Go to link below for complete FVA Girls Basketball Schedule – Stats & Standings
http://www.fvasports.net/page/show/1251335-girls-basketball
NO NAME YR HT
10 Devin Wonser 12 5’8”
11 Ally Gietzel 11 5’10”
12 Lauren Wendt 11 5’8”
13 Crystal Koch 12 5’10”
14 Megan Wendt 11 5’8”
15 Aleah Wendels 12 5’7”
20 Carly Paulson 10 5’6”
21 Gaia Templer 12 5’10”
23 Bailey Tracy 12 5’9”
24 Emma Loewe 11 5’5”
25 Anna Mueller 11 5’4”
30 Brooke Hubbard 11 5’8”
32 Mya Rathman 11 5’9”
33 Megan Dille 12 6’0”
Head Varsity: Jeff Bell
Varsity Assistant: Joanie Hammer
Head Junior Varsity: Jenna Johnson
JV Assistant: Jess Ruch
Freshman: Rayelle Diedrich
2016-17 Varsity Girls Basketball Schedule & Results
Score Record Time Home / Host
56 – 38 1 – 0 7:00 @ Catholic Memorial
47 – 66 1 – 1 7:15 @ Beaver Dam
52 – 62 1 – 2 7:15 @ Kimberly
60 – 33 2 – 2 7:15 (H) Oshkosh West
58 – 56 3 – 2 7:15 (H) Oshkosh North
29 – 67 3 – 3 4:30 @ Hartland Arrowhead
52 – 67 3 – 4 7:15 @ Hortonville
68 – 63 4 – 4 7:15 (H) Neenah
58 – 46 5 – 4 7:15 (H) New London
42 – 60 5 – 5 5:40 (H) Appleton North
66 – 49 6 – 5 2:00 (H) Appleton West
58 – 51 7 – 5 7:15 (H) Kimberly
69 – 38 8 – 5 7:15 @ Kaukauna
55 – 48 9 – 5 7:15 @ Oshkosh West
56 – 64 9 – 6 7:15 @ Oshkosh North
73 – 82 9 – 7 7:15 (H) Hortonville
66 – 51 10 – 7 7:15 @ Neenah
47 – 59 10 – 8 5:40 @ App[eton North
38 – 60 10 – 9 7:15 @ Appleton West
43 – 55 10 – 10 7:15 (H) Appleton East
65 – 30 11 – 11 7:15 (H) Kaukauna
65 – 41 12 – 11 7:15 @ Appleton East
49 – 54 12 – 12 WIAA Sectional vs @ Homestead
Go to link below for complete final FVA standings & stats
http://www.fvasports.net/page/show/1251335-girls-basketball
Go to link below for FDL Cardinal FVA team & individual stats
http://www.wissports.net/page/show/2768640-fond-du-lac
FVA All-Conference roundup
Fond du Lac junior Ally Gietzel earned first-team honors for the second straight season.
Ally Gietzel was one of three repeat selections on the first team along with Appleton North’s Kari Brekke and Hortonville’s Shay Frederick. She was also one of two unanimous selections with Player of the Year Sydney Levy of Appleton North being the other.
Hortonville senior Megan Allen rounded out the first team.
The Cardinals also had a pair of players earn honorable mention honors in seniors Megan Dille and Sleah Wendels.
Appleton North’s Joe Russom was named Coach of the Year.
All-Fox Valley Association
First Team
(x-denotes unanimous selection)
Morgan Allen, sr., Hortonville; Kari Brekke, jr., Appleton North; Shay Frederick, jr., Hortonville; x-Ally Gietzel, jr., Fond du Lac; x-Sydney Levy, jr., Appleton North.
Player of the Year: Sydney Levy, Appleton North
Coach of the Year: Joe Russom, Appleton North
Second Team
Sammy Buerger, sr., Oshkosh North; Sydney Cocking, sr., Appleton West; Callie Pohlman, sr., Appleton North; Lexie Schneider, jr., Appleton East; Zoey Zulegar, jr., Appleton West.
All Defensive Team
Megan Allen, sr., Hortonville; Jenna Hoffman, soph., Appleton West; x-Callie Pohlman, sr., Appleton North; Audrey Roberts, jr., Appleton East; Lauren Smith, jr., Kimberly.
Honorable Mention
Appleton North: Paige Schabo, soph. Appleton West: Jenna Hoffman, soph. Fond du Lac: Megan Dille, sr.; Aleah Wendels, sr. Kimberly; Alina Hampton, jr.; Kam Kroner, sr.; Morgan Torzala, sr. Neenah: Abby Rudolph, sr.; Katie Sukanen, sr. Oshkosh North: Kaylee Anthes, sr. Oshkosh West: Emma Guenther, sr.
