ALBANY - The members of the Albany High School got just what they needed in their final game before Christmas - the gift of their first win of the season.

The Comets got a team-high 16 points from freshman Payton Zurfluh and defeated Pecatonica 47-39 Tuesday night.

"I liked our early-game pressure, that forced some turnovers, and we got some easy buckets," Albany coach Adam Wamsley said.

"Our half-court defense was good, too, and we made enough shots to win the game."

Sophomore Haley Freitag scored eight of her nine points in the first half to help Albany (1-8) build a 26-16 advantage. Zurfluh, who made three

3-pointers in the game, scored 13 points in the second half.

Pecatonica junior Liz Tisch led all scorers with 17 points.



New Glarus 58, Columbus 36

NEW GLARUS - Vanessa Narveson, Devon Boll and Julia Barnaby each scored 12 points to carry the Glarner Knights (7-1) to past Columbus.

New Glarus trailed 8-2 early but rallied to lead 27-16 by halftime.

"We just came out really flat to start the game," New Glarus coach Kim Burton said. "A few minutes into it, we picked it up. (Tamara) Elzen and Devon each hit a 3 and that kind of got things rolling."

Boll finished with three of the Knights' seven 3-pointers, and Narveson had two.