Wolverine full-court too much for the Pirates

Weiser handed Payette a 56 to 31 point loss with a 30 point lead in the third

On Thursday, Dec. 14, Weiser hosted the Payette Pirates for Weiser’s second conference game of the season. Weiser had lost their first league game in McCall on Dec. 5, leaving them with a SRV record of 0-1, while Payette had no record in the conference yet.

 The Wolverines decisively handed the Pirates their first loss in SRV play, winning by 25 points; 56 to 31.

 Payette struggled all night to get past Weiser’s oppressive full-court press. Multiple times Weiser shut down passing lanes with a fantastic team effort which allowed Kailee Lerew to end the night with a very impressive game-high of 18 steals. 

    Weiser took an early lead, swiftly scoring 12 points in a team effort, with all the points coming from close-range shots. Ellie Shirts scored 4 points, while Lerew, Paisley Noyer, Kendall Rynearson, and Jayden Higley all contributed 2 points each. 

 Payette finally scored their first point over halfway into the first quarter and went on to end the period with a total of five points.   

 Weiser continued to easily score, with Shirts making a lay-in after a steal, Trista Buescher picking up a steal that led to Lerew’s bucket, and Shirts and Lucy Hickey each adding points from the line. 

 At the end of the first period, the score was Weiser 18, Payette 5.

 The second quarter began with a bang for Weiser. Hailey Eames passed the ball out to Lerew for the first 3-pointer of the night. A few minutes later, Lerew hit Shirts beyond the arc for three more points. About halfway through the quarter, Lerew found Rynearson in the middle of the key for a short jump shot. 

    After a brief lull in scoring, with about 30 seconds left on the clock, Evie Dolton passed the ball out to Shirts in the corner for another 3-pointer. Shirts then had a steal on defense and took the ball down the court scoring on a contested lay-in. 

 At halftime, Weiser was up by 18 points, 35 to 17. 

 Early in the third period, both teams each scored two buckets. Weiser’s scores came from a rebound put-back from Evie Dolton and a great post-up move from Eames, who scored with a lay-in.

 After the early surge, the points slowly trickled in with Weiser adding 10 to Payette’s 8 points in the third. Weiser led by 20, with a score of 45 to 25.

 The Wolverine full-court press helped Weiser quickly increase their lead by 28 points. With 5:40 left in the game, Dolton increased the lead to 30 with a rebound put back. The 30-point difference meant that the game was in a running clock situation for the remainder of the contest.

 Weiser’s final points of the evening came from a beautifully executed give-and-go play where Lerew cut from the top and received a nice pass from Rynearson for 2 points. 

 In the end, the Wolverines won the game by 25 points, with a final score of 56-31.

 Weiser was led by Shirts with 18 points and close behind 15 points from Lerew. Dolton had 8, Noyer 5, and Rynearson with 4. Hickey, Eames, and Higley and had 2 points.

 Scores at the end of quarters:

Weiser Payette

1st: 18 5

2nd: 35 17     

3rd: 45 25

4th: 56 31