SOUTH WAYNE - Katie Powers, Kate Quinn, Kayla Meier and Chaesta Shager had no intention of being the senior class on watch when Black Hawk's Six Rivers East Conference title string ends.
Sophomore Jen Wellnitz had some pretty good incentive, too.
"My sisters were giving me a lot of crap before the game, saying, 'If you lose this, we're going to disown you' and all this stuff," Wellnitz said of her basketball-playing older siblings. "I had to make sure we got (the title), so I didn't get yelled at."
Fueled by a game-high 14 points by Wellnitz and some big contributions from the seniors, Black Hawk survived a gutsy effort from Juda for a 33-26 victory Thursday night and a share of its fourth consecutive Six Rivers East crown.
The Warriors (19-2, 11-1 Six Rivers East) share this title with Barneveld (18-3, 11-1), but that did nothing to damper the spirits of a group coach Mike Flanagan said "had to reinvent" itself to keep the championship streak alive.
"This title definitely means a lot more to me because we worked so hard to get it," said Quinn, who scored eight points when she wasn't playing a big role in helping keep Juda center Ellen Kiser in check.
"The conference, I feel, is a lot tougher (this season) and it's just a great feeling to know that we can persevere."
The Warriors, ranked No. 4 in the Association Press' Division 5 state poll, have maintained their status as one of Wisconsin's elite small-school programs. But given a chance to finally exhale late Thursday night, Flanagan said it has been far from easy.
"(The title) is really, really special with this group of kids just because of the odds they defied," Flanagan said. "I think a lot of people had them pegged as not being able to get it done.
"I guess those are the ones that are really special to you - the ones outsiders say you weren't supposed to get."
With sixth-ranked Barneveld playing at Pecatonica, where the Eagles rolled to a 26-point victory, Black Hawk knew it faced the tougher end of the bargain Thursday when it came to earning a title share.
That's how it played out, as Juda took a 21-17 lead into the fourth quarter and led by that margin two more times - the last at 25-21 on senior Amber Ramos' free throw with 4 minutes, 29 seconds left.
It was all Black Hawk from there.
The Warriors closed the game on a 12-1 run that included a 10-for-14 effort from the free throw line. Wellnitz hit all six of her fourth-quarter foul shots and scored eight points in the stanza.
"That's what great players do," Flanagan said. "She found a way to get the team on her back and make those (foul shots)."
Quinn also scored six of her eight points in the fourth quarter - including the only offensive putback of the entire game with 3:56 remaining to tie it at 25.
"We always stress offensive rebounds, but with Ellen in there, that's a very big body to try and get a rebound against," Quinn said.
Flanagan said that while Quinn's late offensive contribution certainly helped, it was her play at the other end that made the biggest difference.
"We asked a lot of her defensively, as we did in the first meeting (with Juda)," Flanagan said of Quinn being the primary defender on University of North Dakota recruit Kiser. "The first meeting we held her to six points and Kate, she got that assignment again and there's a kid who just worked really, really hard."
Kiser scored a team-best 12 this time on 4 of 11 shooting, but hit just 4 of 12 free throws.
Juda (15-7, 7-5) played much of the game without junior starter Jessica Rackow, who picked up her third foul early in the second quarter and her fourth just 33 seconds into the third.
Coach Curt Brown's Panthers were 7 of 17 from the foul line - including 3 of 9 in the fourth quarter.
"Other than the final score, it was a great game," Brown said. "We have to execute at the end of the game - that's what it comes down to. We had about five possessions at the end where we executed on three of them and on two of them we really didn't. When you play one of the premier teams in the state, you have to execute all five possessions at the end of the game.
"Defensively, I thought we did a nice job. We gave up a couple in transition, but if we don't foul at the end, they're under 30 points for the game, so I'll take that every day. We just need to make sure offensively that we get in a little better rhythm."
Sophomore Jen Wellnitz had some pretty good incentive, too.
"My sisters were giving me a lot of crap before the game, saying, 'If you lose this, we're going to disown you' and all this stuff," Wellnitz said of her basketball-playing older siblings. "I had to make sure we got (the title), so I didn't get yelled at."
Fueled by a game-high 14 points by Wellnitz and some big contributions from the seniors, Black Hawk survived a gutsy effort from Juda for a 33-26 victory Thursday night and a share of its fourth consecutive Six Rivers East crown.
The Warriors (19-2, 11-1 Six Rivers East) share this title with Barneveld (18-3, 11-1), but that did nothing to damper the spirits of a group coach Mike Flanagan said "had to reinvent" itself to keep the championship streak alive.
"This title definitely means a lot more to me because we worked so hard to get it," said Quinn, who scored eight points when she wasn't playing a big role in helping keep Juda center Ellen Kiser in check.
"The conference, I feel, is a lot tougher (this season) and it's just a great feeling to know that we can persevere."
The Warriors, ranked No. 4 in the Association Press' Division 5 state poll, have maintained their status as one of Wisconsin's elite small-school programs. But given a chance to finally exhale late Thursday night, Flanagan said it has been far from easy.
"(The title) is really, really special with this group of kids just because of the odds they defied," Flanagan said. "I think a lot of people had them pegged as not being able to get it done.
"I guess those are the ones that are really special to you - the ones outsiders say you weren't supposed to get."
With sixth-ranked Barneveld playing at Pecatonica, where the Eagles rolled to a 26-point victory, Black Hawk knew it faced the tougher end of the bargain Thursday when it came to earning a title share.
That's how it played out, as Juda took a 21-17 lead into the fourth quarter and led by that margin two more times - the last at 25-21 on senior Amber Ramos' free throw with 4 minutes, 29 seconds left.
It was all Black Hawk from there.
The Warriors closed the game on a 12-1 run that included a 10-for-14 effort from the free throw line. Wellnitz hit all six of her fourth-quarter foul shots and scored eight points in the stanza.
"That's what great players do," Flanagan said. "She found a way to get the team on her back and make those (foul shots)."
Quinn also scored six of her eight points in the fourth quarter - including the only offensive putback of the entire game with 3:56 remaining to tie it at 25.
"We always stress offensive rebounds, but with Ellen in there, that's a very big body to try and get a rebound against," Quinn said.
Flanagan said that while Quinn's late offensive contribution certainly helped, it was her play at the other end that made the biggest difference.
"We asked a lot of her defensively, as we did in the first meeting (with Juda)," Flanagan said of Quinn being the primary defender on University of North Dakota recruit Kiser. "The first meeting we held her to six points and Kate, she got that assignment again and there's a kid who just worked really, really hard."
Kiser scored a team-best 12 this time on 4 of 11 shooting, but hit just 4 of 12 free throws.
Juda (15-7, 7-5) played much of the game without junior starter Jessica Rackow, who picked up her third foul early in the second quarter and her fourth just 33 seconds into the third.
Coach Curt Brown's Panthers were 7 of 17 from the foul line - including 3 of 9 in the fourth quarter.
"Other than the final score, it was a great game," Brown said. "We have to execute at the end of the game - that's what it comes down to. We had about five possessions at the end where we executed on three of them and on two of them we really didn't. When you play one of the premier teams in the state, you have to execute all five possessions at the end of the game.
"Defensively, I thought we did a nice job. We gave up a couple in transition, but if we don't foul at the end, they're under 30 points for the game, so I'll take that every day. We just need to make sure offensively that we get in a little better rhythm."