Mequon Homestead 54 Fond du Lac 49
Ally Gietzel scored 28 points, but it wasn’t enough as the 10th-seeded Cardinals fell to No. 7 seed Mequon Homestead in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal.
Fond du Lac trailed 24-21 at halftime and wasn’t able to complete the comeback against the Highlanders.
Apart from Gietzel, Megan Dille added 10 points for the Cardinals.
| FOND DU LAC | 21 | 28 | — 49 |
| Mequon Homestead | 24 | 30 | — 54 |
Fond du Lac — Devin Wonser 2, Ally Gietzel 28, Lauren Wendt 3, Aleah Wendels 3, Carly Paulson 2, Kali Smit 1, Megan Dille 10. 3-pointers: 5 (Gietzel 4, Wendels). FTs: 8-16. Fouls: 24 (Megan Wendt).
Mequon Homestead — Grace Crowley 17, Savannah Melan 3, Olivia Wasserman 6, Holly Dooge 2, Sam Crivello 5, Chloe Marotta 16, Amanda Hooks 5. 3-pointers: 2 (Melan, Marotta). FTs: 22-30. Fouls: 20.
Ally Gietzel hits 1,000 points, but Fondy falls to Appleton East
FOND DU LAC – Ally Gietzel scored her 1,000th career varsity point, but the Fond du Lac girls basketball team fell 55-43 to Appleton East in Fox Valley Association play on Saturday night.
Gietzel, just a junior, scored 15 points to lead the Cardinals and hit the 1,000-point milestone.
Aleah Wendels added 13 points for Fond du Lac, which trailed by six points at halftime and couldn’t stage a rally against the Patriots.
| APPLETON EAST | 26 | 29 | — 55 |
| Fond du Lac | 20 | 23 | — 43 |
Appleton East — Audrey Roberts 2, Lexie Schneider 19, Sara Al-Ibrahim 7, Alyssa Petersen 2, Chelsey Van Gompel 1, Tricia Dailey 8, Killian Andrew 1, Maggie West 3, Abbie King 12. 3-pointers: 3 (Al-Ibrahim, Dailey 2). FTs: 10-20. Fouls: 23.
Fond du Lac — Ally Gietzel 15, Aleah Wendels 13, Bailey Tracy 5, Emma Loewe 2, Kali Smit 2, Megan Dille 6. 3-pointers: 1 (Wendels). FTs: 18-30. Fouls: 17 (Dille).
Appleton West 60 Fond du Lac 38
The Cardinals struggled offensively as they fell to the Terrors in a Fox Valley Association contest.
Fond du Lac managed only 13 points in the first half en route to the loss.
Aleah Wendels paced the Cardinals with 14 points, while Megan Dille added eight points.
Ally Gietzel and Megan Wendt both chipped in seven points.
| FOND DU LAC … | …13 | 25 | — 38 |
| Appleton West … | …24 | 36 | — 60 |
Fond du Lac — Ally Gietzel 7, Megan Wendt 7, Aleah Wendels 14, A. Mueller 2, Megan Dille 8. 3-pointers: 6 (Gietzel 2, Wendt, Wendels 3). FTs: 8-12. Fouls: 15.
Appleton West — Maddie Vantassel 3, Cassie Knauer 2, Sydney Cocking 24, Zoey Zuleger 12, Christie Fortune 4, Jamie Pritzi 2, Lauren Lietzke 2, Jenna Hoffman 9, Fee Nunn 2. 3-pointers: 3 (Cocking 2, Zuleger). FTs: 13-16. Fouls: 15.
Appleton North 59 Fond du Lac 47
Ally Gietzel scored 15 points, but the Cardinals came up short against the Lightning in Fox Valley Association play.
Appleton North led 30-22 at halftime and kept Fond du Lac at bay from there.
Aleah Wendels chipped in 12 points for the Cardinals and Megan Dille had 10 points.
| FOND DU LAC | 22 | 25 | — 47 |
| Appleton North | 30 | 29 | — 59 |
Fond du Lac — Devin Wonser 6, Ally Gietzel 15, Aleah Wendels 12, Bailey Tracy 2, Smit 2, Megan Dille 10. 3-pointers: 4 (Gietzel 2, Wendels 2). FTs: 11-21. Fouls: 17.
