ARGYLE - A stout defensive effort led the Argyle girls basketball team to a big win over Juda, as the Orioles pounded the Panthers, 56-24.
After a quarter of play, Argyle held just a 7-6 lead. The Orioles blew the game open in the second, though. Argyle outscored the Panthers 19-5 in the second to take a 26-11 lead into halftime. The Orioles won the second half 30-13 to cap off the victory. Argyle coach Kurt Ritschard said the key to breaking the game open in the second quarter was their defense.
"We got off to a slow start," Ritschard said. "We kinda upped the pressure on our press and we started to get some points off of some mistakes.
"I was very, very pleased with our press and our man-to-man. We just kinda went with a different apporach. We kept our legs fresh by subbing 5 for 5."
Juda's leading scorer was Brittany Moe, who had seven points. Kayla Ostby and Jessica Treuthardt led Argyle with 13 points apiece. The Orioles also got eight points from both Kim Pink and Courtney Emberson.
"Ostby had a great shooting performance. Treuthardt had a great scoring night. Emberson had probably her best game all year," Ritschard said.
Juda (3-9, 0-5) is off until next Monday when they will take on Benton-Shullburg in a non-conference game. Argyle improved to 6-6 overall and 3-3 in the Six Rivers East. The Orioles host Black Hawk on Friday. Ritschard said the key for his team going forward is to continue improving on the defensive end.
"Our main focus is to keep getting better defensively, now that we're gonna start seeing teams for a second time. Tonight, we did a better job of making bunnies, those 2-4 foot shots. This gives us good momentum going into Black Hawk."
Monticello 55, Albany 24
ALBANY - The Monticello girls team knows what it's like to get behind early, but the Ponies were on the right end of the early lead, jumping on top of the Comets en route to a conference win.
The Ponies were led by sophomore Alyssah Kubly, who scored 23 points. She scored 14 of her points in the first quarter, and Monticello coach Lori Brokopp said most of those points came off of turnovers.
"We were able to pick some pockets early on," Brokopp said. "(Alyssah) did a great job of that, and I think it carried over to some of the other players. It definitely set the tone."
Also contributing offensively for the Ponies were Samantha Devoe (nine points) and Marissa Berg (five points).
"I told them the importance of away games," Brokopp said. "Albany is down in numbers ... and I didn't want us to go in feeling comfortable. We had a plan, and we needed to stick to it."
Missing in action for the Comets were senior Cassidy Bump, junior Julia Farley and freshman Ashley Harris.
However, Albany coach Bryce Pickett says he and his young players see injuries as an opportunity to learn and grow.
"It's their chance to step up," Pickett said of his younger players. "I think our girls are ready for the challenge ... and our girls gotta learn as we go."
Leading the way offensively for the Comets Tuesday were senior Kirstie Kauk (eight points) and junior Felicia Conley (seven points).
Up next for the Ponies is a Friday road game against Barneveld, who they lost to at home back in December. The Comets will host Pecatonica on Friday as well: a team they lost to a mere two weeks ago.
"It's one we hope to (win) at home," Pickett said. "This is our last chance to prove something to Pecatonica, and we want to make sure we do that."
Black Hawk 46, Pecatonica 37
BLANCHARDVILLE - Jen Wellnitz couldn't be contained Tuesday night, as she powered the Black Hawk girls basketball team to a Six Rivers East win at Pecatonica.
Wellnitz scored 24 points for Black Hawk to lead all scorers.
"What didn't she do? She's tough to contain," Pec coach Matt Bakkum said of Wellnitz. "She got steals and she was able to work in space. When she gets in space, she's very difficult to stop. We ran a zone against them, but she was able to find those weak spots. We switched to man, but we still couldn't stop her. There's not just one right answer."
The Vikings did manage to hold all other Warriors to six or fewer points, but ultimately it wasn't enough.
"We talked about making somebody else beat us," Bakkum said. "We didn't force her to distribute the ball enough. They're a solid team, but everything revolves around (Wellnitz)."
