Last minute jumper pushes Wildcats past Miners

KELLOGG -- In a matchup of Silver Valley rivals, a fadeaway jumper with a minute to go by Payton Storey is just what was needed to push the Kellogg Wildcats over the Wallace Miners 38 – 35 at Andrews Gymnasium on Tuesday night.  

Junior guard Kylee Phillps finished with 16 points for the Miners and senior guard Makaila Groth led the way for the Wildcats with 12 - including a couple of needed triples in the fourth quarter. 

The first eight minutes were a tight affair with Wallace ending narrowly ahead. The second is where several turnovers by the Wildcats led to a dominant Miners quarter taking a 9-point lead going into halftime.  

Going into the third quarter both teams had trouble getting shots to fall but the Miners ended up extending their lead to 12 points entering the fourth. Down by 12, Kellogg performed stellar on the defensive side of the ball and finally got some shots to fall in crunch time.  

Sophomore Jordyn Stutzke hit some big free throws to extend Kellogg’s lead to three and eventually a win after an unsuccessful game-tying three attempt by the Miners. Stutzke added 6 points and junior Dani Henrickson also put in nine for the Wildcats. 

“We’ve been talking a lot about grit and mental toughness, especially coming down to the wire,” Kellogg Head Coach Jenna Nearing said. “We work a lot on free throws, especially pressure free throws.” That pressure free throw shooting was on display in the fourth and ended up being the final difference maker for the Wildcats. 

Kellogg    12    5    4    17  -  38 

Wallace    13    13    5    4  -  35 

KELLOGG - Philp 0, M. Groth 12, Schillereff 0, Storey 6, Yrjana 0, Stutzke 6, A. Groth 5, Henrickson 9 

WALLACE - K. Phillips 16, Au. Birdsell 4, Hase 4, Wood 5, Stutzke 2, Delano 2, B. Phillips 2