Appleton North — Kari Brekke 9, Taylor Sieg 2, Anna Laux 4, Callie Pohlman 1, Kylie Beecher 6, Kalen Klitzke 2, Sydney Levy 27, Paige Schabo 6, Kate Lukashewich 2. 3-pointers: 6 (Brekke, Beecher 2, Levy 3). FTs: 11-14. Fouls: 20.
Fond du Lac girls hoops can’t hold off Hortonville
FOND DU LAC – Holding an eight-point lead with 12:24 left in the game, the Fond du Lac girls basketball team appeared to be gaining momentum.
It didn’t take long for Hortonville to turn the tide.
Hortonville went on a 22-7 run midway through the second half as the Polar Bears rallied to defeat Fond du Lac 82-73 in Fox Valley Association play on Monday night at Fond du Lac.
“We just had too many turnovers (during Hortonville’s run),” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell said. “We let the hectic press push us into poor decisions. We weren’t looking up, trying to get it to our guards. We were trying to attack 1-on-3 when we had clear passes. Once we made the adjustments, we were fine. Obviously, scoring wasn’t an issue for either team tonight. But when we had that lead we played not to lose instead of to win.”
An Ally Gietzel 3-pointer put Fond du Lac (9-7, 7-5 Fox Valley Association) up 51-43, but Hortonville (12-3, 11-2 FVA), ranked No. 9 in Division 2 in the latest Associated Press poll, responded.
On the strength of four 3-pointers during their run, the Polar Bears quickly recaptured the lead and never gave it up.
Shay Frederick paced Hortonville with a game-high 39 points, knocking down seven 3-pointers, while Morgan Allen added 21 points.
The Polar Bears made 12 3-pointers as a unit.
“Their outside shooting percentage was through the roof,” Bell said of Hortonville. “As I told the team, if it takes teams scoring 15 3-pointers on us, that’s OK because that’s not going to happen every night. That was an amazing shooting night for them.”
Gietzel led Fond du Lac with 29 points, while Megan Dille chipped in 17 points.
Aleah Wendels added 13 points for the Cardinals.
| HORTONVILLE | 34 | 48 | — 82 |
| Fond du Lac | 33 | 40 | — 73 |
Hortonville — Shay Frederick 39, Olivia Griesbach 5, Emily Nelson 14, Claire Van Beek 3, Morgan Allen 21. 3-pointers: 12 (Frederick 7, Griesbach, Nelson 4). FTs: 10-13. Fouls: 22 (Allen).
Fond du Lac — Ally Gietzel 29, Megan Wendt 2, Aleah Wendels 13, Carly Paulson 4, Bailey Tracy 6, Emma Loewe 2, Megan Dille 17. 3-pointers: 5 (Gietzel 2, Wendels 2, Paulson). FTs: 18-26. Fouls: 17.
Oshkosh North 64 Fond du Lac 56
Ally Gietzel and Megan Dille both scored 16 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Cardinals fell in Fox Valley Association play to the Spartans.
Oshkosh North held a slim 29-26 edge at halftime and was able to slowly pull away.
Aleah Wendels added 10 points for Fond du Lac.
| FOND DU LAC | 26 | 30 | — 56 |
| Oshkosh North | 29 | 35 | — 64 |
Fond du Lac — Ally Gietzel 16, Aleah Wendels 10, Carly Paulson 5, Bailey Tracy 4, Emma Loewe 5, Megan Dille 16. 3-pointers: 2 (Gietzel, Loewe). FTs: 10-14. Fouls: 19.
Oshkosh North — Ashley Wissink 12, Elle Lieder 2, Sammy Buerger 11, Maddy Westemeier 9, Kaylee Anthes 19, Brie Gauthier 11. 3-pointers: 4 (Wissink, Anthes 3). FTs: 16-24. Fouls: 20 (Buerger, Westemeier).
Fond du Lac 55 Oshkosh West 48
Ally Gietzel scored 21 points as the Cardinals pulled away from the Wildcats in Fox Valley Association play.
Tied 23-23 at halftime, Fond du Lac eventually managed to take the lead and hold Oshkosh West off.
Megan Dille chipped in 19 points for the Cardinals, while Carly Paulson had eight points.
| FOND DU LAC | 23 | 32 | — 55 |
| Oshkosh West | 23 | 25 | — 48 |
Fond du Lac — Ally Gietzel 21, Megan Wendt 2, Aleah Wendels 4, Carly Paulson 8, Bailey Tracy 1, Megan Dille 19. 3-pointers: 4 (Gietzel 3, Paulson). FTs: 13-20. Fouls: 10.
