By KEVIN WANNEMACHER

Sportswriter

HAVILAND – Wayne Trace girls survived a sluggish beginning and took a huge step towards an outright Green Meadows Conference championship with a 51-44 win over county rival Antwerp at the Palace on Thursday night.

The Lady Raiders trailed by as much as 10 at 19-9 early in the second stanza before dominating the final six minutes of the half. Wayne Trace put together a 20-1 run and ended the half with a 29-22 lead that Antwerp never recovered from.

“I thought Antwerp came out with more intensity than we did early on and they executed their game plan,” commented Raider head coach Greg Davis. “In the second quarter, we did a better job of getting the game into the way we wanted it and we were able to force them into some mistakes.”