SOUTH WAYNE - Black Hawk senior Melissa Wellnitz doesn't need to be reminded about how intense the Warriors' rivalry with Barneveld has become.
Wellnitz dove into a wall for a loose ball in the first half and banged her head, but it was all in a day's work in leading the Warriors to a 54-41 win over Barneveld in an early season showdown for Six Rivers East Conference supremacy. Wellnitz scored 15 points and had six steals to lead the Warriors to the victory Thursday night.
"Barneveld is always a tough team to play against," Wellnitz said. "We came out and were really nervous. We just settled down, started playing our game and hit some nice shots."
When the Eagles made a fourth-quarter run and sliced Black Hawk's lead to 10 points, the Warriors had an answer. Wellnitz drained a 3-pointer and then came through with a steal and a layup to give the Warriors a 48-33 lead with 6 minutes, 16 seconds to go. Black Hawk junior Kate Quinn scored down low to give the Warriors a 50-34 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Warriors led by as many as 17 points in the second half.
Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan has come to expect that type of performance from Melissa Wellnitz.
"The play where she dove into the wall is her," he said. "She's all guts and effort. She will never take a play off."
Flanagan isn't overreacting to an early season win that puts the Warriors in the driver's seat for a conference championship.
"It's so early to put that much importance on that," Flanagan said.
Black Hawk (5-0, 3-0 Six Rivers East) jumped out to a 9-2 first quarter lead sparked by senior Rachel Rygh. Rygh scored eight of her 15 points in the first quarter to lift the Warriors to an early lead. The Eagles battled back by grabbing some offensive rebounds that led to second chance scoring opportunities. Barneveld junior Hailey Cannoy scored on a putback after an offensive rebound early in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 12-11 lead. The Warriors took advantage of a break at the end of the second quarter when junior Chaesta Shager was fouled and she made two free throws with the time expired to give the Warriors a 25-23 halftime lead.
"It's the first time we came into the locker room where it was touch and go," said Flanagan, who pointed to rebounding as an area in which the Warriors can improve.
"I didn't feel like we were in a very good position at the defensive end," he said. "We didn't clean up the glass. We didn't box out the way we needed to."
The Warriors held Barneveld's top two scorers - senior Krista McSherry and sophomore Madison Laube scoreless.
"I think for the most part we did what we wanted to defensively," Flanagan said.
The Warriors broke the game open with an 8-0 spurt to start the third quarter. Melissa Wellnitz scored and freshman Jen Wellnitz with some aggressive defense forced a five-second call on the Eagles. Rygh hit a shot off an inbound play and Melissa Wellnitz drilled a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 32-23 lead with 5:30 left in the third quarter. The Warriors outscored the Eagles 15-3 in the frame to take control of the game.
"To come out and take control in the first three minutes of the second half is the most important part of the game," he said. "We set the tone in the first three minutes."
Freshman Jen Wellnitz had 11 rebounds and scored seven points. Senior Alyssa Piefer had nine rebounds as the Warriors committed 25 turnovers.
"We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball," Flanagan said. "I have to give credit to Barneveld. They put the pressure on us. I think some of the young players will grow up from that."
Wellnitz dove into a wall for a loose ball in the first half and banged her head, but it was all in a day's work in leading the Warriors to a 54-41 win over Barneveld in an early season showdown for Six Rivers East Conference supremacy. Wellnitz scored 15 points and had six steals to lead the Warriors to the victory Thursday night.
"Barneveld is always a tough team to play against," Wellnitz said. "We came out and were really nervous. We just settled down, started playing our game and hit some nice shots."
When the Eagles made a fourth-quarter run and sliced Black Hawk's lead to 10 points, the Warriors had an answer. Wellnitz drained a 3-pointer and then came through with a steal and a layup to give the Warriors a 48-33 lead with 6 minutes, 16 seconds to go. Black Hawk junior Kate Quinn scored down low to give the Warriors a 50-34 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Warriors led by as many as 17 points in the second half.
Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan has come to expect that type of performance from Melissa Wellnitz.
"The play where she dove into the wall is her," he said. "She's all guts and effort. She will never take a play off."
Flanagan isn't overreacting to an early season win that puts the Warriors in the driver's seat for a conference championship.
"It's so early to put that much importance on that," Flanagan said.
Black Hawk (5-0, 3-0 Six Rivers East) jumped out to a 9-2 first quarter lead sparked by senior Rachel Rygh. Rygh scored eight of her 15 points in the first quarter to lift the Warriors to an early lead. The Eagles battled back by grabbing some offensive rebounds that led to second chance scoring opportunities. Barneveld junior Hailey Cannoy scored on a putback after an offensive rebound early in the second quarter to give the Eagles a 12-11 lead. The Warriors took advantage of a break at the end of the second quarter when junior Chaesta Shager was fouled and she made two free throws with the time expired to give the Warriors a 25-23 halftime lead.
"It's the first time we came into the locker room where it was touch and go," said Flanagan, who pointed to rebounding as an area in which the Warriors can improve.
"I didn't feel like we were in a very good position at the defensive end," he said. "We didn't clean up the glass. We didn't box out the way we needed to."
The Warriors held Barneveld's top two scorers - senior Krista McSherry and sophomore Madison Laube scoreless.
"I think for the most part we did what we wanted to defensively," Flanagan said.
The Warriors broke the game open with an 8-0 spurt to start the third quarter. Melissa Wellnitz scored and freshman Jen Wellnitz with some aggressive defense forced a five-second call on the Eagles. Rygh hit a shot off an inbound play and Melissa Wellnitz drilled a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 32-23 lead with 5:30 left in the third quarter. The Warriors outscored the Eagles 15-3 in the frame to take control of the game.
"To come out and take control in the first three minutes of the second half is the most important part of the game," he said. "We set the tone in the first three minutes."
Freshman Jen Wellnitz had 11 rebounds and scored seven points. Senior Alyssa Piefer had nine rebounds as the Warriors committed 25 turnovers.
"We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball," Flanagan said. "I have to give credit to Barneveld. They put the pressure on us. I think some of the young players will grow up from that."