Oshkosh West — Callista Rochon-Baker 4, Emma Guenther 12, Maddie Fuller 14, Kendra Davis 7, Megan Kaminski 11. 3-pointers: 1 (Guenther). FTs: 7-10. Fouls: 18.
Fond du Lac 69 Kaukauna 38
Ally Gietzel scored a game-high 24 points as the Cardinals dominated the Galloping Ghosts in Fox Valley Association play.
Fond du Lac led 35-20 at halftime and continued to pile on in the second half.
Apart from Gietzel, Megan Dille had 13 points for the Cardinals and Aleah Wendels added nine points.
| FOND DU LAC | 35 | 34 | — 69 |
| Kaukauna | 20 | 18 | — 38 |
Fond du Lac — Devin Wonser 6, Ally Gietzel 24, Aleah Wendels 9, Carly Paulson 6, Gaia Templer 1, Bailey Tracy 7, Emma Loewe 3, Megan Dille 13. 3-pointers: 4 (Wonser, Gietzel 2, Wendels). FTs: 17-30. Fouls: 18.
Kaukauna — Keira Nennig 3, Skye Rodriguez 1, Lydia Albrecht 13, Lauren Brochtrup 5, Sondra VanZeeland 4, Breanna Verhasselt 1, Jennifer Mand 8, Amanda DeBruin 1, Claire Engmann 2. 3-pointers: 4 (Albrecht 2, Brochtrup, Mand). FTs: 8-20. Fouls: 22.
Fond du Lac 58 Kimberly 51
Ally Gietzel scored 21 points as the Cardinals held off the Papermakers in Fox Valley Association play.
Leading 28-15 at halftime, Fond du Lac needed to stave off a bit of a Kimberly rally in the second half.
Apart from Gietzel, Megan Dille added 13 points for the Cardinals, while Megan Wendt had 12 points.
| Kimberly | 15 | 36 | — 51 |
| Fond du Lac | 28 | 30 | — 58 |
Kimberly — Alina Hampton 5, Lauren Smith 9, Abby Evers 1, Morgan Torzala 11, Reilly Lamirande 8, Shea Dechant 2, Kam Kroner 15. 3-pointers: 4 (Smith, Torzala, Lamirande 2). FTs: 11-16. Fouls: 21 (Smith).
Fond du Lac — Ally Gietzel 21, Megan Wendt 12, Aleah Wendels 8, Carly Paulson 2, Bailey Tracy 2, Megan Dille 13. 3-pointers: 3 (Gietzel 2, Wendels). FTs: 11-25. Fouls: 15.
Fond du Lac girls hoops pulls away from Appleton West
FOND DU LAC – Trailing by a point at halftime, the Fond du Lac girls basketball team needed only a few minutes to turn what was a competitive game into a lopsided one.
Now the Cardinals head into the second half of their regular-season schedule looking like a squad that can do some damage.
Ally Gietzel scored a game-high 21 points and Fond du Lac used a 21-5 run at the start of the second half to take control as the Cardinals pulled away from Appleton West 66-49 in Fox Valley Association action on Saturday afternoon at Fond du Lac.
“In the first half, (Appleton West) had a lot of offensive rebounds and points in the paint,” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell said. “We thought if we cleaned that up and got rid of the easy drives, we’d be in good shape. They bought into that. They worked hard. Appleton West had the size advantage, but we did the little things we were supposed to. Transition points were also huge. We’d get the ball and go.”
Behind 30-29 at the break, Fond du Lac (6-5, 4-3 Fox Valley Association) scored the first eight points of the second half to take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Megan Dille, who finished with 17 points for the game, scored five of those eight points, providing a nice presence on the inside for the Cardinals.
After Appleton West (8-2, 4-2 FVA) trimmed Fond du Lac’s lead to 37-32, the Cardinals scored 11 straight points, with Gietzel contributing six of them, and it was a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
“We obviously scored quite a bit (during the run), but what it came down to was our defense,” Fond du Lac senior guard Aleah Wendels said. “We had a really good defensive second half, especially early on. They weren’t scoring and we were.”
Aside from Gietzel and Dille, Wendels added 10 points for the Cardinals, while Megan Wendt had seven points.
Emma Loewe chipped in six points.
After struggling from the free-throw line in a loss to Appleton North earlier in the week, Fond du Lac shot very well from the charity stripe on Saturday — sinking 18 of 23 attempts.
The Cards’ ability to convert at the line went a long way in keeping the Terrors at bay down the stretch.
