Packer girls fall to Winona
Published 9:59 pm Friday, January 3, 2014
Austin’s Sydney Murphy takes a running shot in the lane against Winona in the first half Friday night in Ove Berven Gym. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Austin girls basketball team came up a little bit short in a 59-57 loss to Winona (5-5 overall, 2-2 Big Nine) in Ove Berven Gym Friday.
Austin’s Merideth Fritz looks for help from the defense of Winona’s Jayne Emerson during the first half Friday night in Ove Berven Gym. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Packers (3-5 overall, 1-3 Big Nine) had trailed by nine in the second half, but they pulled to within three with under a minute left. Austin tried to set up a 3-pointer, but Jaidyn Bastian had to settle for hitting a 2-point jumper to make it 58-57 Winona with 14 seconds left. When Winona in-bounded the ball, it ran the clock down to less than a second remaining before Austin fouled and the Packers never had another chance.
“We played really hard and we had great effort,” Austin head coach Todd Johnson said. “We’ve got to find a way to win these close games.”
Austin, which hadn’t played since Dec. 19, trailed by seven early, but it led by as many as five in the second half.
Winona 33 26 — 59
Austin 32 25 — 57
Austin scoring: Mer Gach, 13; Ruth Koang, 12; Sydney Murphy, 10; Alex Hansen, 6; Merideth Fritz, 6; Shayley Vesel, 5; Amber Hansen, 2; Jaidyn Bastian, 2; Kristine Synder, 1; free throws: 41 percent (7-for-17)