coach Randy Eisenhauer raised his hands high into the air in triumph, the reserves sitting on the bench jumped into the air and the players on the court relished the moment with smiles and high-fives.
In that final minute, junior Baylee Wemhoff made four of four free throws, the last two coming with 12 seconds left in the game to give the Wolfpack a two-possession lead which they would not relinquish.
EPPJ’s fantastic finish was set up by, arguably, their best first half of any game this year.
Fullerton entered the game with a far superior height advantage with 6’3” Halle Plumbtree anchoring the post. Repeatedly, they tried to work the ball to her.
The Wolfpack’s answer was to employ a 2-3 zone defense with Liz Selting anchoring the middle. The Wolfpack’s swarming defense befuddled the Warriors throughout the first half.
At the other end of the court, the Wolfpack’s up-tempo attack was clicking. Forced to shoot from the perimeter, the Wolfpack connected on seven three-point shots in the first quarter. Wemhoff opened the first quarter with a trey and made her second as the buzzer sounded to give the Wolfpack a 14 to 7 lead.
The Wolfpack increased their lead in the second quarter. Jenna Parks nailed a trey and Ally Wemhoff added three more, the last coming at the 4:04 mark to give EPPJ a 26 to 13 lead. Ally and Parks combined for five points over the next 90 seconds to give the Wolfpack their largest lead of the game, 18 points, 31 to 13 with 2:45 to go before halftime.
Fullerton scored the last six points of the quarter to cut the margin to 31 to 19 entering the second half.
The teams traded baskets to start the third quarter. Each time Fullerton scored, Parks answered back. Her two-pointer with 4:16 left to go in the quarter gave the Wolfpack a 35 to 25 lead. After cutting EPPJ’s lead down to six points, Jordan Mescher answered with two baskets, the last making the score 39 to 31 entering the fourth quarter.
Liz Selting had a big basket midway through the fourth quarter to bump the lead up to seven points.
The Warriors cut the lead down to three points, 41 to 38, with 2:05 left in the game. Parks was fouled driving to the basket and was forced to leave the game after making one free throw due to a cut under her right eye. She finished with 16 points to lead all Wolfpack scorers, Ally Wemhoff had 11 and Baylee Wemhoff tossed in 10.
Three-point shooting was key for the Wolfpack. They made seven of 23 attempts, Fullerton made zero of seven attempts from behind the arc. EPPJ overcame being out rebounded 38 to 24.
The victory boosted the Wolfpack’s record to 11-2.
Wolfpack 46, Fullerton 42
Fullerton………7 12 12 11 — 42
Wolfpack……..14 17 8 7 — 46
Wolfpack — Liz Selting 1-7 0-0 2, Jenna Parks 4-19 6-7 16, Lydia Behnk 0-0 0-0 0, Calli Krebs 0-3 0-1 0, Jordan Mescher 3-6 1-2 7, Baylee Wemhoff 2-9 4-4 10, Ally Wemhoff 4-10 0-0 11. Team totals: 14-54 11-14 46. Fullerton team totals: 19-61 4-6 42.
Team statistics — Three-point shots – Wolfpack 7-23 (Ally Wemhoff 3, Baylee Wemhoff 2, Jenna Parks 2), Fullerton 0-7. Rebounds – Wolfpack 24 (Jenna Parks 8, Liz Selting 7, Jordan Mescher 7), Fullerton 38. Assists – Wolfpack 11 (Baylee Wemhoff 4, Jenna Parks 3), Fullerton 7. Steals – Wolfpack 13 (Jenna Parks 5, Jordan Mescher 4), Fullerton 2. Turnovers – Wolfpack 10, Fullerton 17.
