SOUTH WAYNE - Jen Wellnitz scored 26 points to lead a short-handed Black Hawk girls basketball team to a win over Albany, 50-37 Thursday night.
Black Hawk built their lead with strong first and third quarters. Black Hawk led 13-7 after the first quarter, and outscored the Comets 15-9 in the third.
"I thought we were kinda sloppy," said Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan. "We didn't take care of the ball especially well, but we were able to score some baskets in transition."
Flanagan said that Wellnitz was able to create some scoring opportunities by playing solid defense.
"Jen was able to get some steals and get some transition baskets," Flanagan said. "She had one quarter, the third, where she didn't score. She did her damage in the first, second, and fourth. Right off the bat, she had 11 in the first and she had nine in the fourth. It wasn't like one big stretch. She used a lot of athleticism and scoring in the open court."
The Warriors also received a solid scoring effort from Kortney Hull, who had 11. Albany was led in scoring by Kirstie Kauk, who racked up 10 points. Carlie Peters also chipped in eight for the Comets.
Black Hawk played without a pair of starters Thursday night. Abby Schiferl and Mikayla Sigafus were both out due to injury. The Warriors also had a couple of players playing through illness. Flanagan said that the Black Hawk had seven players Thursday night, and that being down a few players makes it imperative that you stay out of foul trouble.
"We're just in a stretch right now where we gotta guard against foul trouble," he said. "You're just trying to take care of our bodies because we don't have the bodies or options to put on the floor."
Black Hawk (6-4, 3-1) will look to pick up another win in the Six Rivers East next Tuesday at Pecatonica.
Monticello 39, Argyle 34
MONTICELLO - A solid first quarter gave the Monticello girls basketball team all the lead they would need, as the Ponies knocked off Argyle, 39-34, in a Six Rivers East battle.
Monticello jumped out to a 15-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Orioles fought back, though, outscoring the Ponies in both the second and third quarters. Monticello held just a 30-28 lead entering the fourth, but was able to hold Argyle off to secure the victory.
"I thought that we played really well," Monticello coach Lori Brokopp said. "We came out in the first and had a lead. Offensively, we came out and took it to them in the first quarter."
Brokopp credited her team's defense, especially that of senior Katie Nelson, and their resolve down the stretch as being keys to victory.
"It was a low scoring game, but there was a lot of good defense going on," Brokopp said. "Nelson was our spark on defense. She played extremely hard. She was an overall huge defensive threat. That was really nice to see.
"We also did a nice job down the stretch. We did a good job handling the ball during pressure. They pressed and had a strong zone defense and came out and trapped, and we did a good job of taking care of the ball."
Alyssah Kubly and Samantha DeVoe each scored nine points for Monticello. Marissa Berg also chipped in eight for the Ponies. Kayla Ostby and Kylie Johnsen each scored nine points to lead Argyle.
Monticello (9-4, 3-1) will look to pick up another Six Rivers East win next Tuesday when they travel to Albany. Argyle (5-6, 2-3) also plays next Tuesday, when they will host Juda.
Barneveld 84, Juda 30
JUDA - It was a long night for the Juda girls basketball team, as the Panthers fell to Barneveld, the second-ranked team in Division 5, 84-30.
The Eagles were in complete control from the opening tip, as they grabbed a 24-3 lead after the first quarter and led 50-9 at halftime.
"It was just defensive pressure. We can't match up with that," said Juda coach Curt Brown. "They play defense at a different level than we can even simulate."
Juda was unable to stop Barneveld's balanced scoring attack. Five Eagles scored in double figures. Rachel Slaney led the Eagles with 17 points. Barneveld also got 15 points from Hannah Whitish. The Eagles made nine 3-pointers as a team.
"We knew they were good at shooting coming in, but their shooting was even better than I expected," Brown said.
Juda was led in scoring by senior McKayla Trotter, who had eight points, including two 3-pointers.
"McKayla was able to get open and knock down some shots," said Brown. "That was one of her best games on varsity as far as scoring."
Brown was also pleased with the performances of Tabatha Davis and Jessica Rackow. Although they didn't show up big in the scoring column, both players were on the court for more than 30 minutes and Brown said they were the team's leaders.
Despite the loss, Brown was still very proud of his team's effort.
"It sounds strange to lose by that much and feel proud," said Brown. "But I have a group of kids that I wouldn't trade for anybody. A lot of teams would've mailed it in, but we were still on the floor diving for loose balls in the fourth quarter."
The Panthers (3-8, 0-4) will look to rebound and pick up their first conference win next Tuesday at Argyle.
Marshall 51, New Glarus 42
MARSHALL - With first place in the Capitol South on the line, the New Glarus girls basketball was unable to overcome a slow start, as the Glarner Knights fell to Marshall, 51-42.
Marshall led 16-4 after the first quarter, and they took a 26-14 lead into the half. New Glarus outscored the Cardinals in both the third and fourth quarters, but it wasn't enough to pull out the victory.
"They just came out ready to go," New Glarus coach Megan Scheele said of Marshall. "They transitioned very well. They got the ball and they were down the court. We were down 15-2 and then we got within 16-10, we finally found ourselves and got going a little bit. We had to dig ourselves back up, but it's hard to over come that big of a gap. We worked hard and got it within six at one point in the fourth."
Junior Mandi Sargent led the Knights with 12 points. Lexi Hanson and Cassie Feller also scored eight and seven points, respectively, for New Glarus.
New Glarus fell to 6-5 overall with the loss. The Glarner Knights now sit a game behind Marshall at 2-1 in the Capitol South and will look to rebound next Tuesday, when they will host Wisconsin Heights.
