ALBANY - Amy Golz would have traded her pregame attention for a Tuesday evening practice.
The rusty Comets fell behind 14-6 through a quarter and never made up the slack in a 63-48 Black Hawk victory in girls basketball.
Golz led Albany with 15 points and was honored briefly before the game for becoming the first Albany player to eclipse the 1,000-point mark during a victory over Juda last week. She's now scored 1,061 points in her prep career.
Black Hawk (12-4, 7-2 Six Rivers East) junior Paige Butler stole the show quietly after hitting a 3-pointer that gave her squad an early five-point lead.
Despite battling foul trouble throughout, Butler scored 18 points, while sophomore post Kim Wellnitz added 15.
"They stepped up their full-court intensity and I was shocked to see how many points (Paige) Butler had," Albany coach Brandon Bakken said. "She was a quiet killer."
Argyle 46,
Monticello 19
The Orioles know the recipe for a satisfying offense often entails a healthy serving of defense.
The shapeshifting Argyle (10-7, 4-6 Six Rivers East) defense refused to allow more than six points in any quarter in Thursday's home victory as Steve Dammen's gang implemented man-to-man, zone and even box-and-one looks.
"The defense set the tempo all night and when (Monticello) took a shot, they usually had a hand in their face," Dammen said.
Tina Dammen led a balanced Argyle offense with nine points as four players scored seven or more points. No one scored more than five points for Monticello (2-14, 1-9)
Argyle travels to Albany on Tuesday, while Monticello heads to Black Hawk.
Barneveld 75, Juda 24
The scariest thing about the Eagles' 51-point victory was that they left another 15 at the charity stripe.
Barneveld (12-4, 7-2 Six Rivers East) took a 31-7 lead into the locker room at half and refused to relent in a 22-3 third quarter. Sophomore Chelsey Watkins led the way with 21 points, and nine Eagles scored four or more points in the contest.
The Eagles' shooting prowess led to 31 field goals but didn't work out with the clock stopped as they went 7-for-22 at the line.
Rachel Bartels led Juda with nine points.
Belleville 51,
New Glarus 47
It didn't take long for Belleville freshman Quinn Rear to leave her personal mark on the Sugar River rivalry.
The sharpshooting point guard poured in 22 points, hit four shots from beyond the 3-point arc and inspired a 21-11 fourth quarter that lifted Belleville (7-8, 5-3 Capitol South) over Wisconsin 69 rival New Glarus (10-5, 6-2).
The loss greatly compromises a second consecutive conference title for the Glarner Knights, who were led by Kendra Mussehl's 17 points in a losing effort.
Darlington 56, Southwestern 44
The only thing better than how well Darlington read the Southwestern defense was how well the visiting Redbirds reacted to it.
Seeing the Wildcats (3-11, 2-6 SWAL) in a zone, Cassie Fink and Katie Martin hit eight 3-pointers and scored 31 of their combined 36 points in the first half that ended with Darlington (9-4, 6-3) up 38-18.
"Give our kids credit, they saw the zone, stepped up and hit a lot of shots," Darlington coach Kurt Cohen said.
Fink finished with a game-high 19 and Martin added 17, all of which the junior guard scored in the first half.
The Redbirds hope the shots keep falling in vast supply as they travel to Iowa-Grant on Tuesday, Potosi on Thursday for a non-league tilt, and UW-Platteville for Saturday's SWAL matchup with Fennimore.
Brodhead 52, Clinton 28
Dana Lewis got in a quick night's work Thursday.
After recently being hobbled by an ankle injury, the Brodhead sophomore post showed no ill effects in scoring all 12 of her points in the first three periods of a home victory over Clinton.
Five Cardinals scored seven points or more and the Rock Valley co-leaders (9-4, 8-1 RVC) built a 43-16 lead through 24 minutes of play.
Liz Althoff scored 11 points for Clinton (7-6, 5-4).
The Cards get little rest as they turn around to visit rival Evansville tonight after needing overtime to fend off the Blue Devils in the first meeting.