Michelle Francois was Pecatonica's leading scorer with 11 points. Alexandra Ihm also chipped in nine for the Vikings.
"For periods of time, it looked good," Bakkum said of the Vikings offense. "We talked about getting to the rim. We had the guards to get there, but we weren't aggressive enough."
Bakkum also said that one key difference between Black Hawk and Pecatonica was the energy level.
"We need to bring a lot more passion," he said. "We came out flat and I don't think we ever picked it up. They had more energy, and they came out and won it."
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Pecatonica (5-7, 1-4). The Vikings travel to Albany on Friday. Black Hawk (7-4, 4-1) goes to Argyle on Friday for a Six Rivers East battle.
New Glarus 52, Wis. Heights 39
NEW GLARUS - After a tough loss to Capitol South-leading Marshall last Thursday, the New Glarus girls basketball team rebounded with a solid 52-39 win over Wisconsin Heights.
The Glarner Knights built themselves a nice cushion in the first quarter, outscoring the Vanguards 17-5 in the opening period.
"We had a nice first quarter," said New Glarus coach Megan Scheele. "We came out strong. The first was our get up and down quarter."
New Glarus also had an offensive outburst in the third quarter, when they outscored Wisconsin Heights, 19-16.
Junior Sierra Watrud was the leading scorer for New Glarus with 14 points. Cassie Feller scored all nine of her points in the third quarter. Courtney Feller also chipped in nine for the Glarner Knights. Scheele also praised the defensive play of junior Mandi Sargent.
"Mandi didn't score a lot, but she was all over on defense, getting steals and deflections. She did great on the defensive end."
Scheele said she was pleased with the way her team came out and played coming off the loss to Marshall.
"The 17-point first showed me that they came out and wanted to go," she said.
New Glarus (7-5, 3-1) heads to Cambridge on Friday for a battle with the Blue Jays, another top contender in the Capitol South.
"Cambridge is right there with us in conference," Scheele said. "We'll see who's going to come out and play. We're excited to go down to their house."
After a quarter of play, Argyle held just a 7-6 lead. The Orioles blew the game open in the second, though. Argyle outscored the Panthers 19-5 in the second to take a 26-11 lead into halftime. The Orioles won the second half 30-13 to cap off the victory. Argyle coach Kurt Ritschard said the key to breaking the game open in the second quarter was their defense.
"We got off to a slow start," Ritschard said. "We kinda upped the pressure on our press and we started to get some points off of some mistakes.
"I was very, very pleased with our press and our man-to-man. We just kinda went with a different apporach. We kept our legs fresh by subbing 5 for 5."
Juda's leading scorer was Brittany Moe, who had seven points. Kayla Ostby and Jessica Treuthardt led Argyle with 13 points apiece. The Orioles also got eight points from both Kim Pink and Courtney Emberson.
"Ostby had a great shooting performance. Treuthardt had a great scoring night. Emberson had probably her best game all year," Ritschard said.
Juda (3-9, 0-5) is off until next Monday when they will take on Benton-Shullburg in a non-conference game. Argyle improved to 6-6 overall and 3-3 in the Six Rivers East. The Orioles host Black Hawk on Friday. Ritschard said the key for his team going forward is to continue improving on the defensive end.
"Our main focus is to keep getting better defensively, now that we're gonna start seeing teams for a second time. Tonight, we did a better job of making bunnies, those 2-4 foot shots. This gives us good momentum going into Black Hawk."
Monticello 55, Albany 24
ALBANY - The Monticello girls team knows what it's like to get behind early, but the Ponies were on the right end of the early lead, jumping on top of the Comets en route to a conference win.
The Ponies were led by sophomore Alyssah Kubly, who scored 23 points. She scored 14 of her points in the first quarter, and Monticello coach Lori Brokopp said most of those points came off of turnovers.
"We were able to pick some pockets early on," Brokopp said. "(Alyssah) did a great job of that, and I think it carried over to some of the other players. It definitely set the tone."
