ELY— The Timberwolves used solid shooting and a punishing second-half defense to contain the Tigers as Ely improved to 20-4 with a 71-42 win here on Tuesday, leaving them a contender for the third seed heading into next week’s Section 7 girls basketball playoffs.
“We dominated defensively after starting a little slow on that end,” said Ely Head Coach Max Gantt. “Cherry is a well-coached team that does not give up, but we really made life hard for them in the second half.”
The Tigers kept it close in the early going but Ely slowly built a 39-26 lead by the half. But the Wolves amped up the pressure in the second half to put it away. “We gave great on ball pressure and handled their cutters and posts very well,” said Gantt. “We won the second half 32-16.”
Four Ely players reached double figures on the night, with Hannah Penke leading the way with 16 points. Grace LaTourell was right behind with 15, while Madeline Kallberg and Zoe Mackenzie notched ten points apiece. Sarah Visser notched six points along with “a ton” of steals and generally solid defensive play.
Heading into their regular season finale on Friday, Gantt called their contest with 18-7 South Ridge “a must win” that could decide the third seed for the playoffs.
“Heading into it, we are emphasizing trusting our teammates on offense and giving everything we have on defense down the stretch,” said Gantt.  “The better we take care of the ball and move it, the better we are on offense. The more effort we give on defense, the more we show we can lock up anybody.”