Laconia needed to make a change to stop Kinsley and Addy Ketterhagen on Tuesday night.
Coach Chris Morgan and the Spartans began to double-team them, holding the pair scoreless for the final 8:30, which allowed the Spartans to come from behind and start the season with a 65-54 road nonconference win.
The Ketterhagens scored the first 48 points of the game for Oostburg (0-1), including a 21-5 run that spanned the end of the first half and the start of the second. That run turned a 13-point Laconia lead into a 3-point deficit.
"We switched our defenses up a little bit to go double the Ketterhagens a little bit more," Morgan said. "We were on our heels with them attacking us the whole time and switching that up and going out to double them kind of put us in attack mode a little bit more and that carried over to the offensive end."
Laconia (1-0) finished the final 8:30 of the game on a 21-6 run, which was sparked by Finley and Payton Morgan.
In a four-possession span, Finley scored 5 points and Payton scored 6 over a 1:23 spurt to give the Spartans the lead for good.
"During practice, we rebound for each other and we're always in the gym together, so seeing that in action during the game is really awesome," Finley Morgan said.
Finley finished with 17 points, despite being in foul trouble during the first half. She finished with five of the team's 11 three pointers on the night.
"She's going to have to learn how to not put herself in that situation," Morgan said. "But she hit some big shots for us and that's what we expect out of Finley. Finley's a great player."
Senior Molly Duel played a crucial part in getting momentum back for Laconia in the second half. She had four steals, three offensive rebounds and several more deflections and tips.
Morgan said Duel always does the little things that helps the team win, even if it doesn't show up on the stat sheet. He also said he was proud of Duel's response to being the only senior that is not in the starting lineup.
"That's a tough pill to swallow for her, but I just told her I love her game, and I love what she brings, and we need her to bring that same energy that she always does off the bench," Morgan said.
Tierney Madigan was the second-leading scorer with 14 points. She found success slashing through the paint and finishing at the rim.
Point guard Aubrey Leonard scored 12 points while also guarding Kinsley Ketterhagen most of the night, a responsibility she shared with Duel.
BOX SCORE:
LACONIA | 35 | 30 | 65 |
OOSTBURG | 31 | 23 | 54 |
LACONIA SCORING: Finley Morgan 17, Tierney Madigan 14, Aubrey Leonard 12, Payton Morgan 9, Eva Engel 8, Molly Duel 5
OOSTBURG SCORING: Kinsley Ketterhagen 26, Addy Ketterhagen 22, Taylor Brasser 6
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