JUDA - After losing senior Cassidy Bump early in the first quarter, the Comets responded with strong second and fourth quarters to defeat Juda 34-27.

Bump went down early with a leg injury and did not return, Albany head coach Bryce Pickett said. "I don't think it's going to be anything serious," he added.

Senior Kirstie Kauk and freshman Ashley Harris stepped up for the Comets, scoring nine and eight points respectively. All of Harris' points came in the second and fourth quarters, in what was her first conference game.

"Ashley was kind of our spark," Pickett said. "She rattled off five quick points, and that ended up being our lead going into halftime. I believe she is a legitimate scoring threat."

Juda senior Jessica Rackow led the Panthers with 13 points.

Juda coach Curt Brown said that the biggest problem for the Panthers was on offense, where they struggled against Albany's zone.

"I just think Albany did a nice job defensively, in the second half, especially, when they went zone," Brown said. "We haven't seen much zone this year, it's been mostly man-to-man. We weren't quite as prepared for it as we should've been."

With the win, Albany improves to 3-2 (1-1 Six Rivers East), and they haven't even played a home game yet. However, Pickett is pleased with his team's performance amid the tough early-season schedule.

"We took on some good teams on the road," he said. "To come out of there 3-2, I obviously have no complaints about that."

The Comets will have their long-awaited home opener on Friday against Barneveld. That is, if Thursday's snowstorm doesn't linger.

"We're hoping that the weather clears up by Friday," Pickett said with a chuckle. "The girls are definitely looking forward to that home game."



Black Hawk 45, River Ridge 39

SOUTH WAYNE - The Black Hawk girls basketball team used a balanced scoring attack to hold off River Ridge, winning 45-39.

The leader of the Warriors offense was reigning Six Rivers East player of the year Jen Wellnitz, who scored 14 points. Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said that Wellnitz's offensive contribution wasn't just in the scoring department.

"Jen distributed the ball pretty well. I think she had five assists," he said. "I thought she found some kids in good scoring position. She's gonna make kids better by getting it to them in scoring position."

Other leading scorers for the Warriors included freshman Tatum Jackson (12 points) and senior Abby Schiferl (nine).

"It was nice to see some balanced scoring," he said. "Getting three kids in double figures is certainly a goal."

Another key for the Warriors was their defensive performance, especially in shutting down the Timberwolves' leading scorer, Meagan Herrick.

"I thought we had better defense," Flanagan said. "We held Herrick to nine, six of that came in the first. She had 30 against Potosi. We were a little more solid in our assignments, trying to take away their best player."

Black Hawk evened their record at 3-3 with the loss. The Warriors return to conference play on Friday against Monticello.



Platteville 58, Darlington 53

PLATTEVILLE - A fourth quarter charge came up just short for the Darlington girls basketball team, as they fell to Platteville, 58-53.

Darlington trailed by 10 going into the fourth quarter, but the Redbirds scored 25 points in the final period, and took the lead with about a minute remaining. However, the Redbirds lost their two leading scorers in the final minute, and were unable to complete the comeback.

Claire Scott scored nine for Darlington before fouling out. Cassidy Chambers led Darlington's fourth quarter comeback, scoring 16 of her 20 points in the final period. But Darlington was forced to play the final 30 seconds without their leading scorer, as she passed out on the way back to the huddle during a timeout, with the team trailing by two.

"Having your two leading scorers out hurts," Darlington coach Riley Fitzsimons said.

The key to Darlington's fourth quarter run was their willingness to attack the basket.

"We started to attack the basket which let our shooters get open," Fitzsimons said. "They play an aggressive defense. We attacked the basket and their defenders collapsed in, which opened up our shooters."

Although the Redbirds came up short in the end, Fitzsimons said he was pleased with the way his team played.

"I think we played very well," he said. "At the end we showed a lot of resiliency."

Darlington fell to 6-2 with the loss. The Redbirds host SWAL rival Mineral Point on Thursday.



Monticello 46, Pecatonica 38

MONTICELLO - Coming off just their second loss of the season, the Monticello girls basketball team bounced back with a 46-38 victory over Pecatonica.

Monticello coach Lori Brokopp was pleased with the intensity her team displayed from the beginning.

"We started the game pretty up tempo. I thought our intensity was there," Brokopp said.

Monticello took a two-point lead into halftime. Parkview kept the game interesting by scoring 14 in the fourth quarter, but that number was outdone by a 17-point quarter from the Ponies.

"Offensively, we clicked in the fourth quarter," Brokopp said. "Some shots that didn't fall in the first half fell in the fourth."

Brokopp said the difference between Tuesday night's game and the Ponies' loss on Saturday was their ability to handle Pecatonica's pressure defense.

"I think we handled the pressure a little bit better today," she said. "We ran our press break and were able to break the press a little better."

Pecatonica was led in scoring by Lizzy Britt, with 12 points. Marissa Berg led the Ponies with 16.

"(Berg) was pretty consistent throughout the whole game," Brokopp said. "She was taking it to the hole. She was getting banged up, but she stuck with it."

Monticello improved to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the Six Rivers East. The Ponies travel to Black Hawk on Friday for a clash with the Warriors.

Pecatonica (0-6) will look to pick up their first win of the season on Friday, when they will host Juda.

In other action, Barneveld defeated Argyle 68-22.