The Girls Varsity Basketball Team faced off with the Marquette Mustangs for the Class 5 District 2 Championship at Lafayette, March 7.

The first time these two teams met, the Wildcats triumphed by 29 points, but this game would be much closer with the Wildcats winning by seven, 69-62.

The back-and-forth nature of the game was evident early. After the Mustangs jumped out to a 6-2 lead, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run which was answered by a 10-0 run by Marquette resulting in a seven-point lead for the Mustangs, 16-9.

The Wildcats trailed 20-18 by the end of the first quarter after they responded to the 10-0 run with a 9-0 run, which again was answered by a 4-0 run by the Mustangs to end the quarter.

“That’s what high school basketball is turning into nowadays,” Mr. James Alsup, head coach, said. “I always know there’s another run coming.”

The Wildcats were in foul trouble most of the night, but their problems really started when Lindsey McCoy, forward, picked up her third foul with three minutes left in a tightly-contested first half.

“It didn’t affect our game plan at all,” Coach Alsup said. “We did a good job defending the post without her.”

The Wildcats led at the half 30-28 despite seven ties and nine lead changes.

“We just weren’t rebounding well,” Jessica Poore, guard, said. “We missed some easy shots too.”

Both teams scored 17 in the third quarter to make the score 47-45 heading to the fourth.

The foul trouble for the Wildcats continued into the fourth, with Torie Allen, point guard; Kelsey Tepen, forward and McCoy all having three fouls.

“We just had to play a little smarter,” Coach Alsup said. “They all know how to play with foul trouble.”

Tepen had 10 of the team’s 22 points in the fourth quarter to help propel the team to their seven-point win.

“She was huge for us,” Poore said. “She was driving and finishing really well.”

The Mustangs final desperate attempt for the victory resulted in a foul fest late.

“I was never really sure we were going to win,” Coach Alsup said. “I wasn’t content until the clock hit zero.”

The Wildcats’ district championship is their sixteenth win in a row, improving their record to 26-2 heading into sectionals.

Catch their sectionals game against Fox at Northwest at 6 p.m., March 12.