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Black Hawk flattens Highland
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SOUTH WAYNE - For the Black Hawk girls basketball team to be running on all cylinders, senior point guard Melissa Wellnitz has to stay on the court.

After she picked up her third foul at the start of the second quarter against Highland in the Six Rivers Challenge Friday night, she was confident that it wouldn't linger into the second half. Wellnitz scored 11 of her game-high 15 points in the second half to power the Warriors, ranked second in the Associated Press Division 5 state poll, to a 43-32 win over fifth-ranked Highland.

"I tend to be the fouler on the team," Wellnitz said. "When I got my third foul I knew I was done. I knew in the next half I had to play smarter and not reach. Coming into the game, we knew it would be tough. It feels good to get the win."

The Wellnitz sisters - Melissa and Jen - helped the Warriors get off to a strong start. Black Hawk (12-0, 6-0 Six Rivers East) jumped out to a 12-2 first quarter lead highlighted by senior Rachel Rygh's 3-pointer and a steal by Jen Wellnitz that led to Melissa Wellnitz layup.

Melissa Wellnitz picked up her third foul with 7 minutes, 41 seconds left in the second quarter and was forced to the bench. The Cardinals went on a 10-1 run sparked by Morgan Bomkamp's 3-pointer and Emily Rose's jumper that slice the Warriors' lead to 13-12.

"For us to be a really good team, we need to have Melissa Wellnitz on the floor," Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said. "In the second half, she played with her feet. No one plays as hard as Melissa. When she picks up those fouls that that changes us."

It's another test the Warriors passed. It's another signature win that came with some adversity. Black Hawk had to hang on in the final 7.7 seconds to beat Six Rivers East Conference rival Juda on Tuesday.

"We knew it would be one of those games to gauge where we are," Flanagan said. "I just felt like it was the right kind of team to be playing at the right time of year."

Melissa Wellnitz had plenty of help. Rygh scored 13 points and freshman Jen Wellnitz added seven points to go along with 12 rebounds and four steals.

"She (Jen Wellnitz) definitely has a lot of youthful exuberance," Flanagan said. "There are some times where she makes bad plays. She is an athlete that can only get better. She's a perfect player for our system. We wouldn't be where we are without her."

The Cardinals came back and tied the game at 21 on Rose's 3-pointer with 6:29 left in the third quarter. The Warriors answered with a 11-2 spurt sparked by Rygh's steal and layup and culminating in junior Katie Powers' layup. Rygh scored eight of her 13 points in the second half. However, her biggest impact may have been on defense where she clamped down and helped limit Kendall Wienkes to just six points, which was well below her average of 13.6 points per game.

"The key to the game was the defensive effort and only giving up 32 points," Flanagan said. "I have to give a lot of credit to Rachel Rygh. She did just a heck of a job on defense."

Melissa Wellnitz said the Warriors had two good practices heading into the game against Highland.

"Everyone knew their roles," she said. "Everyone stepped up when it got out of hand."