Fond du Lac's Carly Paulson talks about the Cardinals win over Oshkosh North on Friday Steve Clark/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
FOND DU LAC – A lot can happen in the span of one minute in basketball game.
Fond du Lac went on an 8-0 run in the final minute of the first half against Oshkosh North on Friday night to seize momentum heading into intermission.
The Cardinals then came out rolling in the second half and collected a 55-40 win over the Spartans in a Fox Valley Association girls basketball game inside the Fond du Lac fieldhouse.
“Usually we are not as positive coming into the half and the points gave us a big boost,” said Fond du Lac junior Carly Paulson. “We talked about staying focused and we kept it going the whole game.”
Paulson finished with 14 points and eight rebounds to lead four Cardinals in double figures in the win. Megan Wendt added 12 points, while Lauren Wendt and Joslyn Herbeck each finished with 10.
The balanced scoring helped make up for 21 turnovers committed by the Cardinals, however, Oshkosh North struggled to take advantage of the miscues.
The Spartans had a rough night shooting the ball – especially right at the basket – finishing just 20 percent from the field overall, while making just 2-of-20 3-point attempts.
“I thought we created a ton of opportunities and we just didn’t finish them, especially in the first half. We could have had it up to a six or eight-point lead at halftime if we just finished those layups,” North coach Jayme Engen said. “I think we just had one of those nights where it was an off night.”
Despite the struggles, North held a 25-22 lead entering the final minute of the first half when Paulson knocked down a pair of free throws and Lauren Wendt converted a three-point play to boost Fond du Lac back into the lead.
But the biggest shot was yet to come for the Cardinals.
With time winding down, Herbeck drained a 3-pointer and Fond du Lac scooted off the court with a 30-25 halftime lead.
“That was a great extra pass for Joslyn to hit that 3 at the buzzer. That was a huge momentum swing for us going into halftime,” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell said. “We had a stretch there where we got too individual and tried to do too much on our own and it showed so that was big to get that before halftime.”
The Cardinals followed it up by starting strong in the second half, as Megan Wendt, Paulson and Herbeck each hit baskets in a 7-0 run to start the half that pushed the lead to 12 and Fond du Lac held a double-digit lead the rest of the half.
One of the keys to keeping North at bay was the Cardinals improved handling of the Spartans’ defensive pressure. Fond du Lac not only limited their turnovers after halftime but was able to attack the full-court press to generate layups.
“I think the communication was our biggest key (in the second half) and we all just worked together and it all came together for us,” Paulson said. “We were really working on pushing the ball to the middle, making sure someone was there at all times and I guess that really worked for us. Once we started getting it to the middle, we broke it every time.”
Fond du Lac was able to score enough that it prevented Oshkosh North from mounting any kind of a charge.
The Spartans only scored on consecutive possessions with a defensive stop in between once in the second half and that came with less than four minutes to play.
“We just could not get that basket to get back in rhythm and get the momentum,” said Engen, whose team was led in scoring by Brie Gauthier’s 13 points and 11 from Brooke Ellestad.
The win snaps a three-game losing skid for Fond du Lac, which now turns its attention to a treacherous stretch of the schedule
The Cardinals face the top three teams in the FVA – Kimberly, Hortonville and Appleton North – over the next three games but should carry a little more confidence into those games after Friday’s victory.
“We are seeing that multiple people on our team can score. We don’t have to go to one person and we can play solid team defense. That’s huge coming down the stretch,” Bell said. “I tell them not to worry about record and just focus on being the best team we can beat come tournament time. I think we took a step toward that.”
Oshkosh North 25 15 – 40
Fond du Lac 30 25 – 55
OSHKOSH NORTH: Brooke Ellestad 11, Brie Gauthier 13, Ashley Wissink 6, Alina Harmon 2, Saige Turner 6, Meghan Gruse 2. 3-pointers: 2 (Ellestad, Wissink). FTs: 12-14. Fouls: 23. Fouled out: Harmon.
FOND DU LAC: Lauren Wendt 10, Carly Paulson 13, Megan Wendt 12, Joslyn Herbeck 10, Madison Dille 5, Shea-Lynn Gerred 3, Kali Smit 2. 3-pointers: 4 (Herbeck 2, L. Wendt, Paulson). FTs: 13-19. Fouls: 16.