McDonell escapes with win over Regis, remain unbeaten in Western Cloverbelt

Feb. 2—On Thursday night, the McDonell Lady Macks basketball team visited Regis High School to take on the Lady Ramblers.

A fast-break score by Lady Macks junior Isabel Hartman with three seconds left on the clock lifted McDonell over Regis, 51-50.

With the win, the Lady Macks remain undefeated in the Western Cloverbelt with two conference games left to play, and clinched at least a share of the conference title.

The Ramblers took a double-digit advantage in the first half and held the lead until the game's final three minutes, but the Lady Macks managed a late rally to escape with the win in front of a raucous crowd at Regis High School.

Regis junior Ashley Chilson began the game with a three-pointer to put the Lady Ramblers on the board just seconds after tip-off.

The Lady Ramblers began the game on an 8-0 run, capped off by an inside basket by sophomore Carly Borst.

Lady Macks junior Maddy Geissler finally got the Lady Macks on the board with a three-pointer seven minutes into the game.

Lady Ramblers junior Emma Klink hit her second three-pointer of the game to put Regis up 13-3 with 10:30 left in the first half.

With five minutes left in the first half, the Lady Ramblers held a 20-13 lead.

Baskets were hard to come by for both sides in the first half. Regis went into halftime leading 24-17.

Klink led the Lady Ramblers with eight points at halftime. For the Lady Macks, juniors Emily Cooper and Aubrey Dorn led with six points each.

The Lady Macks forced a few quick Regis turnovers to start the second half as they tried to narrow their deficit.

Just under four minutes into the second half, Cooper hit a three-pointer to trim the Lady Ramblers' lead to three points, 27-24.

Lady Ramblers junior Annabelle Schroeder hit a three-pointer to bring the Lady Ramblers' lead back to seven points, 31-24, with 12:30 left to play.

Every time the Lady Macks narrowed their deficit, the Lady Ramblers responded. A three-pointer from Regis sophomore Cara Olson made it 39-32 midway through the second half.

After Regis took an 11-point lead, back to back three-pointers from junior Kylee Jenson and senior Marley Hughes for McDonell brought them back within five, 43-38, with six minutes left.

With four minutes left, Regis was holding onto a 46-42 lead.

With 2:45 left, McDonell sophomore Sophie Schmidgall made a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 46-46.

With 1:42 left, Chilson drew a foul and made both free throw shots, putting Regis back ahead 48-46.

Next time down the floor, Cooper hit another three-pointer, which put the 49-48 Lady Macks ahead 49-48 with 40 seconds left.

Next time down the floor, Chilson was called for a travel after a hard-fought offensive rebound. The Lady Macks got the ball back with a one-point lead and 20 seconds left.

Next time down the floor, Chilson was fouled on the defensive end, and was sent to the line a little shaken up after a hard foul. She made both free throw shots, and Regis led by one point.

After the free throws, Hartman raced down the floor on a fast break, caught a pass and found a wide open layup. She hit the shot, and with three seconds remaining on the clock, McDonell had a 51-50 lead.

Chilson attempted a half-court heave at the buzzer that did not fall, and the Lady Macks escaped with a 51-50 win.

McDonell head coach Don Cooper said he was proud of how his team played after facing adversity in the first half behind by double-digits.

"It just shows our composure," Cooper said. "We were faced with all the stuff going against us and they did great to battle themselves out of it. That's the sign of a championship team."

Hartman said after her game-winning shot how much her team wants McDonell's first-ever girl's basketball title in the Western Cloverbelt.

"We've been wanting this for a long time and we've never done it before," Hartman said. "So I think there's that motivation aspect to it. We just want to get it so badly."

The Lady Macks return home on Saturday afternoon for a non-conference matchup against Neillsville at 2:30 p.m. As for Regis, they travel to Stevens Point on Friday night to take on Crandon at 6:30 p.m.