NEW GLARUS - Any coach will tell you that in basketball good defense leads to good offense.
Such was the case Tuesday as the New Glarus girls basketball team used a smothering press to vanquish Dodgeland 74-18 in the opening round of the WIAA Division 4 basketball playoffs.
"One of the points of emphasis in the pregame was to come out on defense, create some turnovers and then finish on the other end," New Glarus head coach Kim Burton said. "We wanted to play an aggressive 1-3-1, and we wanted to be aggressive person-to-person, too. I thought we came out excellent - we came out with a lot of intensity, a lot of heart and got off to a nice start."
The Glarner Knights (11-12) allowed a 3-pointer to open the game, but then quickly clamped down on defense. Along with forcing 16 turnovers, New Glarus didn't allow Dodgeland (5-18) to score from the field the rest of the half.
"We worked hard on all those drills to get us ready for this," senior Riley Parker said. "We played our best defense, I thought."
While the defense was doing its magic, it took the Knights offense a little bit to get going. A 10-1 run had the score at 10-4 through the first eight minutes of the game. Then New Glarus senior Parker hit a 3-pointer and turned the whole game around.
"I was definitely feeling it out there," Parker said. "I think once someone hits a big shot, the rest of our team gets into it. And we had some good intensity."
Parker would hit a second 3 moments later to make the score 16-0, and from there the Knights never looked back.
"It was funny - Riley hit those shots and then the whole outlook of the team changed. Everybody had a little bit more confidence when they had the ball in their hands," Burton said. "I was really happy for Riley to finish her career with a game like that at home."
Julia Barnaby then hit a 3 and the Knights closed the half on a 36-5 run.
"I think Riley definitely kicked it off," senior Willow Lee said of the offense.
Parker and Lee led the Knights in scoring with 16 points each. Barnaby had 11, Lexi Krause 9 and Emily Streiff 8.
"The girls played great team basketball, and I'm very happy with that," Burton said.
Burton had to make sure she kept her group motivated for the second half.
"I joked around with Morgan (Hustad) and Willow and told them that they should be completely rested for the second half," Burton said. "And I told the girls that at the start of the second half the score was 0-0, so we needed to get out there with that same intensity. We tried to find little ways to motivate them."
The Knights did just that, score five straight baskets in the first three minutes to go up by 38.
The lead hit 40 after an And-1 putback by Lee with 10:40 to play. Then the clock started ticking and never stopped. Dodgeland failed to score in the final 8:44 of the game.
"We don't have many games where we work that well as a team," Lee said, referencing the fluid motion of the offense.
Nine different Knights scored in the contest.
"I love when our bench scores," Parker said. "It really pumps the team up."
It was the final home game for seniors Lee, Barnaby, Parker and Caitlin Wieser.
"As a senior, this was my last home game ever. We scored big," Parker said.
Now New Glarus gets to take on second-seeded Cambridge (17-5) Friday. The Blue Jays swept the Knights in both games this season, first by 17 points and then by just six on Jan. 23.
"If they can bring the same confidence that they had, and the same mentality of the team defense that we aren't just looking for one person to score - I think that will make a huge difference. We have know that we have five girls on the floor that can score," Burton said. "I think with Cambridge we have to stop (Alyssa) Stein (11.7 ppg) and (Joriann) Clary (14.6 ppg). I know that Julia and Willow, and the rest of the team, will be up for that challenge Friday night."
Such was the case Tuesday as the New Glarus girls basketball team used a smothering press to vanquish Dodgeland 74-18 in the opening round of the WIAA Division 4 basketball playoffs.
"One of the points of emphasis in the pregame was to come out on defense, create some turnovers and then finish on the other end," New Glarus head coach Kim Burton said. "We wanted to play an aggressive 1-3-1, and we wanted to be aggressive person-to-person, too. I thought we came out excellent - we came out with a lot of intensity, a lot of heart and got off to a nice start."
The Glarner Knights (11-12) allowed a 3-pointer to open the game, but then quickly clamped down on defense. Along with forcing 16 turnovers, New Glarus didn't allow Dodgeland (5-18) to score from the field the rest of the half.
"We worked hard on all those drills to get us ready for this," senior Riley Parker said. "We played our best defense, I thought."
While the defense was doing its magic, it took the Knights offense a little bit to get going. A 10-1 run had the score at 10-4 through the first eight minutes of the game. Then New Glarus senior Parker hit a 3-pointer and turned the whole game around.
"I was definitely feeling it out there," Parker said. "I think once someone hits a big shot, the rest of our team gets into it. And we had some good intensity."
Parker would hit a second 3 moments later to make the score 16-0, and from there the Knights never looked back.
"It was funny - Riley hit those shots and then the whole outlook of the team changed. Everybody had a little bit more confidence when they had the ball in their hands," Burton said. "I was really happy for Riley to finish her career with a game like that at home."
Julia Barnaby then hit a 3 and the Knights closed the half on a 36-5 run.
"I think Riley definitely kicked it off," senior Willow Lee said of the offense.
Parker and Lee led the Knights in scoring with 16 points each. Barnaby had 11, Lexi Krause 9 and Emily Streiff 8.
"The girls played great team basketball, and I'm very happy with that," Burton said.
Burton had to make sure she kept her group motivated for the second half.
"I joked around with Morgan (Hustad) and Willow and told them that they should be completely rested for the second half," Burton said. "And I told the girls that at the start of the second half the score was 0-0, so we needed to get out there with that same intensity. We tried to find little ways to motivate them."
The Knights did just that, score five straight baskets in the first three minutes to go up by 38.
The lead hit 40 after an And-1 putback by Lee with 10:40 to play. Then the clock started ticking and never stopped. Dodgeland failed to score in the final 8:44 of the game.
"We don't have many games where we work that well as a team," Lee said, referencing the fluid motion of the offense.
Nine different Knights scored in the contest.
"I love when our bench scores," Parker said. "It really pumps the team up."
It was the final home game for seniors Lee, Barnaby, Parker and Caitlin Wieser.
"As a senior, this was my last home game ever. We scored big," Parker said.
Now New Glarus gets to take on second-seeded Cambridge (17-5) Friday. The Blue Jays swept the Knights in both games this season, first by 17 points and then by just six on Jan. 23.
"If they can bring the same confidence that they had, and the same mentality of the team defense that we aren't just looking for one person to score - I think that will make a huge difference. We have know that we have five girls on the floor that can score," Burton said. "I think with Cambridge we have to stop (Alyssa) Stein (11.7 ppg) and (Joriann) Clary (14.6 ppg). I know that Julia and Willow, and the rest of the team, will be up for that challenge Friday night."
