Behind fast start, De Pere hangs on for victory over Bay Port

SUAMICO – Behind a fast start and 21 points from senior guard Abby Tassoul, the De Pere girls’ basketball team hung on for an exciting 53-48 Fox River Classic Conference (FRCC) victory over Bay Port on Dec 19.

Tassoul nailed four three-pointers and was seven for eight from the charity stripe in helping the Redbirds improve to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

With De Pere up 50-48 with under a minute to play, Tassoul calmly stepped to the line and drained a pair of free throws to bump the lead to four.

“I knew this was a big game for us, and we needed the win,” Tassoul said. “Personally, I haven’t been shooting the ball great from beyond the three-point line, so this game was good for my confidence. I’m hoping a big win like this can help us going forward.”

The Redbirds came out of the gates hot in jumping out to a 14-0 lead.

“I look at Bay Port as one of the top teams in the conference,” De Pere Coach Jeremy Boileau said. “We stuck to the game plan and were able to respond to some tough situations. We always talk about how important it is to start fast – I couldn’t be prouder of the girls.”

The Pirates (6-3 overall, 2-1 FRCC) came into the game winners of five straight but didn’t score their first points of the game until nearly six minutes had elapsed.

Despite the Redbirds’ quick start, Bay Port took a 23-22 lead into halftime.

With De Pere up 40-36 with six minutes remaining, Melia Lemorande, a Division II commit to Maryville University in St. Louis, drilled a three-pointer while getting fouled.

With Lemorande’s ensuing free throw, the Pirates pulled even at 40-40.

From there, the Redbirds hit nine free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.

“We were put in a similar situation in a game vs. Kimbery [on Dec. 9], and we lost [43-42] in the last few seconds,” Boileau said. “We took a tough loss in that game to learn how to do things better. This was another game where we had to step up at the end.”

Adeline Dwyer chipped in 10 points for De Pere, while Jaelyn Craig added nine.

Lemorande led the Pirates with 13 points, while Ava Nagel (11), Olivia Williams (10) and Kailynn Thompson (9) also had strong offensive games.