“To extend leads, you have to make shots at the line,” Bell said. “Otherwise it becomes an empty possession. A two-point lead becomes a four-point lead. … It’s huge for us, to keep extending the lead with the clock stopped. It gets us some rest and kind of knocks the wind out of the other team. It was another big difference-maker in this game.”
Saturday’s win bumps Fond du Lac back over .500 on the year and puts the Cardinals in position to challenge for a spot in the upper half of the FVA as the season quickly moves into its latter half.
“Any win in our tough conference is a really big win,” Gietzel said. “We’ll just move forward from here.”
| APPLETON WEST | 30 | 19 | — 49 |
| Fond du Lac | 29 | 37 | — 66 |
Appleton West — Maddy Vantassel 2, Sydney Cocking 10, Zoey Zuleger 7, Julia Smith 11, Christy Fortune 2, Jamie Pritzl 3, Jenna Hoffman 14. 3-pointers: 0. FTs: 21-29. Fouls: 19.
Fond du Lac — Ally Gietzel 21, Megan Wendt 7, Aleah Wendels 10, Carly Paulson 3, Bailey Tracy 2, Emma Loewe 6, Megan Dille 17. 3-pointers: 4 (Gietzel, Wendt 2, Wendels). FTs: 18-23. Fouls: 19.
Fond du Lac girls hoops fall to Appleton North
FOND DU LAC – After playing a fairly even first half with Appleton North, the Fond du Lac girls basketball team simply couldn’t keep pace with the Lightning in the second.
Sydney Levy scored a game-high 20 points as Appleton North pulled away from Fond du Lac en route to a 60-42 win in Fox Valley Association play on Tuesday night at Fond du Lac.
“I think in the first half we played really good team defense, we really looked to shut them down on the weak side,” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell said. “With two minutes left (in the first half), I could see the slope of where we needed to be positioning and we’d kind of lost that. I don’t if it was fatigue or what it was, but we were out of position a lot. We were giving up offensive rebounds and a ton of second-chance points.”
In the first half, Fond du Lac (5-5, 3-3 Fox Valley Association) actually held a small advantage for a few minutes before Appleton North (9-0, 6-0 FVA) took the lead for good on a basket by Levy, putting the Lightning up 21-20.
Appleton North went into halftime up 26-22 and started to establish control early in the second, quickly building a double-digit lead. Levy’s basket a few minutes into the second half made the score 39-28 and the Lightning never led by less than 10 points the rest of the way.
The Cardinals struggled to get into much of an offensive rhythm on Tuesday against an Appleton North defense that employed a full-court press much of the game and trapped in the halfcourt.
“They were a very physical team,” Bell said of Appleton North. “Next to (Hartland) Arrowhead, they’re probably one of the most physical teams we’ll play. We’ve talked about practicing with that physicality, so we’re used to it in games. We’re still trying to get to that point where practice is harder than a game. They were just physical, so we’re not used to that and it was hard to finish. There was a couple times where someone got a look in the lane, but got a little bump and couldn’t finish.”
Megan Dille led Fond du Lac with 11 points on Tuesday, while Ally Gietzel added 10 points. Aleah Wendels had eight points and Carly Paulson chipped in six.
The Cardinals went just 11-of-22 from the free-throw line.
“We set a goal of 70 percent, last year we were at 68 percent (from the free-throw line),” Bell said. “We’re always shooting tired in practice. I think a big part of it is focus, taking our time, getting our legs. … I think part of it was confidence because of the way the game was going. I think it got to them mentally. We’re a better free-throwing shooting team than that.”
Apart from Levy, Kari Brekke added 11 points for Appleton North, while Paige Schabo had nine.
| Appleton North | 26 | 34 | — 60 |
| Fond du Lac | 22 | 20 | — 42 |
Appleton North — Kari Brekke 11, Sydney Savior 3, Emma Erickson 4, Callie Pohlman 4, Kylee Beecher 7, Sydney Levy 20, Kalen Klitzke 2, Paige Schabo 9. 3-pointers: 5 (Brekke, Savior, Beecher, Levy 2). FTs: 7-10. Fouls: 19 (Erickson).
Fond du Lac — Ally Gietzel 10, Lauren Wendt 2, Aleah Wendels 8, Carly Paulson 6, Bailey Tracy 5, Megan Dille 11. 3-pointers: 3 (Wendels 2, Paulson). FTs: 11-22. Fouls: 12.
Fond du Lac girls collect win over New London
FOND DU LAC – Ally Gietzel scored 26 points and went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the second half to lead Fond du Lac to a 58-46 win in a nonconference girls basketball game over New London on Thursday night.
