EVANSVILLE - The Black Hawk Lady Warriors have worked on one thing all season from Day 1 this season - defensive pressure.
That skill was put to perfection Friday night against a very good Burlington Catholic Central, and Black Hawk find themselves running to Fort Atkinson to face Randolph after a 55-36 win over the Hilltoppers in a Division 4 sectional semifinal game.
The Warriors came out firing on all cylinders, forcing turnovers left and right throughout the first half.
Gabi Lehner (10 points) got the scoring going by hitting a 3-pointer 1 minute, 40 seconds into the game. Kim Wellnitz (19 points) hit a 3 a minute later to give the Warriors a 6-2 lead, and then the Hilltoppers buckled.
Black Hawk's press put Mariah Meives, Melissa Wellnitz, Hailey Meier and Lehner up against Catholic Central's guards after every possession, and after Kim's jumper, the press went to work in full swing.
The Warriors forced a 10-second back court violation, a toss out of bounds, a 5-second inbound and two travels, a tip out of bounds and three missed shots over the next two minutes. By the time the Hilltoppers got on the board again, Black Hawk had scored 12-straight points to take a 15-2 lead with 2:55 left in the quarter. By the end of the first quarter, the Warriors led 16-6.
"We wanted to make this our style of game," head coach Mike Flanagan said. "We want to run and make it a high possession game."
The press continued to work wonders in the second quarter for Black Hawk.
"We wanted to control the other team's top contributors and we did. That Deacon girl got frustrated because of how we were harassing her and made a couple of bad mistakes," Flanagan said. Alexa Deacon, who has over 1,000 points and 400 career assists, is one of the top guards in the state and will go on to play college basketball next season.
"We wanted to control (Deacon) like crazy. We made her a non-factor," Flanagan said.
Black Hawk's pressure kept the turnovers rolling in like tumbleweeds in the deep southwest. Kim Wellnitz connected with Lehner at the 6:30 mark in the second on a full court heave in transition for the bucket and a 20-8 lead. Kim scored down low on a pass from her sister a possession later to give the Warriors a 14-point lead.
By the time halftime rolled around, Black Hawk held a 27-16 advantage after getting 13 points from Kim Wellnitz and nine from Lehner.
"We want to run and get the other team fatigued a little bit. Later in the game they get not only physically fatigued, but mentally fatigued as well. They start to make mistakes and we just need to capitalize on them," Flanagan said.
Both Deacon and Hilltopper star forward Carol Henney were noticeably frustrated on the court. Deacon had six points in the opening half and Henney was held to just two points. Henney surpassed the 1,000 point, 1,000 rebound mark earlier this season and chose to play college volleyball over basketball next year.
"We knew we could come in here and play against this team. We knew we had to be aggressive and play our ball game," Kim Wellnitz said.
In the third, Catholic Central got a hoop right away, but Wellnitz answered on Black Hawk's next possession. After another turnover, Katie Place put in a shot of her own to make it 31-18. Wellnitz drove to the hoop with 5:22 left to start a 7-0 run that gave the Warriors an insurmountable 38-20 lead, forcing the Hilltoppers to call their fourth timeout with 3:37 left to play in the third quarter.
"Our coach always tells us that the first three minutes of the third quarter are the most important in the game. We have to keep our confidence up and score baskets," Kim Wellnitz said.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Warriors led 45-26. The pressure was eased back by just a step by Black Hawk, but that didn't stop the Warriors from finishing off the Hilltoppers with even more turnovers. In the game, Catholic Central, who had won 10 of its past 13 games, was tabbed for 36 turnovers.
"It feels great to win like we did," Wellnitz said.
Last season, Black Hawk came out flat in the sectional final against Sheboygan County Christian after a tight matchup the night before. Friday night, the Warriors saw lots of rest and went home with a pleasing win, while Randolph squeaked by Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah in overtime.
"If we go into tomorrow and play our game, it will show up in the end at who is the better team. We just have to work as hard as you can," Wellnitz said.
Black Hawk hopes to rest well before facing Randolph tonight in Fort Atkinson at 7 p.m.
