BRODHEAD - Having twin towers in your lineup never is a bad thing. Just ask Brodhead girls basketball coach Chris Medenwaldt after his two top post players poured in 33 points during the Cardinals' 65-35 rout of Lodi on Monday night.
Dana Lewis (21 points) and Kristen Ruchti (12 points) have been the core of Brodhead's assault against teams this season. Both players stand 6-feet, 2 inches tall and play with power and finesse.
"Dana and Kristen do some things that you kind of don't see, in that even if they are not scoring, you still have to guard them. They attract two or three people and it opens up some outside shots," Medenwaldt said.
And the outside shot poured in for Brodhead, too. Six different Cardinals combined to hit nine 3-pointers.
Alyssa Harding (6 points) opened the game with a basket from downtown. From there, it was all Cardinals. They scored the first 11 points and led 20-5 after the first quarter. With less than two minutes left in the first half, Brodhead got a pair of 3-pointers from Janae Squires for a 33-9 lead. The advantage was 37-11 by halftime.
Brodhead's biggest lead came midway into the third quarter when Brooke Lederman dumped a ball inside to Lewis to make it 48-16.
"We came out with great defensive intensity off the bat," Medenwaldt said.
"One of the things we talked about at halftime was that we really wanted to work on some stuff that we've had in for a while but haven't had a lot of game opportunities. And we could put some lineups together that we usually don't get to in games."
Nine different Cardinals scored, with Riley Olson's 3-pointer at the buzzer closing out the game.
"I think it's taken some of our bench players a little while to get used to playing with some of the veterans we have. And now I think they are comfortable. With playing in practice and now getting into some games, that really helps," Medenwaldt said. "We had some people knock down some big shots and we got to run our offense a little bit."
Brodhead (5-2, 4-1 Rock Valley South) takes a break for the holiday and returns to action Jan. 8 at Whitewater.
"After tonight, I would say we are looking well. As we're coming into the break, would I like a better record? Yeah, but as far as some of the things we're starting to do well, I can't complain about that at all," Medenwaldt said.
"We're going to have to continue with the defensive intensity we had right away tonight every game. If we can do that, then we can get through some offensive lulls. If we can knock down some outside shots like we did tonight, that's going to help a lot. That's a nice combination if we can continue that."
Dana Lewis (21 points) and Kristen Ruchti (12 points) have been the core of Brodhead's assault against teams this season. Both players stand 6-feet, 2 inches tall and play with power and finesse.
"Dana and Kristen do some things that you kind of don't see, in that even if they are not scoring, you still have to guard them. They attract two or three people and it opens up some outside shots," Medenwaldt said.
And the outside shot poured in for Brodhead, too. Six different Cardinals combined to hit nine 3-pointers.
Alyssa Harding (6 points) opened the game with a basket from downtown. From there, it was all Cardinals. They scored the first 11 points and led 20-5 after the first quarter. With less than two minutes left in the first half, Brodhead got a pair of 3-pointers from Janae Squires for a 33-9 lead. The advantage was 37-11 by halftime.
Brodhead's biggest lead came midway into the third quarter when Brooke Lederman dumped a ball inside to Lewis to make it 48-16.
"We came out with great defensive intensity off the bat," Medenwaldt said.
"One of the things we talked about at halftime was that we really wanted to work on some stuff that we've had in for a while but haven't had a lot of game opportunities. And we could put some lineups together that we usually don't get to in games."
Nine different Cardinals scored, with Riley Olson's 3-pointer at the buzzer closing out the game.
"I think it's taken some of our bench players a little while to get used to playing with some of the veterans we have. And now I think they are comfortable. With playing in practice and now getting into some games, that really helps," Medenwaldt said. "We had some people knock down some big shots and we got to run our offense a little bit."
Brodhead (5-2, 4-1 Rock Valley South) takes a break for the holiday and returns to action Jan. 8 at Whitewater.
"After tonight, I would say we are looking well. As we're coming into the break, would I like a better record? Yeah, but as far as some of the things we're starting to do well, I can't complain about that at all," Medenwaldt said.
"We're going to have to continue with the defensive intensity we had right away tonight every game. If we can do that, then we can get through some offensive lulls. If we can knock down some outside shots like we did tonight, that's going to help a lot. That's a nice combination if we can continue that."