Megan Dille scored all nine of her points in the first half as the Cardinals grabbed a slim 27-26 lead at intermission. Gietzel then got things cranked up in the second half, scoring 19 points as Fond du Lac pulled away. The Cardinals went 15-of-18 from the free-throw line to help seal the win.
Leah Porath scored 23 points to lead New London.
New London…26 20 – 46
Fond du Lac…27 31 – 58
New London: Christian 6, Halvorson 6, Besaw 4, Rohan 3, Pfefferle 4, Porath 23. 3-pointers: 5 (Porath 2, Halvorson 2, Pfefferle). FTs: 5-8. Fouls: 20.
Fond du Lac: Gietzel 26, L. Wendt 4, M. Wendt 7, Wendels 3, Paulson 3, Templer 2, Tracy 2, Loewe 2, Dille 9. 3-pointers: 5 (Gietzel 4, Paulson). FTs: 15-18. Fouls: 12.
Fond du Lac girls rally past Neenah 68 – 63
FOND DU LAC – The Fond du Lac girls basketball team needed a win heading into the winter break.
After losing two straight games to ranked opponents in Hartland Arrowhead and Hortonville, the Cardinals were looking to regain some of their swagger.
Mission accomplished.
Ally Gietzel scored a game-high 25 points as Fond du Lac rallied past Neenah 68-63 in Fox Valley Association play on Thursday night at Fond du Lac.
Trailing 34-26 at halftime, the Cardinals slowly but surely trimmed the Rockets’ advantage early in the second, eventually taking a 50-48 lead on an Emma Loewe basket with a little over eight minutes left.
Neenah would stick around, but Fond du Lac led the rest of the way.
“We really talked about how the game was called, so we had to get to the rim and that would get us the foul calls,” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell said. “We had to finish on free throws. Free throws were pretty bad in the first half. … We had to finish. Keep shooting, it’s a long game.”
Aside from Gietzel, Megan Dille added 14 points for Fond du Lac (4-4, 3-2 Fox Valley Association), while Loewe chipped in nine points off the bench.
“It was a pretty slow first half,” Loewe said. “But then in the second half, I picked it up and had a lot of help from my teammates and they got me fired up and wanting to win.”
Bailey Tracy also had seven points for the Cards and Carly Paulson added six. The Cardinals went just 16-of-30 from the free-throw line, but made many of them in the final minutes to hold off the Rockets.
Megan Lee paced Neenah (5-2, 3-2 FVA) with 20 points, and Katie Sukanen had 16 points. Abby Rudolph added 15 points.
In getting back to .500 before the winter break and earning a victory over a team that was near the top of the FVA, Thursday’s win was a big momentum-booster for Fond du Lac.
“Any conference win is big any time,” Bell said. “To beat a team that was top-three in the conference is big. We just had to get our momentum back, get our confidence, and continue to grow from there.”
| NEENAH | 34 | 29 | — 63 |
| Fond du Lac | 26 | 42 | — 68 |
Neenah — Abby Rudolph 15, Katie Sukanen 16, Amanda Argall 3, Reagan Obry 4, Megan Lee 20, Kate Dietzen 5. 3-pointers: 3 (Rudolph, Lee, Dietzen). FTs: 16-24.Fouls: 25.
Fond du Lac — Ally Gietzel 25, Lauren Wendt 3, Megan Wendt 2, Carly Paulson 6, Gaia Templer 2, Bailey Tracy 7, Emma Loewe 9, Megan Dille 14. 3-pointers: 4 (Gietzel, L. Wendt, Paulson, Loewe). FTs: 16-30. Fouls: 20.
Hartland Arrowhead 67 Fond du Lac 29
The Cardinals were no match for the Warhawks as they fell in nonconference play on Saturday evening.
Ally Gietzel led Fond du Lac with 14 points, while Aleah Wendels and Megan Dille both had four points.
Ally Gietzel, Fond du Lac girls hoops stun Oshkosh North 58 – 56
FOND DU LAC – Add another moment to Ally Gietzel’s growing legend. This one may be the signature play of her young career, so far. Gietzel sank a runner from just inside the free-throw line as time expired on Friday night, giving the Fond du Lac girls basketball team a thrilling 58-56 win over Oshkosh North in Fox Valley Association play at Fond du Lac. “We were just running the time down to about 10 seconds and I just saw an open lane, went for it, shot it and I guess it went in,” Gietzel said. Fond du Lac’s Ally Gietzel hits a runner as time expires to give the Cardinals a 58-56 win over Oshkosh North on Friday.
