NEW GLARUS - For more than half a quarter Monday, the Knights looked all of the red-hot, finely-tuned machine they've been of late.
For the next 25-plus minutes, however, it was as though the Eagles of Barneveld slowly siphoned the gas from the New Glarus tank in Monday's 58-43 runaway non-conference girls basketball win.
Dani Pickett opened the throttle for the Knights (10-4 overall), hitting three 3s within the first three minutes.
Junior point guard Kaitlin Schluter relentlessly pushed the tempo to set up the senior sharpshooter on the first two, firing passes from mid-court all the way down to the left corner where Pickett makes a living, even when time's cramped.
"You've gotta find her quickly, because she can hit shots in rhythm so well," Barneveld coach Jimmy Keyes said.
"We were pushing it early and not letting them settle into their really tough zone," New Glarus coach Braden Rindy said.
After Knights senior Shanna Karls and Eagles junior Melissa Carmody swapped 2s, Pickett hit another long ball from the opposite corner.
But the Eagles put it together in administering their signature stifling zone.
"It's the best of both worlds between man-to-man and zone and they've been playing it for a long time. Everybody knows where to be and what their job is," Rindy said.
Pickett (13 points) was virtually blanketed by Kelly Mueller and others the rest of the way and Eagles junior Brooke Allen caught fire in the third as Barneveld (11-4 overall) exploded for 19 points in the frame before adding another 18 in the last eight-minute session.
After giving her squad its first lead at 26-25 with mere seconds gone in the third on a triple from the left angle, Allen hit two more bombs from the same spot, forcing Rindy to take a timeout.
"She was hitting her shots and we had no idea where she was," Rindy said. "What's frustrating is that we knew we couldn't leave her alone and we did."
Rindy's squad faced a 36-29 deficit at that point and never recovered. It leaned on the workmanlike Karls, who furrowed and burrowed her way to 12 of her team's 18 second-half points. While her teammates missed a pair of free throw tries, Karls hit all six of her shots from the charity stripe.
"When she gets one-on-one, we're always going to get her the ball," Rindy said. "There really isn't anyone that can stop her from getting to the basket guarding her straight up."
The senior captain led all scorers with 18 points, while Allen led the Eagles with 15. Eagles senior Alyssa Bowe had 14 points and ran the floor well, particularly in the waning minutes.
Bowe's matchup with Knights junior Hannah Rotar (10 points) was commendable on both sides as the posts played inspired ball on both ends.
The Knights had won six straight ballgames entering Monday's wakeup call.
"We'll take what we can from it," Rindy said. "We came in on a really hot winning streak and got comfortable in the second half. They're the sort of team that will remind you that you can't do that."
For the next 25-plus minutes, however, it was as though the Eagles of Barneveld slowly siphoned the gas from the New Glarus tank in Monday's 58-43 runaway non-conference girls basketball win.
Dani Pickett opened the throttle for the Knights (10-4 overall), hitting three 3s within the first three minutes.
Junior point guard Kaitlin Schluter relentlessly pushed the tempo to set up the senior sharpshooter on the first two, firing passes from mid-court all the way down to the left corner where Pickett makes a living, even when time's cramped.
"You've gotta find her quickly, because she can hit shots in rhythm so well," Barneveld coach Jimmy Keyes said.
"We were pushing it early and not letting them settle into their really tough zone," New Glarus coach Braden Rindy said.
After Knights senior Shanna Karls and Eagles junior Melissa Carmody swapped 2s, Pickett hit another long ball from the opposite corner.
But the Eagles put it together in administering their signature stifling zone.
"It's the best of both worlds between man-to-man and zone and they've been playing it for a long time. Everybody knows where to be and what their job is," Rindy said.
Pickett (13 points) was virtually blanketed by Kelly Mueller and others the rest of the way and Eagles junior Brooke Allen caught fire in the third as Barneveld (11-4 overall) exploded for 19 points in the frame before adding another 18 in the last eight-minute session.
After giving her squad its first lead at 26-25 with mere seconds gone in the third on a triple from the left angle, Allen hit two more bombs from the same spot, forcing Rindy to take a timeout.
"She was hitting her shots and we had no idea where she was," Rindy said. "What's frustrating is that we knew we couldn't leave her alone and we did."
Rindy's squad faced a 36-29 deficit at that point and never recovered. It leaned on the workmanlike Karls, who furrowed and burrowed her way to 12 of her team's 18 second-half points. While her teammates missed a pair of free throw tries, Karls hit all six of her shots from the charity stripe.
"When she gets one-on-one, we're always going to get her the ball," Rindy said. "There really isn't anyone that can stop her from getting to the basket guarding her straight up."
The senior captain led all scorers with 18 points, while Allen led the Eagles with 15. Eagles senior Alyssa Bowe had 14 points and ran the floor well, particularly in the waning minutes.
Bowe's matchup with Knights junior Hannah Rotar (10 points) was commendable on both sides as the posts played inspired ball on both ends.
The Knights had won six straight ballgames entering Monday's wakeup call.
"We'll take what we can from it," Rindy said. "We came in on a really hot winning streak and got comfortable in the second half. They're the sort of team that will remind you that you can't do that."
