Heights girls split two games

Wisconsin Heights’ girls basketball team has played 13 games this season. The Vanguards haven’t won more than two games in a row, or lost more than two straight. Heights continued that up-and-down pattern last week when it dropped a 42-39 decision to visiting Cambridge last Tuesday, then followed that with a 66-55 win at Waterloo last Friday. Heights is now 6-7 overall and 2-1 in the Southern Capitol Conference. Here’s a recap of the Vanguards’ two games: • Cambridge 42 Wisconsin Heights 39 — The Blue Jays closed the game on a 7-0 run and stunned the Vanguards last Tuesday. Cambridge held an 11-0 advantage in second chance points, which helped it eventually prevail. “We had our opportunities in the game, but failed to take advantage of them,” Heights coach Bill Sullivan said. “It was a disappointing loss, we need to come out more focused and with play with more energy.” Ashlee Adler led the Vanguards with 12 points and Natalie Hering added 10 points. The game was close throughout and Cambridge held a 20-19 halftime advantage. The Blue Jays led, 33-29, when Heights went on an 8-0 run and grabbed a 37-33 lead. Hering made two free throws with 2:22 to give Heights a 39-35 lead, but the Vanguards didn’t score again. • Wisconsin Heights 66 Waterloo 55 — Ashlee Adler had 19 points and Kelsie Handel added 13 points and 13 rebounds as the Vanguards downed the host Pirates last Friday. Natalie Hering had 10 points and five assists, while Hanna King and Kylie Doherty both had eight points. “Waterloo was a scrappy team and has a couple quality scorers that we had to know where they were at on the floor,” Sullivan said. “We went back to the basics this week in practice and I think it showed doing the little things a little better and hopefully we continue to make strides.” After a nip-and-tuck first half, Heights held a 25-21 lead at the break. The Vanguards then opened the second half on a 10-2 run in which Jada Wood knocked down a three-pointer, Miranda Keith converted a three-point play, and Natalie Hering converted a layup in transition to push their lead to 35-23. The Vanguards extended their advantage to as many as 16 points and went on to a big win.  “I thought everyone contributed tonight,” Sullivan said. “We were aggressive on the offensive end, attacking the basket.” Heights made an impressive 31-of-44 free throws (70.5%), highlighted by Adler’s 11-of-12 performance (91.7%). The Vanguards also had 13 offensive rebounds, 26 points in the paint and 18 points off of turnovers. “We scored 41 points in the second half, so we know we’re capable of putting up good numbers, and have to be more consistent moving forward,” Sullivan said. • On deck: Heights hosts Belleville Thursday at 7:30 p.m., then is at defending Division 3 state champion Marshall Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.   Jan. 17 WISCONSIN HEIGHTS 66, WATERLOO 55 Heights ................... 25 41 — 66 Waterloo ................ 21 34 — 55 WIS. HEIGHTS (fg ft-fta pts) — Wood 1 1-4 4, King 2 4-6 8, Doherty 3 0-0 6, Adler 3 13-14 19, Keith 2 2-3 6, Handel 4 5-9 13, Hering 2 6-8 1. Totals 17 31-44 66. WATERLOO — Schneider 0 2-4 2, Webster 0 0-1 0, Powers 6 2-6 17, Jaehnke 2 0-0 4, Asik 9 0-1 21, Mosher 1 6-10 8, Wolff 1 1-2 3 Totals 19 11-24 55. 3-point goals: WH 1 (Wood 1); Wat 6 (Powers 3, Asik 3). Total fouls: WH 18; WAT 29. Fouled out: Jaehnke.   Jan. 14 CAMBRIDGE 42,  WISCONSIN HEIGHTS 39 Cambridge ............. 20 22 — 42 Heights .................. 19 20 — 39 CAMBRIDGE (fg ft-fta pts) — Korth 5 2-2 112, Holzhueter 4 0-1 9, Stenklyft 1 0-0 2, Williams 6 2-2 16, Bolger 0 1-2 1, Schmude 0 2-2 2. Totals 16 7-9 42. WISCONSIN HEIGHTS — King 1 2-3 4, Adler 3 6-6 12, Keith 1 0-3 2, Handel 4 1-2 9, Hering 3 2-4 10, Mickelson 0 2-2 2. Totals 11 13-20 39. 3-point goals: C 3 (Williams 2, Holzhueter 1); WH 2 (Hering). Fouls: C 15; WH 11.