ORFORDVILLE - Brodhead used a boxer's mentality to win a bout for first place in the Rock Valley South, 44-36, at Parkview High School Thursday night.
"We kept thinking we need to throw the first punch and not let them throw it at us," Brodhead senior Riley Olson said.
The Cards certainly came out swinging. Freshman Taylor Douglas threw a personal 7-1 flurry to close the first half and give Brodhead (10-6, 9-2 Rock Valley South) a 20-12 lead at the break.
"She's incredible as just a freshman - she's stepped up so much," Olson said.
After the Cardinals absorbed a body blow of a third period, they came back with a left-right combo by Dana Lewis and a knockout punch in the fourth.
The Lady Vikings (13-2, 9-2), ranked sixth in the most recent Associated Press Division 3 poll, took their first lead since 4-2 when a Brenna Ryan layup rattled in to make it 26-24 with 30 seconds left in the third. Senior Jenna Larsen scored nine of her team-high 20 points in the third.
"This is a tough place to play and we talked all week about keeping our composure," Brodhead coach Brad Pickett said.
Olson coolly answered Ryan's bucket and silenced Parkview's half of the capacity crowd. She swished an 8-foot fall-away with her back to the basket along the right side of the paint and April Wellnitz swatting her forearm.
After completing that three-point play, Olson hit a wide-open jumper at the left elbow to open the fourth. Then 6-foot, 2-inch classmate Dana Lewis, who led Brodhead with 13 points, went to work. First, the right-handed center went right at Becca Neal at the left block, going glass with her left hand. On the next possession, she went at Neal again at the right block, this time scoring with contact to set up a three-point play that made it 34-26 with 7:09 to play.
After a Parkview hoop, Brodhead junior Mariah Mohns threw the proverbial knockout punch. Isolated against Wellnitz at the right wing, Mohns jab-stepped and bounced back behind the arc to splash a high-arcing step-back 3.
"Every day before practice, she's out there shooting that shot and I'm rebounding it and kicking it back to her," Olson said.
"That's one of those where you're going, "No, no, no,' but you'll certainly take it," Pickett said. "At that point we wanted to be patient and get the ball inside. We always tell Mariah not to think, just shoot. Clearly at that time she wasn't thinking."
Parkview used an 8-1 surge to get within four at 40-36 with 1:03 to play, but Mohns hit her only two free-throw attempts of the night to earn some badly-needed space with 41.7 seconds left.
In the second period, Douglas showed some resilience by hitting a 3 from the left wing, her third attempt from that spot, to take an 18-11 lead with 1:50 left in the half. After hitting two free throws on the next trip, the frosh planted her feet at the left block to draw a charge on Larsen. Douglas scored all 11 of her points in the first half.
The Vikings had a miserable shooting night and appeared fired up for the marquee matchup as they overshot numerous attempts from point-blank range.
"If the ball don't go in the hoop, it makes everything a bit harder," Parkview coach Tina Aasen said.
Parkview failed to make a 3-pointer but went 14-for-16 at the free-throw line. Larsen went 10-for-10 and is 20-for-21 in two games this week.
The Cardinals snapped the Vikings' five-game winning streak and knew what they'd be up against when they stepped into the ring with their bitter rival.
"We knew they'd come back and we'd have to work extra hard," Olson said of Parkview, which beat North Division-leading Jefferson on a walk-off 3-pointer Monday night. "They've come back in how many games and everybody's heard about their last-second shots."
"We kept thinking we need to throw the first punch and not let them throw it at us," Brodhead senior Riley Olson said.
The Cards certainly came out swinging. Freshman Taylor Douglas threw a personal 7-1 flurry to close the first half and give Brodhead (10-6, 9-2 Rock Valley South) a 20-12 lead at the break.
"She's incredible as just a freshman - she's stepped up so much," Olson said.
After the Cardinals absorbed a body blow of a third period, they came back with a left-right combo by Dana Lewis and a knockout punch in the fourth.
The Lady Vikings (13-2, 9-2), ranked sixth in the most recent Associated Press Division 3 poll, took their first lead since 4-2 when a Brenna Ryan layup rattled in to make it 26-24 with 30 seconds left in the third. Senior Jenna Larsen scored nine of her team-high 20 points in the third.
"This is a tough place to play and we talked all week about keeping our composure," Brodhead coach Brad Pickett said.
Olson coolly answered Ryan's bucket and silenced Parkview's half of the capacity crowd. She swished an 8-foot fall-away with her back to the basket along the right side of the paint and April Wellnitz swatting her forearm.
After completing that three-point play, Olson hit a wide-open jumper at the left elbow to open the fourth. Then 6-foot, 2-inch classmate Dana Lewis, who led Brodhead with 13 points, went to work. First, the right-handed center went right at Becca Neal at the left block, going glass with her left hand. On the next possession, she went at Neal again at the right block, this time scoring with contact to set up a three-point play that made it 34-26 with 7:09 to play.
After a Parkview hoop, Brodhead junior Mariah Mohns threw the proverbial knockout punch. Isolated against Wellnitz at the right wing, Mohns jab-stepped and bounced back behind the arc to splash a high-arcing step-back 3.
"Every day before practice, she's out there shooting that shot and I'm rebounding it and kicking it back to her," Olson said.
"That's one of those where you're going, "No, no, no,' but you'll certainly take it," Pickett said. "At that point we wanted to be patient and get the ball inside. We always tell Mariah not to think, just shoot. Clearly at that time she wasn't thinking."
Parkview used an 8-1 surge to get within four at 40-36 with 1:03 to play, but Mohns hit her only two free-throw attempts of the night to earn some badly-needed space with 41.7 seconds left.
In the second period, Douglas showed some resilience by hitting a 3 from the left wing, her third attempt from that spot, to take an 18-11 lead with 1:50 left in the half. After hitting two free throws on the next trip, the frosh planted her feet at the left block to draw a charge on Larsen. Douglas scored all 11 of her points in the first half.
The Vikings had a miserable shooting night and appeared fired up for the marquee matchup as they overshot numerous attempts from point-blank range.
"If the ball don't go in the hoop, it makes everything a bit harder," Parkview coach Tina Aasen said.
Parkview failed to make a 3-pointer but went 14-for-16 at the free-throw line. Larsen went 10-for-10 and is 20-for-21 in two games this week.
The Cardinals snapped the Vikings' five-game winning streak and knew what they'd be up against when they stepped into the ring with their bitter rival.
"We knew they'd come back and we'd have to work extra hard," Olson said of Parkview, which beat North Division-leading Jefferson on a walk-off 3-pointer Monday night. "They've come back in how many games and everybody's heard about their last-second shots."
