The Lady Wildcats played a physical and fast-paced game against the Rams of Rockford in the districts semi-final game on March 4.
Starting with a strong offensive push, the Rams pulled out to a 6-0 lead ahead of the Cats. After a 30 second timeout called by Northview, the momentum shifted. The Wildcats went on an 11-0 run. Senior Sha’kyia Parker scored the first 7, and senior Sam Underhill scored the remaining 4 points to end the first quarter.
During the second quarter Parker continued her domination by capitalizing off of two overthrown passes by Rockford in transition. Both of these passes resulted in layups for the Cats. Northview continued to outperform Rockford as senior Sydney Klekotka contributed 4 points and expanded their run to 24-9. The Wildcats went into halftime up 24-15.
Northview scored the first 10 points of the second half and quickly increased their lead to 19 points. Determined not to let the game slip away, Rockford began to chip at the commanding lead. After cutting the lead to 9, the Rockford bench and spectators began to get loud, hoping for the Ram’s energy to stay high.
The Wildcats began the fourth quarter up 40-29. The Rams yet again surged, scoring 9 more. After a consistent back-and-forth, the Cats called a timeout with 1:29 remaining, up 47-40. No matter how hard Rockford pushed, Northview pushed harder. The Cats made 14 free throws during the last quarter, compared to Rockford’s 11.
Northview’s Lady Wildcats won the game 55-45. They play Forest Hills Northern in the district finals on Wednesday.
