USC’s Maddie Dallman soars high above a defender for this shot during a game earlier in the season.

The United South Central Rebels girls basketball team stuck close to Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton, but in the end it was the Bulldogs who pulled away in the closing minutes to defeat the Rebels 38-27. The game was played in Wells on Friday, Jan. 7.

“Even though we ended up with a loss this was a huge step forward for us,” Rebels’ head coach Paul Meyer said. “We were within two points with a couple minutes left in the game against a team who defeated us by 37 points the first time we played them.”

Taylor Schroeder led the Rebels with nine points. Macy Zebro tallied six while Maya Zebro and Skylar Niebuhr each had four.

“Even though we only scored 27 points, we were very aggressive and ended up going to the line 35 times,” Meyer commented. “We only went to the line 36 times our first five games combined.”

USC made 12 of their 35 free-throw attempts. They were 6-for-35 from the field inside of the arc and 1-for-7 from three-point range.

“I was very happy with how we played defensively,” Meyer noted. “Our on-ball defense and our ability to prevent drives and give up easy baskets is at a level to keep us in games.”

Maya Zebro had a great night rebounding with 13 boards. Macy Zebro added seven rebounds while Lexi Johnson had six.

“We handled their press well. It was a great team effort and we just need to keep taking strides forward,” Meyer stated. “The girls are hungry to get their first win and are working hard every day in practice.”