BRODHEAD - The 2008-09 girls basketball season started off a bit slow for the Cardinals on Thursday.
Brodhead returns nearly all of its key components from a year ago to try and make a run at a state tournament berth.
But that run started with a stumble with Belleville's 49-38 thumping of the Cardinals in the season opener for both teams.
"Defensively we have to be much better with more intensity," Brodhead head coach Chris Medenwaldt said.
"We didn't play as well as we could have, and that's not taking anything away from (Belleville). But we have to shoot a lot better if we want to beat many teams this year."
Brodhead struggled with its shooting all night. The Cardinals didn't get their first shot to fall until the 3:33 mark in the first half.
Fortunately, Belleville struggled early to find its touch, as well, leading only 6-2 as the first quarter fell under the three-minute mark.
"We didn't make a shot outside of the lane (it seemed)," Medenwaldt said of the shooting, with a late 3-pointer by Cassie Wymer as the only distance shot that fell for the Cardinals all night.
"We missed a ton of shots in the lane, too," he said.
Despite getting dozens of good looks, Brodhead continued to struggle hitting its shots. The first quarter closed with Belleville up 11-9.
The Cardinals' two post players, junior Dana Lewis and senior Kristen Ruchti, a UW-Parkside recruit, were the only home players with points in the book in the quarter.
In the second quarter, Brodhead fell harder. The Cardinals continued to miss open jumpers and shots in the lane, and Belleville opened a 22-14 halftime lead.
"A lot of things in basketball go as the offense goes. When you're missing shots, everything gets harder," Medenwaldt said, referring to the Wildcats outrebounding the Cardinals.
"We didn't just dig a hole on the scoreboard - I think we dug a bit of a hole effort-wise, as well."
In the second half, more of the same continued, except for two things - Belleville started hitting its shots, while Dana Lewis turned her game up a notch.
"Kristen and I pick each other up. So if she doesn't have a good night, I'm expected to have a good night," Lewis said.
Lewis scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, knocking down free throws and grabbing nearly every defensive rebound possible.
But Lewis alone couldn't keep the Wildcats from extending their lead in the third quarter. Belleville was up by as many as 18 points late in the third quarter, and led 38-23 with one period left to play.
From there, Belleville kept possession as often as possible, and reversed their free-throw shooting woes.
A year ago against the Cardinals, the Wildcats shot nearly 25 percent from the charity stripe. Through the first three quarters of this year's showdown, Belleville shot 7-of-13 before going 6-of-9 in the fourth.
"We need to pick it up on defense and offense. We missed some shots, but we can't use that as an excuse at all. We need to play more together," Lewis said. "We need to pick it up in practice and get more intense. We want to win conference and go somewhere this year - and losing is not the way to go."
Last season, Belleville finished in a three-way tie with Cambridge and New Glarus for the Capitol South Conference title. Belleville, returning many of its top players from a year ago, is favored to repeat.
"We knew coming in that Belleville was good. They have some really good coaching and have a lot of people back. They played well defensively and held us to one shot a possession," Medenwaldt said.
Brodhead will have to turn the corner quickly, as it opens conference play right away on Tuesday against Clinton.
Ruchti finished with 10 points. Cassie Wymer scored five points off the bench, all in the fourth quarter. Leah Hegi (three points), and Courtney Mielke (one point) rounded out the Cardinal scoring.
Jessica O'Connor led the way for Belleville with 15 points, with teammate Hannah Kernen right behind at 14.
Brodhead returns nearly all of its key components from a year ago to try and make a run at a state tournament berth.
But that run started with a stumble with Belleville's 49-38 thumping of the Cardinals in the season opener for both teams.
"Defensively we have to be much better with more intensity," Brodhead head coach Chris Medenwaldt said.
"We didn't play as well as we could have, and that's not taking anything away from (Belleville). But we have to shoot a lot better if we want to beat many teams this year."
Brodhead struggled with its shooting all night. The Cardinals didn't get their first shot to fall until the 3:33 mark in the first half.
Fortunately, Belleville struggled early to find its touch, as well, leading only 6-2 as the first quarter fell under the three-minute mark.
"We didn't make a shot outside of the lane (it seemed)," Medenwaldt said of the shooting, with a late 3-pointer by Cassie Wymer as the only distance shot that fell for the Cardinals all night.
"We missed a ton of shots in the lane, too," he said.
Despite getting dozens of good looks, Brodhead continued to struggle hitting its shots. The first quarter closed with Belleville up 11-9.
The Cardinals' two post players, junior Dana Lewis and senior Kristen Ruchti, a UW-Parkside recruit, were the only home players with points in the book in the quarter.
In the second quarter, Brodhead fell harder. The Cardinals continued to miss open jumpers and shots in the lane, and Belleville opened a 22-14 halftime lead.
"A lot of things in basketball go as the offense goes. When you're missing shots, everything gets harder," Medenwaldt said, referring to the Wildcats outrebounding the Cardinals.
"We didn't just dig a hole on the scoreboard - I think we dug a bit of a hole effort-wise, as well."
In the second half, more of the same continued, except for two things - Belleville started hitting its shots, while Dana Lewis turned her game up a notch.
"Kristen and I pick each other up. So if she doesn't have a good night, I'm expected to have a good night," Lewis said.
Lewis scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, knocking down free throws and grabbing nearly every defensive rebound possible.
But Lewis alone couldn't keep the Wildcats from extending their lead in the third quarter. Belleville was up by as many as 18 points late in the third quarter, and led 38-23 with one period left to play.
From there, Belleville kept possession as often as possible, and reversed their free-throw shooting woes.
A year ago against the Cardinals, the Wildcats shot nearly 25 percent from the charity stripe. Through the first three quarters of this year's showdown, Belleville shot 7-of-13 before going 6-of-9 in the fourth.
"We need to pick it up on defense and offense. We missed some shots, but we can't use that as an excuse at all. We need to play more together," Lewis said. "We need to pick it up in practice and get more intense. We want to win conference and go somewhere this year - and losing is not the way to go."
Last season, Belleville finished in a three-way tie with Cambridge and New Glarus for the Capitol South Conference title. Belleville, returning many of its top players from a year ago, is favored to repeat.
"We knew coming in that Belleville was good. They have some really good coaching and have a lot of people back. They played well defensively and held us to one shot a possession," Medenwaldt said.
Brodhead will have to turn the corner quickly, as it opens conference play right away on Tuesday against Clinton.
Ruchti finished with 10 points. Cassie Wymer scored five points off the bench, all in the fourth quarter. Leah Hegi (three points), and Courtney Mielke (one point) rounded out the Cardinal scoring.
Jessica O'Connor led the way for Belleville with 15 points, with teammate Hannah Kernen right behind at 14.
