by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Wellington girls pulled off a stunning upset against Buhler Tuesday night 51-50 on the road. The boys lost to the northern Crusaders 70-54.

Wellington beat the No. 5 ranked team in Class 4A Division I and did so on its home gymnasium. Buhler is now 11-3 while Wellington improves to 7-6. This marks the first time the Lady Dukes have gone above .500 this season. They have now won three straight and have won 5 out of the last 6 ballgames with the only loss coming against the Haven Tournament Champions Kingman team.

The southern Crusaders were buoyed by Lauryn Snipes who had 27 points in the game. Avery Rusk had 10.

Buhler opened with a 12-6 first quarter lead and was in front 22-7 midway through the second quarter. Wellington, though, closed the gap before the half and trailed 25-15 at halftime. 

To start the third quarter, Wellington would open the second half on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to four with 5 minutes remaining in the third. Buhler would answer with a 7-0 run to take the lead back to 11.

Starting in the fourth, Wellington would score the first 4 points and Buhler’s lead would shrink making it 36-32. Teams would trade baskets in the next couple of minutes until Buhler goes on a 7-0 run to take back an 11-point lead with 4:30 remaining in the game.

After a timeout, a Snipes bucket ollowed by a Rusk 3-pointer helps pull Wellington within two, 48-46.

A big steal by the Wellington defense created a fast break and Rusk knocks down the layup to tie the game at 48-all.

“We did a terrific job of denying All-State and Harvard committed Jessica Steffen the ball on the next possession,” said Eric Adams, Wellington head girls basketball coach. “But Alex Keller creates her own shot and nails a 15-footer to give Buhler a 50-48 lead with 12 seconds to play.”

Wellington calls timeout and has the ball at mid-court. An isolation play is well played defensively and forces Snipes to give the ball to Tayland French who attacks the basket and scores and is fouled with 3.2 seconds remaining. French steps up and nails the free throw to give Wellington a 51-50 lead.

Buhler’s last second shot falls short and the southern Crusaders celebrate a memorable win.

“Our young team is starting to get this figured out,” Adams said. “The understanding of playing tough physical defense every possession as well as accepting their role and being the best darn player possible while doing it.”

T. French led the team with eight rebounds.

Wellington hosts Augusta Friday evening.

Wellington boys:

The Wellington boys basketball team did not have as good of luck against Buhler, losing 70-54.

Wellington held tough in the first quarter, down 18-15. But Buhler outscored the Dukes 24-13 in the second quarter and led 42-28 at the half. It would sustain that lead for the rest of the game. Jace Williams led Buhler with 29. Trevor Nance led Wellington with 15.

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