ALBANY - Pecatonica girls basketball coach Tom Wilkins took a page out of Monroe legendary coach Lee Mitchell's book Friday night in a 55-45 loss to Albany.
Wilkins recalls how Mitchell kept Monroe basketball star Keith Burington, who recently was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, in a game against Monona Grove after he picked up four fouls in the first half almost a half century ago. When Pecatonica senior Kimee Chandler, a UW-Milwaukee recruit, picked up her fourth foul midway through the third quarter Friday night, Wilkins was faced with a dilemma.
Wilkins opted to keep Chandler in the game as the Vikings (2-2, 0-1 Six Rivers East), ranked ninth in the WisSports.net Division 4 coaches poll, tried to storm back from a 14-point deficit. About three minutes later, Chandler drove to the basket on the break and fouled out after being called for a charge with 1 minute, 6 seconds to go in the third quarter. Chandler finished with 16 points to lead the Vikings.
"You have to learn to play with fouls," Wilkins said. "We wanted her to drive to the basket. I have no second thoughts or regrets. She just happened to get that charge. It's just the way it is."
Albany junior Hayli Peach scored eight straight points to start the third quarter to give the Comets (4-1, 1-0) a 33-21 lead before Chandler responded with a 3-pointer. Albany junior Ingrid Kallgren scored a layup on the break and was fouled. Kallgren converted the traditional three-point play at the foul line to give the Comets a 40-26 lead with 2:34 left in the third quarter.
Albany coach Mike Brunhoefer felt fortunate when Chandler fouled out.
"It was a big sigh on my part," Brunhoefer said. "To their credit, they didn't quit," he said of the Vikings.
Albany junior Sydney Bump scored a team-high 20 points. Fellow junior Hillary Best had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
"When we were up 14 points, we were excited," Best said. "We usually seem to start out with a lot of fire. We tried to put a body on somebody and get the rebound."
Pecatonica's Ellie Gifford scored five straight fourth-quarter points as the Vikings rallied. Pecatonica senior Kaci Cassidy scored down low and was fouled. She made her free throw for a three-point play to slice the Comets' lead to 51-43 with 1:43 left. That's as close as the Vikings got.
Early on, Albany dominated, jumping out to a 15-2 first-quarter lead. Bump and Best scored down low to give the Comets a 9-2 lead. Bump scored on a scoop shot on the break and was fouled. She made the free throw to convert the three-point play to give the Comets a 12-2 lead with 2:20 left in the period. Best later made a spinning move in the post to beat a triple team to score to give the Comets a 14-2 lead.
"We really worked hard on defense," Bump said. "Coach always tells us that rebounding is an important part of the game."
Even before the game started, Albany was dealt a blow when freshman Cassidy Bump was injured on a drive to the basket in the first quarter of the junior-varsity game.
Brunhoefer said Bump had a twisted knee, but he didn't want to speculate on the injury or whether it was season-ending. The Comets also played without junior Kaitlyn Schulz, who Brunhoefer said is out indefinitely with a left foot injury.
Brunhoefer was proud of the Comets' defensive and rebounding effort.
"It's the first time we have rebounded the ball like that," he said. "We have been struggling with rebounding for four games."
The Vikings answered with a 9-0 spurt to open the second quarter. Pecatonica's Kaitlyn Linder drilled a 3-pointer to cut the Comets' lead to 15-9. Chandler scored on the break to cut the deficit to 15-11. Chandler then zipped a pass to Alisha Esselstein, who went in for a layup late in the second quarter to slice the Comets' lead to 25-21 at halftime.
Esselstein scored 10 points, and Gifford and Cassidy each added seven.
"I'm disappointed with the way we played," Wilkins said. "I thought we were never in a good rhythm. Our shots were never in rhythm. That has something to do with Albany. They took us out of our game tonight."
Wilkins recalls how Mitchell kept Monroe basketball star Keith Burington, who recently was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame, in a game against Monona Grove after he picked up four fouls in the first half almost a half century ago. When Pecatonica senior Kimee Chandler, a UW-Milwaukee recruit, picked up her fourth foul midway through the third quarter Friday night, Wilkins was faced with a dilemma.
Wilkins opted to keep Chandler in the game as the Vikings (2-2, 0-1 Six Rivers East), ranked ninth in the WisSports.net Division 4 coaches poll, tried to storm back from a 14-point deficit. About three minutes later, Chandler drove to the basket on the break and fouled out after being called for a charge with 1 minute, 6 seconds to go in the third quarter. Chandler finished with 16 points to lead the Vikings.
"You have to learn to play with fouls," Wilkins said. "We wanted her to drive to the basket. I have no second thoughts or regrets. She just happened to get that charge. It's just the way it is."
Albany junior Hayli Peach scored eight straight points to start the third quarter to give the Comets (4-1, 1-0) a 33-21 lead before Chandler responded with a 3-pointer. Albany junior Ingrid Kallgren scored a layup on the break and was fouled. Kallgren converted the traditional three-point play at the foul line to give the Comets a 40-26 lead with 2:34 left in the third quarter.
Albany coach Mike Brunhoefer felt fortunate when Chandler fouled out.
"It was a big sigh on my part," Brunhoefer said. "To their credit, they didn't quit," he said of the Vikings.
Albany junior Sydney Bump scored a team-high 20 points. Fellow junior Hillary Best had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
"When we were up 14 points, we were excited," Best said. "We usually seem to start out with a lot of fire. We tried to put a body on somebody and get the rebound."
Pecatonica's Ellie Gifford scored five straight fourth-quarter points as the Vikings rallied. Pecatonica senior Kaci Cassidy scored down low and was fouled. She made her free throw for a three-point play to slice the Comets' lead to 51-43 with 1:43 left. That's as close as the Vikings got.
Early on, Albany dominated, jumping out to a 15-2 first-quarter lead. Bump and Best scored down low to give the Comets a 9-2 lead. Bump scored on a scoop shot on the break and was fouled. She made the free throw to convert the three-point play to give the Comets a 12-2 lead with 2:20 left in the period. Best later made a spinning move in the post to beat a triple team to score to give the Comets a 14-2 lead.
"We really worked hard on defense," Bump said. "Coach always tells us that rebounding is an important part of the game."
Even before the game started, Albany was dealt a blow when freshman Cassidy Bump was injured on a drive to the basket in the first quarter of the junior-varsity game.
Brunhoefer said Bump had a twisted knee, but he didn't want to speculate on the injury or whether it was season-ending. The Comets also played without junior Kaitlyn Schulz, who Brunhoefer said is out indefinitely with a left foot injury.
Brunhoefer was proud of the Comets' defensive and rebounding effort.
"It's the first time we have rebounded the ball like that," he said. "We have been struggling with rebounding for four games."
The Vikings answered with a 9-0 spurt to open the second quarter. Pecatonica's Kaitlyn Linder drilled a 3-pointer to cut the Comets' lead to 15-9. Chandler scored on the break to cut the deficit to 15-11. Chandler then zipped a pass to Alisha Esselstein, who went in for a layup late in the second quarter to slice the Comets' lead to 25-21 at halftime.
Esselstein scored 10 points, and Gifford and Cassidy each added seven.
"I'm disappointed with the way we played," Wilkins said. "I thought we were never in a good rhythm. Our shots were never in rhythm. That has something to do with Albany. They took us out of our game tonight."