Tickets are available at the high school, and a fan bus will travel to the game.
That skill was put to perfection Friday night against a very good Burlington Catholic Central, and Black Hawk find themselves running to Fort Atkinson to face Randolph after a 55-36 win over the Hilltoppers in a Division 4 sectional semifinal game.
The Warriors came out firing on all cylinders, forcing turnovers left and right throughout the first half.
Gabi Lehner (10 points) got the scoring going by hitting a 3-pointer 1 minute, 40 seconds into the game. Kim Wellnitz (19 points) hit a 3 a minute later to give the Warriors a 6-2 lead, and then the Hilltoppers buckled.
Black Hawk's press put Mariah Meives, Melissa Wellnitz, Hailey Meier and Lehner up against Catholic Central's guards after every possession, and after Kim's jumper, the press went to work in full swing.
The Warriors forced a 10-second back court violation, a toss out of bounds, a 5-second inbound and two travels, a tip out of bounds and three missed shots over the next two minutes. By the time the Hilltoppers got on the board again, Black Hawk had scored 12-straight points to take a 15-2 lead with 2:55 left in the quarter. By the end of the first quarter, the Warriors led 16-6.
"We wanted to make this our style of game," head coach Mike Flanagan said. "We want to run and make it a high possession game."
The press continued to work wonders in the second quarter for Black Hawk.
"We wanted to control the other team's top contributors and we did. That Deacon girl got frustrated because of how we were harassing her and made a couple of bad mistakes," Flanagan said. Alexa Deacon, who has over 1,000 points and 400 career assists, is one of the top guards in the state and will go on to play college basketball next season.
"We wanted to control (Deacon) like crazy. We made her a non-factor," Flanagan said.
Black Hawk's pressure kept the turnovers rolling in like tumbleweeds in the deep southwest. Kim Wellnitz connected with Lehner at the 6:30 mark in the second on a full court heave in transition for the bucket and a 20-8 lead. Kim scored down low on a pass from her sister a possession later to give the Warriors a 14-point lead.
By the time halftime rolled around, Black Hawk held a 27-16 advantage after getting 13 points from Kim Wellnitz and nine from Lehner.
"We want to run and get the other team fatigued a little bit. Later in the game they get not only physically fatigued, but mentally fatigued as well. They start to make mistakes and we just need to capitalize on them," Flanagan said.
Both Deacon and Hilltopper star forward Carol Henney were noticeably frustrated on the court. Deacon had six points in the opening half and Henney was held to just two points. Henney surpassed the 1,000 point, 1,000 rebound mark earlier this season and chose to play college volleyball over basketball next year.
"We knew we could come in here and play against this team. We knew we had to be aggressive and play our ball game," Kim Wellnitz said.
In the third, Catholic Central got a hoop right away, but Wellnitz answered on Black Hawk's next possession. After another turnover, Katie Place put in a shot of her own to make it 31-18. Wellnitz drove to the hoop with 5:22 left to start a 7-0 run that gave the Warriors an insurmountable 38-20 lead, forcing the Hilltoppers to call their fourth timeout with 3:37 left to play in the third quarter.
"Our coach always tells us that the first three minutes of the third quarter are the most important in the game. We have to keep our confidence up and score baskets," Kim Wellnitz said.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Warriors led 45-26. The pressure was eased back by just a step by Black Hawk, but that didn't stop the Warriors from finishing off the Hilltoppers with even more turnovers. In the game, Catholic Central, who had won 10 of its past 13 games, was tabbed for 36 turnovers.
"It feels great to win like we did," Wellnitz said.
Last season, Black Hawk came out flat in the sectional final against Sheboygan County Christian after a tight matchup the night before. Friday night, the Warriors saw lots of rest and went home with a pleasing win, while Randolph squeaked by Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah in overtime.
"If we go into tomorrow and play our game, it will show up in the end at who is the better team. We just have to work as hard as you can," Wellnitz said.
Black Hawk hopes to rest well before facing Randolph tonight in Fort Atkinson at 7 p.m.
Tickets are available at the high school, and a fan bus will travel to the game.
