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Craig girls rally to beat Beloit

BELOIT — Janesville Craig High School’s girls basketball team played inspired ball for about five of 36 minutes Thursday night.

Fortunately for the Cougars, that was enough against winless Beloit Memorial.

Whitney Storbakken scored 16 points, and sophomore Emily Hinman added 12 off the bench, as Craig rallied for a 62-59 overtime win in a Big Eight Conference clash at Barkin Arena.

Craig (6-6, 5-5) trailed 51-42 with 2:06 left to play in regulation, but staged a furious comeback to force overtime. The Cougars finished regulation with a 9-0 run—capped off by Anne Morgan’s game-tying basket with 20 seconds left.

Beloit (0-11, 0-9) scored the first three points of overtime, but Storbakken hit a floater in the lane and a three-point basket from the right wing to give Craig the lead for good at 56-54 with 2:36 left. The Cougars sealed the victory with the help of four free throws from Amanda Hamilton and two from Hailey Smith.

“I think we found out a little bit about the character of this team,” Craig coach Mark Marsden said. “It’s awfully tough to come back from nine down on the road with two minutes left, but the girls dug down and found a way.

“This would’ve been a really tough loss for us. But hopefully, we can find a way to build off of the win. We’ve got four games coming up in seven days.”

Craig did virtually nothing the first three quarters. Shots weren’t falling and rebounds were tough to come by as the Cougars trailed 43-31 after three quarters. A quick 11-0 run to start the fourth cut the lead to one with 4:41 left to play. Hinman and Storbakken spearheaded the rally by scoring all 11 points.

Beloit responded with an 8-0 run and seemed to be in control with a 51-43 lead with 2:06 left.

“There were times where it seemed like everything that could go wrong, did for us,” Marsden said. “I’m proud of the fact that the girls didn’t panic and didn’t let the game get away from them.

“We kept our composure, and fortunately, Hinman gave us some great minutes off the bench and Whitney came up clutch for us like she has so many times before.”

Craig missed 13 free throws but managed to make 22, including 6-of-8 in overtime.

Morgan, along with junior Kelsey Kennedy, chipped in 10 points for the Cougars.

Amber Tester led Beloit with 14 points.

“Give Beloit credit,” Marsden said. “They played very well defensively, and I thought, shot the ball pretty well.

“Overall, I’m not happy with the way we played. But I’m very happy with the way we responded late in the game and in overtime. Hopefully, we can build off of it.”

CRAIG 62, BELOIT 59 (OT)

Craig (62)—Smith, 0-3-3; Hamilton, 1-7-9; Kennedy, 3-4-10; Oliver, 0-2-2; Morgan, 3-4-10; Storbakken, 6-0-16; Hinman, 5-2-12. Totals: 18-22-62.

Beloit (59)—Hankins, 1-0-2; Truttmann, 1-3-5; Lawver, 1-5-7; Tester, 5-2-14; Heldt, 3-1-7; Slavish, 3-2-8; Mauel, 3-0-6; Bridges, 4-3-11. Totals: 21-16-59.

Janesville Craig 9 10 12 20 11—62

Beloit Memorial 15 8 20 8 8—59

Three-point goals—Craig 4 (Storbakken 4), Beloit 1 (Tester). Free throws missed—Craig 13, Beloit 6. Total fouls—Craig 16, Beloit 24. Fouled out—Skavish.

Sophomores—Craig 59, Beloit 39. Craig is 11-1 overall and 9-1 in the Big Eight. Craig leading scorer: Emma Becher 21.