Tritons trio gets Notre Dame back on track

GREEN BAY - Tuesday night Notre Dame showed when Allie LeClaire, Brianna Byrne and Eliza Campbell are on their game the Tritons might be unbeatable.

The Tritons trio combined for 53 points as they handed Green Bay Southwest its first loss of the season, 63-34, in a Fox River Classic Conference girls basketball game.

LeClaire was her usual self, scoring 14 points and setting up her teammates with good passes. Byrne was doing what she always does – hitting the open shot (four 3-pointers) and scoring inside on her way to a season-high 23 points. And Campbell was adding her intermediate dimension, scoring from about 17 feet and in as she scored a season-high 16 points.

While all are guards, each does something different and Tuesday the Trojans never could stop them.

“When those three get going, we’re a really good team,” Tritons coach Sara Boyer-Rohde said. “It makes us a lot harder to guard, because they’re all so versatile. It’s a great combination to have.”

Byrne, the senior left-hander, knows the threesome has to lead.

“This year, I’m trying to be more of a leader on and off the court,” Byrne said. “Myself, Allie and Eliza have been pushing each other.”

Notre Dame, which made the Division 2 state tournament last season, played Tuesday like an FRCC contender, but entering the game the Tritons’ record hardly showed it. Notre Dame was 1-2 with losses to quality teams in Beaver Dam and Bay Port.

Nonetheless, with Southwest (3-1, 1-1) entering the game with a perfect record this early-season game became important to get Notre Dame pointed in the right direction. While conference titles can’t be won in December, they can be lost and the Tritons didn’t want any part of that.

“I think our girls think because we went to state last year it’s automatically going to happen,” Boyer-Rohde said. “I’d rather have those losses now than later in the season.

“It’s a great win for us. We can’t take any team lightly. We have to come out ready to play every game. I thought we were ready to play.”

Notre Dame (2-2, 1-1) led 24-16 at halftime but then put away Southwest by outscoring the Trojans, 39-18, in the second half. Byrne said the Tritons have a tendency to even out after the first quarter but knew against the Trojans they had to keep playing hard.

“Southwest always comes out strong against us, so we knew we had to play strong against them,” Byrne said. “I think the win, not being a sloppy win, really helps us.”

When the Tritons returned to the locker room after the game many players were yelling, “emotion!” Apparently, the Tritons hadn’t been playing with an edge so far this season.

“It’s something we lacked,” Boyer-Rohde said. “It’s something we’ve been working on. Get excited when you win the game, get excited when your teammate makes a shot. All those things, we don’t get excited or show emotion and I think that’s important.”

Added Byrne: “Sara has been getting on us about not feeling enough emotion on the court – cheering when we do something well; we haven’t been showing enough, so we wanted to show Sara we have emotion on this team, especially in a positive way.”

Notes: Natisha Hiedeman, who leads the FRCC averaging 18.8 points per game, led Southwest with 22 points, including four 3-pointers. … Byrne leads Notre Dame in scoring at 13.2 ppg., while LeClaire adds 12.2 and Campbell 11.2. … Notre Dame’s two wins have come by 31 points (Denmark) and 29 points.

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

doug.ritchay@wluk.com