BELLEVILLE - Carly Mohns says Rachel Heller does good work for the Brodhead girls basketball team even if she doesn't score a point.
"If we ever get down or we're having a bad game, she's the leader who picks us all up," Mohns said of her sophomore classmate. "She's the one who's always saying, 'Hey, keep your head up, you'll get the next one."
On Monday night, Heller showed she's quite capable of helping Mohns and Co. in the scoring column as well by producing a career-high 16 points in the Cardinals' 66-40 victory against non-conference foe Belleville.
Mohns had a game-high 18 points for Brodhead (14-2), which won its fifth straight game hours after returning to the Associated Press Division 3 state rankings at No. 9.
But it was Heller who set the tone offensively.
The guard had seven points in the first quarter, scoring on a drive, hitting a 3-pointer from the right wing and nailing a baseline jumper at the buzzer to give Brodhead a 16-11 lead. That last shot was big after a Belleville team struggling mightily this season played the Cardinals pretty even early.
Heller added a fast-break layup to open the second quarter and the Cardinals scored the period's first nine points to take a 24-11 lead. The Wildcats never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
It was a timely contribution from Heller, who averages around 8 points per game, considering Brodhead coach Brad Pickett felt his team was "a little tentative" in the early going.
"Rachel had a nice night," Pickett said. "She's very capable of doing that sort of stuff. She works hard and she's a kid that's really matured for us this year. She's going to have to step up with teams gearing up on Carly and (junior forward) Taylor (Douglas). Rachel, when she gets an opportunity, needs to step up and she did a nice job tonight."
The 5-foot-8 Heller scored the majority of her points in the paint, a fact that didn't surprise Pickett.
"She can shoot from outside, obviously she can go to the basket and she rebounds well," Pickett said. "Rachel does a little bit of everything."
Heller, whose previous varsity high was 13 points, enjoyed the big offensive outing, but said scoring points isn't her first priority.
"I need to get stronger handling the ball," she said. "You can always get better. I'm never going to be satisfied with how I'm playing."
Mohns said the Cardinals' 62-55 loss to East Troy on Jan. 17 was a wake-up call. They responded the next time out by crushing Clinton, the second-place team in the Rock Valley South, 71-50 on the road. That started the five-game winning streak, during which Brodhead has an average winning score of 67-37.
"I think we've picked up the intensity since then," Mohns said of the East Troy loss. "We're really pushing it and picking up the intensity in practice, and I think it's helping us in games.
"If we get ourselves figured out, we shouldn't have to worry about what the other team thinks or does."
The Cardinals hit the road twice more this week, tonight at Whitewater and Thursday at Beloit Turner.
Pickett likes what he's seeing from the Cardinals.
"I read a good quote the other day that said good teams keep getting better in February for long runs in March," Pickett said. "Obviously we learned some things and that we have to get better. We're playing pretty well right now."
Sophomore Haven Freidig scored 15 points and freshman Cassidy Rung added 14 to lead Belleville (1-15).
"If we ever get down or we're having a bad game, she's the leader who picks us all up," Mohns said of her sophomore classmate. "She's the one who's always saying, 'Hey, keep your head up, you'll get the next one."
On Monday night, Heller showed she's quite capable of helping Mohns and Co. in the scoring column as well by producing a career-high 16 points in the Cardinals' 66-40 victory against non-conference foe Belleville.
Mohns had a game-high 18 points for Brodhead (14-2), which won its fifth straight game hours after returning to the Associated Press Division 3 state rankings at No. 9.
But it was Heller who set the tone offensively.
The guard had seven points in the first quarter, scoring on a drive, hitting a 3-pointer from the right wing and nailing a baseline jumper at the buzzer to give Brodhead a 16-11 lead. That last shot was big after a Belleville team struggling mightily this season played the Cardinals pretty even early.
Heller added a fast-break layup to open the second quarter and the Cardinals scored the period's first nine points to take a 24-11 lead. The Wildcats never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
It was a timely contribution from Heller, who averages around 8 points per game, considering Brodhead coach Brad Pickett felt his team was "a little tentative" in the early going.
"Rachel had a nice night," Pickett said. "She's very capable of doing that sort of stuff. She works hard and she's a kid that's really matured for us this year. She's going to have to step up with teams gearing up on Carly and (junior forward) Taylor (Douglas). Rachel, when she gets an opportunity, needs to step up and she did a nice job tonight."
The 5-foot-8 Heller scored the majority of her points in the paint, a fact that didn't surprise Pickett.
"She can shoot from outside, obviously she can go to the basket and she rebounds well," Pickett said. "Rachel does a little bit of everything."
Heller, whose previous varsity high was 13 points, enjoyed the big offensive outing, but said scoring points isn't her first priority.
"I need to get stronger handling the ball," she said. "You can always get better. I'm never going to be satisfied with how I'm playing."
Mohns said the Cardinals' 62-55 loss to East Troy on Jan. 17 was a wake-up call. They responded the next time out by crushing Clinton, the second-place team in the Rock Valley South, 71-50 on the road. That started the five-game winning streak, during which Brodhead has an average winning score of 67-37.
"I think we've picked up the intensity since then," Mohns said of the East Troy loss. "We're really pushing it and picking up the intensity in practice, and I think it's helping us in games.
"If we get ourselves figured out, we shouldn't have to worry about what the other team thinks or does."
The Cardinals hit the road twice more this week, tonight at Whitewater and Thursday at Beloit Turner.
Pickett likes what he's seeing from the Cardinals.
"I read a good quote the other day that said good teams keep getting better in February for long runs in March," Pickett said. "Obviously we learned some things and that we have to get better. We're playing pretty well right now."
Sophomore Haven Freidig scored 15 points and freshman Cassidy Rung added 14 to lead Belleville (1-15).