The rusty Comets fell behind 14-6 through a quarter and never made up the slack in a 63-48 Black Hawk victory in girls basketball.
Golz led Albany with 15 points and was honored briefly before the game for becoming the first Albany player to eclipse the 1,000-point mark during a victory over Juda last week. She's now scored 1,061 points in her prep career.
Black Hawk (12-4, 7-2 Six Rivers East) junior Paige Butler stole the show quietly after hitting a 3-pointer that gave her squad an early five-point lead.
Despite battling foul trouble throughout, Butler scored 18 points, while sophomore post Kim Wellnitz added 15.
"They stepped up their full-court intensity and I was shocked to see how many points (Paige) Butler had," Albany coach Brandon Bakken said. "She was a quiet killer."
Argyle 46,
Monticello 19
The Orioles know the recipe for a satisfying offense often entails a healthy serving of defense.
The shapeshifting Argyle (10-7, 4-6 Six Rivers East) defense refused to allow more than six points in any quarter in Thursday's home victory as Steve Dammen's gang implemented man-to-man, zone and even box-and-one looks.
"The defense set the tempo all night and when (Monticello) took a shot, they usually had a hand in their face," Dammen said.
Tina Dammen led a balanced Argyle offense with nine points as four players scored seven or more points. No one scored more than five points for Monticello (2-14, 1-9)
Argyle travels to Albany on Tuesday, while Monticello heads to Black Hawk.
Barneveld 75, Juda 24
The scariest thing about the Eagles' 51-point victory was that they left another 15 at the charity stripe.
Barneveld (12-4, 7-2 Six Rivers East) took a 31-7 lead into the locker room at half and refused to relent in a 22-3 third quarter. Sophomore Chelsey Watkins led the way with 21 points, and nine Eagles scored four or more points in the contest.
The Eagles' shooting prowess led to 31 field goals but didn't work out with the clock stopped as they went 7-for-22 at the line.
Rachel Bartels led Juda with nine points.
Belleville 51,
New Glarus 47
It didn't take long for Belleville freshman Quinn Rear to leave her personal mark on the Sugar River rivalry.
The sharpshooting point guard poured in 22 points, hit four shots from beyond the 3-point arc and inspired a 21-11 fourth quarter that lifted Belleville (7-8, 5-3 Capitol South) over Wisconsin 69 rival New Glarus (10-5, 6-2).
The loss greatly compromises a second consecutive conference title for the Glarner Knights, who were led by Kendra Mussehl's 17 points in a losing effort.
Darlington 56, Southwestern 44
The only thing better than how well Darlington read the Southwestern defense was how well the visiting Redbirds reacted to it.
Seeing the Wildcats (3-11, 2-6 SWAL) in a zone, Cassie Fink and Katie Martin hit eight 3-pointers and scored 31 of their combined 36 points in the first half that ended with Darlington (9-4, 6-3) up 38-18.
"Give our kids credit, they saw the zone, stepped up and hit a lot of shots," Darlington coach Kurt Cohen said.
Fink finished with a game-high 19 and Martin added 17, all of which the junior guard scored in the first half.
The Redbirds hope the shots keep falling in vast supply as they travel to Iowa-Grant on Tuesday, Potosi on Thursday for a non-league tilt, and UW-Platteville for Saturday's SWAL matchup with Fennimore.
Brodhead 52, Clinton 28
Dana Lewis got in a quick night's work Thursday.
After recently being hobbled by an ankle injury, the Brodhead sophomore post showed no ill effects in scoring all 12 of her points in the first three periods of a home victory over Clinton.
Five Cardinals scored seven points or more and the Rock Valley co-leaders (9-4, 8-1 RVC) built a 43-16 lead through 24 minutes of play.
Liz Althoff scored 11 points for Clinton (7-6, 5-4).
The Cards get little rest as they turn around to visit rival Evansville tonight after needing overtime to fend off the Blue Devils in the first meeting.