Also contributing offensively for the Ponies were Samantha Devoe (nine points) and Marissa Berg (five points).
"I told them the importance of away games," Brokopp said. "Albany is down in numbers ... and I didn't want us to go in feeling comfortable. We had a plan, and we needed to stick to it."
Missing in action for the Comets were senior Cassidy Bump, junior Julia Farley and freshman Ashley Harris.
However, Albany coach Bryce Pickett says he and his young players see injuries as an opportunity to learn and grow.
"It's their chance to step up," Pickett said of his younger players. "I think our girls are ready for the challenge ... and our girls gotta learn as we go."
Leading the way offensively for the Comets Tuesday were senior Kirstie Kauk (eight points) and junior Felicia Conley (seven points).
Up next for the Ponies is a Friday road game against Barneveld, who they lost to at home back in December. The Comets will host Pecatonica on Friday as well: a team they lost to a mere two weeks ago.
"It's one we hope to (win) at home," Pickett said. "This is our last chance to prove something to Pecatonica, and we want to make sure we do that."
Black Hawk 46, Pecatonica 37
BLANCHARDVILLE - Jen Wellnitz couldn't be contained Tuesday night, as she powered the Black Hawk girls basketball team to a Six Rivers East win at Pecatonica.
Wellnitz scored 24 points for Black Hawk to lead all scorers.
"What didn't she do? She's tough to contain," Pec coach Matt Bakkum said of Wellnitz. "She got steals and she was able to work in space. When she gets in space, she's very difficult to stop. We ran a zone against them, but she was able to find those weak spots. We switched to man, but we still couldn't stop her. There's not just one right answer."
The Vikings did manage to hold all other Warriors to six or fewer points, but ultimately it wasn't enough.
"We talked about making somebody else beat us," Bakkum said. "We didn't force her to distribute the ball enough. They're a solid team, but everything revolves around (Wellnitz)."
Michelle Francois was Pecatonica's leading scorer with 11 points. Alexandra Ihm also chipped in nine for the Vikings.
"For periods of time, it looked good," Bakkum said of the Vikings offense. "We talked about getting to the rim. We had the guards to get there, but we weren't aggressive enough."
Bakkum also said that one key difference between Black Hawk and Pecatonica was the energy level.
"We need to bring a lot more passion," he said. "We came out flat and I don't think we ever picked it up. They had more energy, and they came out and won it."
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Pecatonica (5-7, 1-4). The Vikings travel to Albany on Friday. Black Hawk (7-4, 4-1) goes to Argyle on Friday for a Six Rivers East battle.
New Glarus 52, Wis. Heights 39
NEW GLARUS - After a tough loss to Capitol South-leading Marshall last Thursday, the New Glarus girls basketball team rebounded with a solid 52-39 win over Wisconsin Heights.
The Glarner Knights built themselves a nice cushion in the first quarter, outscoring the Vanguards 17-5 in the opening period.
"We had a nice first quarter," said New Glarus coach Megan Scheele. "We came out strong. The first was our get up and down quarter."
New Glarus also had an offensive outburst in the third quarter, when they outscored Wisconsin Heights, 19-16.
Junior Sierra Watrud was the leading scorer for New Glarus with 14 points. Cassie Feller scored all nine of her points in the third quarter. Courtney Feller also chipped in nine for the Glarner Knights. Scheele also praised the defensive play of junior Mandi Sargent.
"Mandi didn't score a lot, but she was all over on defense, getting steals and deflections. She did great on the defensive end."
Scheele said she was pleased with the way her team came out and played coming off the loss to Marshall.
"The 17-point first showed me that they came out and wanted to go," she said.
New Glarus (7-5, 3-1) heads to Cambridge on Friday for a battle with the Blue Jays, another top contender in the Capitol South.
"Cambridge is right there with us in conference," Scheele said. "We'll see who's going to come out and play. We're excited to go down to their house."
