On Tuesday, February 4th, 2025, the girls’ varsity basketball team won 44-36 against the Waukegan Bulldogs. The game was one of the last 4 in their 31 game season, and the team has continued to increase their season record at 22 and 5.
The Cats established a powerful lead, scoring 27 points in the first half of the game.
“Well, today, I thought some of the kids did a really good job.” Coach Greg Pedersen said. “I thought Ellen, Orlando and Sophia Swanson were able to attack the zone with their drives, and they were able to penetrate and get the defense to basically collapse a little bit, which opened up some things for us.”
In the second half, the Bulldogs managed to start closing the gap, scoring 9 more points than the Wildcats in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we needed to find our focus,” Coach Pedersen said. “ Even if we won tonight, I believe we could have done better.”
Despite the Bulldog’s attempt to regain a foothold, the Wildcats were able to use their initial lead to comfortably secure their victory, scoring 17 more points in the last two quarters.
The Cats attribute their current record to plenty of practice and discipline. However, the regular season is winding down, and the team will face tougher opponents in the playoffs.
“It’s going to be a much different story when we start playing our non-con[ference] schedule, which is coming up right here,” Pedersen said.
Following their victory, the Cats still have opportunities to grow and develop each individual player, as well as the team as a whole.
“It’s just a matter of going [back in] tomorrow,” Pedersen said, “and trying to shore up some weaknesses that we showed today.”
Pedersen is hopeful that the Wildcats will be able to make it to the playoffs.
“It’s a hard road, it’s a long road, going to state.” Coach Pedersen said. “So we just want to take it one game at a time when we get there, and then just focus on regionals.”
The Wildcats look forward to giving their all against Maine South on Saturday, Feb 8.