In other action, Pecatonica defeated Riverdale 39-19.
Black Hawk built their lead with strong first and third quarters. Black Hawk led 13-7 after the first quarter, and outscored the Comets 15-9 in the third.
"I thought we were kinda sloppy," said Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan. "We didn't take care of the ball especially well, but we were able to score some baskets in transition."
Flanagan said that Wellnitz was able to create some scoring opportunities by playing solid defense.
"Jen was able to get some steals and get some transition baskets," Flanagan said. "She had one quarter, the third, where she didn't score. She did her damage in the first, second, and fourth. Right off the bat, she had 11 in the first and she had nine in the fourth. It wasn't like one big stretch. She used a lot of athleticism and scoring in the open court."
The Warriors also received a solid scoring effort from Kortney Hull, who had 11. Albany was led in scoring by Kirstie Kauk, who racked up 10 points. Carlie Peters also chipped in eight for the Comets.
Black Hawk played without a pair of starters Thursday night. Abby Schiferl and Mikayla Sigafus were both out due to injury. The Warriors also had a couple of players playing through illness. Flanagan said that the Black Hawk had seven players Thursday night, and that being down a few players makes it imperative that you stay out of foul trouble.
"We're just in a stretch right now where we gotta guard against foul trouble," he said. "You're just trying to take care of our bodies because we don't have the bodies or options to put on the floor."
Black Hawk (6-4, 3-1) will look to pick up another win in the Six Rivers East next Tuesday at Pecatonica.
Monticello 39, Argyle 34
MONTICELLO - A solid first quarter gave the Monticello girls basketball team all the lead they would need, as the Ponies knocked off Argyle, 39-34, in a Six Rivers East battle.
Monticello jumped out to a 15-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Orioles fought back, though, outscoring the Ponies in both the second and third quarters. Monticello held just a 30-28 lead entering the fourth, but was able to hold Argyle off to secure the victory.
"I thought that we played really well," Monticello coach Lori Brokopp said. "We came out in the first and had a lead. Offensively, we came out and took it to them in the first quarter."
Brokopp credited her team's defense, especially that of senior Katie Nelson, and their resolve down the stretch as being keys to victory.
"It was a low scoring game, but there was a lot of good defense going on," Brokopp said. "Nelson was our spark on defense. She played extremely hard. She was an overall huge defensive threat. That was really nice to see.
"We also did a nice job down the stretch. We did a good job handling the ball during pressure. They pressed and had a strong zone defense and came out and trapped, and we did a good job of taking care of the ball."
Alyssah Kubly and Samantha DeVoe each scored nine points for Monticello. Marissa Berg also chipped in eight for the Ponies. Kayla Ostby and Kylie Johnsen each scored nine points to lead Argyle.
Monticello (9-4, 3-1) will look to pick up another Six Rivers East win next Tuesday when they travel to Albany. Argyle (5-6, 2-3) also plays next Tuesday, when they will host Juda.
Barneveld 84, Juda 30
JUDA - It was a long night for the Juda girls basketball team, as the Panthers fell to Barneveld, the second-ranked team in Division 5, 84-30.
The Eagles were in complete control from the opening tip, as they grabbed a 24-3 lead after the first quarter and led 50-9 at halftime.
"It was just defensive pressure. We can't match up with that," said Juda coach Curt Brown. "They play defense at a different level than we can even simulate."
Juda was unable to stop Barneveld's balanced scoring attack. Five Eagles scored in double figures. Rachel Slaney led the Eagles with 17 points. Barneveld also got 15 points from Hannah Whitish. The Eagles made nine 3-pointers as a team.
"We knew they were good at shooting coming in, but their shooting was even better than I expected," Brown said.
Juda was led in scoring by senior McKayla Trotter, who had eight points, including two 3-pointers.
"McKayla was able to get open and knock down some shots," said Brown. "That was one of her best games on varsity as far as scoring."
Brown was also pleased with the performances of Tabatha Davis and Jessica Rackow. Although they didn't show up big in the scoring column, both players were on the court for more than 30 minutes and Brown said they were the team's leaders.
Despite the loss, Brown was still very proud of his team's effort.
"It sounds strange to lose by that much and feel proud," said Brown. "But I have a group of kids that I wouldn't trade for anybody. A lot of teams would've mailed it in, but we were still on the floor diving for loose balls in the fourth quarter."
The Panthers (3-8, 0-4) will look to rebound and pick up their first conference win next Tuesday at Argyle.
Marshall 51, New Glarus 42
MARSHALL - With first place in the Capitol South on the line, the New Glarus girls basketball was unable to overcome a slow start, as the Glarner Knights fell to Marshall, 51-42.
Marshall led 16-4 after the first quarter, and they took a 26-14 lead into the half. New Glarus outscored the Cardinals in both the third and fourth quarters, but it wasn't enough to pull out the victory.
"They just came out ready to go," New Glarus coach Megan Scheele said of Marshall. "They transitioned very well. They got the ball and they were down the court. We were down 15-2 and then we got within 16-10, we finally found ourselves and got going a little bit. We had to dig ourselves back up, but it's hard to over come that big of a gap. We worked hard and got it within six at one point in the fourth."
Junior Mandi Sargent led the Knights with 12 points. Lexi Hanson and Cassie Feller also scored eight and seven points, respectively, for New Glarus.
New Glarus fell to 6-5 overall with the loss. The Glarner Knights now sit a game behind Marshall at 2-1 in the Capitol South and will look to rebound next Tuesday, when they will host Wisconsin Heights.
In other action, Pecatonica defeated Riverdale 39-19.