Gietzel, the reigning FVA Co-Player of the Year, received her first offer to play NCAA Division I women’s basketball earlier this week from Bucknell University. While it wasn’t the typical 20-plus point game from the star junior, Gietzel showcased why she’s a premier talent — making good decisions against a trapping Oshkosh North defense and hitting shots when she had the chance, finishing with 13 points.
Going into halftime with a 30-25 lead, Fond du Lac (3-2, 2-1 FVA) had to battle back after Oshkosh North (3-2, 1-2 FVA) opened the second half on a 13-0 run to grab a 38-30 edge.
The Cardinals chipped away at that lead, but needed some last-minute heroics to complete the comeback. Following a 3-pointer from Sammy Buerger that gave the Spartans a 56-49 advantage, Fond du Lac’s Aleah Wendels responded with a 3-ball of her own. After an Oshkosh North turnover, Megan Dille was fouled and sank two free throws to make the score 56-54.
North’s Buerger then missed the first free throw in a one-and-one situation and the Cardinals corralled the rebound. Dille followed that by putting in a layup while getting fouled with 45 seconds left, tying the game at 56 apiece. Dille missed the free-throw attempt that would have given Fond du Lac the lead, but the loose ball went off a North player and out of bounds — setting up the final sequence for Gietzel. “She made a tough shot that she can make,” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell said of Gietzel’s buzzer-beater. “It’s exactly what we were looking for, something that’s to the rim, at the buzzer with no chance for them to get a rebound and take it back.”
But early in the second half, it appeared as though Oshkosh North might run away with the contest. With the team struggling, Bell said his message to the Cardinals was to develop a sense of urgency as their backs were against the wall. “We just talked about urgency and wanting the ball,” he said. “You could tell those first five minutes where Oshkosh North made the run, it was real obvious who wanted the game. Oshkosh North was all over 50-50 balls, they were winning those battles. We were slow on close-outs and our body language wasn’t there. We started to come back when we started to get that fire.”
Added Dille: “It was just a matter of who wanted it more. They came out in the second half and they wanted it more than we did, so Bell called a timeout and he sat us down and told us ‘They want it more than you do right now, so what are you going to do to change it?’ We picked each other up, dusted each other off and went from there.”
Dille led Fond du Lac with 17 points on Friday, doing much of her work near the basket. Wendels added seven points, while Lauren Wendt had six.
Megan Wendt had five points and both Bailey Tracy and Emma Loewe had four.
Ashley Wissink paced Oshkosh North with 13 points and Buerger chipped in 11 points. Elle Lieder added nine points and both Kaylee Anthes and Brie Gauthier had eight. The Spartans made eight 3-pointers as a team.
| OSHKOSH NORTH | 25 | 31 | — 56 |
| Fond du Lac | 30 | 28 | — 58 |
Oshkosh North — Ashley Wissink 13, Chandell Matta 3, Elle Lieder 9, Sammy Buerger 11, Maddy Westemeier 4, Kaylee Anthes 8, Brie Gauthier 8. 3-pointers: 8 (Wissink 3, Matta, Lieder, Buerger, Anthes 2). FTs: 0-4. Fouls: 16.
Fond du Lac — Ally Gietzel 13, Lauren Wendt 6, Megan Wendt 5, Aleah Wendels 7, Gaia Templer 2, Bailey Tracy 4, Emma Loewe 4, Megan Dille 17. 3-pointers: 3 (Gietzel, M. Wendt, Wendels). FTs: 5-11. Fouls: 13.
Ally Gietzel, Fond du Lac cruise past Oshkosh West 60 – 33
FOND DU LAC – Ally Gietzel led the Fond du Lac girls basketball team with 17 points as the Cardinals picked up a Fox Valley Association win on Friday, defeating Oshkosh West 60-33.
Aleah Wendels, Carly Paulson and Megan Dille chipped in 11 points apiece for Fond du Lac as well.
The Cardinals led 34-15 at halftime
| Oshkosh West | 15 | 18 | — 33 |
| Fond du Lac | 34 | 26 | — 60 |
Oshkosh West — Callista Rochon-Baker 3, Gabby Craig 2, Emma Guenther 15, Lauren Olejnik 2, Abby Hammonds 2, Maddie Fuller 3, Kendra Davis 2, Jenna Weber 4. 3-pointers: 0. FTs: 8-12. Fouls: 16.
