Sussex Hamilton Girls Win Defensive Battle over Waukesha West

Freshman forward Mackenzie Latt led the way with 10 points as the Sussex Hamilton girls basketball team (12-7) knocked off Waukesha West (11-8), 29-26, in a hard-fought, non-conference defensive battle Wednesday night.

To say the game was played at a slow pace is an understatement. But that didn't bother Hamilton head coach Dan Carey, who was happy to get the victory.

“We just like to play the pace that gets us W's,” said Carey after the game. “I know that is coachspeak, but it's the truth. We want to play the right pace that gets us a win against that opponent.”

Indeed, the overlying theme of this game was the slow pace, and that pace could have not gotten any slower in the first half. Turnovers didn't help much, either.

After Waukesha West came out and hit a 3-point shot on their first possession, four of the next five possessions combined between the two teams ended with a turnover - two for each side. This slow pace was the primary culprit of a halftime score that was 13-11.

The second half was played at a much cleaner pace than the first, especially for Hamilton. The Chargers were able to get some good clean looks at the basket early on in the second half and capitalized on those opportunities. The game stayed close the rest of the way and the Chargers were clinging to a 3-point lead in the game's final minute. The Wolverines put up a 3-point shot in the game's final seconds that virtually went in and out of the basket.

Other than Latt, nobody else on the Chargers scored more than 4 points. For West, senior guard Brittany Wright had 9 points and senior forward Taylor Belmer had 8.

The Chargers' next game is on the road Friday against Wauwatosa East.