Fond du Lac — Devin Wonser 1, Ally Gietzel 17, Lauren Wendt 7, Aleah Wendels 11, Carly Paulson 11, Bailey Tracy 2, Megan Dille 11. 3-pointers: 9 (Gietzel 2, Wendt, Wendels 3, Paulson 3). FTs: 9-13. Fouls: 16.
Kimberly 62 Fond du Lac 52
The Papermakers put together a strong second half as they pulled away from the Cardinals in Fox Valley Association play.
Fond du Lac led 28-26 at halftime, but was outscored 36-24 in the final 18 minutes.
Ally Gietzel led the Cardinals with a game-high 28 points, while Lauren Wendt added seven points.
| FOND DU LAC | 28 | 24 | — 52 |
| Kimberly | 26 | 36 | — 62 |
Fond du Lac — Ally Gietzel 28, Lauren Wendt 7, Aleah Wendels 5, Bailey Tracy 2, Emma Loewe 5, Megan Dille 5. 3-pointers: 3 (Wendt, Wendels, Loewe). FTs: 13-21. Fouls: 20.
Kimberly — Alina Hampton 13, Abby Evers 8, Morgan Torzala 9, Reilly Lamirande 4, Shea Dechant 8, Kam Kroner 20. Fouls: 16.
Beaver Dam 66 Fond du Lac 47
The Cardinals played even with the Golden Beavers in the second half but couldn’t overcome an 18-point halftime deficit in a nonconference loss.
Ally Gietzel finished with 28 points to lead Fond du Lac, which went an impressive 17 of 22 from the free-throw line. Megan Dille chipped in eight points.
Cassidy Trotter scored 20 points to lead four players in double figures for Beaver Dam.
Fond du Lac 56 Waukesha Catholic Memorial 38
Ally Gietzel scored a game-high 30 points to lead the Cardinals over Waukesha Catholic Memorial in a nonconference contest.
Megan Dille added nine points for Fond du Lac, while Lauren Wendt and Aleah Wendels added five apiece.
Katie Evans led Catholic Memorial with 13 points.
| Fond du Lac | 29 | 27 | — 56 |
| Waukesha Catholic Memorial | 16 | 22 | — 38 |
Fond du Lac — Ally Gietzel 30, Lauren Wendt 5, Aleah Wendels 5, Gaia Templer 2, Bailey Tracy 1, Emma Loewe 2, Megan Dille 9. 3-pointers: 3 (Gietzel 2, L. Wendt 1). FTs: 10-17. Fouls: 14.
Waukesha Catholic Memorial — Caroline Dragani 7, Kathleen Hirsch 4, Katie Evans 13, Abby Vavra 2, Angie Carini 2, Ally Kormanik 2, Erin Wright 8. 3-pointers: 3 (Evans 3). FTs: 12-17.
Girls basketball players to watch
As hard as it may be to believe, the prep girls basketball regular season gets underway this week, with games starting on Tuesday.
A number of teams in the area seem poised for good seasons, in part due to a strong returning core of standout players.
Here are 10 prep girls basketball players in the area to keep an eye on during the 2016-17 season. Players were chosen based on last season’s all-conference teams, statistics and expected importance to their respective squads coming into this year.
Ally Gietzel, Junior, Fond du Lac
Last year’s Fox Valley Association Co-Player of the Year, an Associated Press all-state honorable mention and the 2015-16 Action Reporter Media All-Area Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Gietzel enters her junior season primed for another big year.
Leading the Cardinals to a 12-11 record last season, Gietzel averaged 17.7 points per game, showing an ability to hit shots from the outside while driving to the basket almost effortlessly.
Gietzel hit 44.6 percent of her shots last season, pulled down 5.1 rebounds per game and also chipped in with 2.1 assists per game.
Fond du Lac girls basketball season gets underway
The 2016-17 prep girls basketball season gets underway this week with nonconference games for a variety of area teams.
Fox Valley Association
Fond du Lac: Last year, the Cardinals finished in a tie for fourth place in the Fox Valley Association and compiled a 12-11 overall record, losing in the regional round of the WIAA Division 1 playoffs.
Fond du Lac returns its top three scorers, including junior Ally Gietzel, who was the FVA’s Co-Player of the Year last season. Gietzel averaged 17.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last year en route to the honor.
Aleah Wendels (12.2 ppg) and Megan Dille (9.0 ppg) also return for the Cardinals, as does Bailey Tracy (2.9 ppg).
“We are very excited for the season and have had a great first week of practice,” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell said. “We feel we will be very competitive in the FVA this year.”