SOUTH WAYNE - Track season doesn't start for nearly two months, but the Pecatonica and Black Hawk girls basketball teams decided to hold their first meet of the season Thursday night. Apparently, the two schools decided to replace the baton with a basketball, and finish lines for hoops.
In the end, the Warriors had pulled 16 seconds - er, points - ahead of the Vikings, 67-51.
"This style of play can get ugly at times," Black Hawk head coach Mike Flanagan said. "But the more possessions you have, the more chances you have to capitalize or turn it over. We try to keep that tempo going because we feel that goes in our favor."
Since the teams' first meeting Dec. 12, when both were ranked in the top five in the AP poll, they've had much different luck.
On Thursday, both teams came out sprinting. The Warriors laid a heavy press on the Vikings, forcing turnover after turnover, yet only occasionally capitalizing on the miscues.
Kim Wellnitz, who had 24 points, nine rebounds and three steals, drained a 3-pointer with 4 minutes, 24 seconds left in the first quarter to give Black Hawk (13-1, 6-0 Six Rivers East) a 9-2 lead.
Pecatonica (8-7, 3-5) tried to stay in the race, bringing the score to 13-7 by the end of the opening period.
"(Black Hawk's) press is going to cause a lot of people trouble if they don't take advantage of space," Vikings head coach Mike Armitage said. "We didn't take care of space. We threw the ball to (Black Hawk), they caught it and capitalized on it."
In the second, the Warriors' Paige Butler joined the race. The senior scored 10 of her 18 points in the frame.
"Those are the kind of girls you need in a big game," Flanagan said of Butler and Wellnitz. "Paige struggled against Potosi and it's good to see her bounce back. That second quarter was exactly what we needed from her."
Black Hawk led 34-20 at halftime.
"The game plan from halftime was that we were down 14 and our goal was that when the fourth quarter starts to be down by only seven," Armitage said. "Things didn't go the way we wanted to and we needed a short turnaround."
During the entire first half of non-stop running, neither team called a timeout, despite 33 combined turnovers (20 by Pecatonica).
"If I call a timeout to rescue my kids, it's not worth calling a timeout. All I'm going to tell them are basic things - block out better, make sure we maintain possession of the basketball and make sure we don't get in a track meet with them. Those are things that have been ingrained in them and a timeout is not going to do anything," Armitage said.
"I don't see where wasting a timeout telling them something they've heard 1,000 times before is worth it, because it's not."
The Vikings did just what their coach asked for in the third quarter. They opened the half breaking the press and controlling the ball, scoring the first seven points and cutting the deficit in half.
Black Hawk continued getting to the free throw line and kept Pecatonica at bay as much as it could. Still, the Vikings cut the lead to 46-40 by the end of the third.
Pecatonica found itself in trouble, though. Kimee Chandler (13 points) had to sit out the much of the third quarter with four fouls.
"(Pecatonica) is just like us in that there are certain kids they want to have out on the floor doing things. And when they're not out there doing things because of fouls or whatever, you really have to feel bad for the kid. Kimee is a great player and makes them 'go'," Flanagan said.
Alisha Esselstein (seven points) and Brittany Kent (eight points) each picked up their fourth fouls in the first two minutes of the fourth, leaving Armitage's squad playing soft in the paint.
"It's obvious we didn't play a lot of players, and when our players get the minutes, they have to stay on the floor," he said.
Because of the fear of fouling out, the Vikings allowed numerous second, third and fourth chances for the Warriors to score. Black Hawk opened the fourth on a 9-0 run.
Chandler fouled out with 3:49 to play when Butler snagged a rebound and got the hoop and the harm.
The officials struggled to figure out how many points came after the basket with the foul, and Armitage told them just to give Black Hawk three free throws instead of one.
Wish granted. The Vikings head coach was called for a technical, and the Warriors cruised from there.
"I didn't agree with some of the things that were happening with all 12 individuals that were on the floor. But you have to deal with it. I should have dealt with that situation a little better," Armitage said.
Black Hawk finished the game going 9-for-13 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter - exponentially better than its 2-for-9 third quarter. The Warriors finished 23-for-41 from the charity stripe, compared to Pec's 9-of-10.
"We didn't shoot our free throws well, but look at the number of times we got there. If you convert more than the other team attempts, then you're going to win a lot of ball games," Flanagan said.
Pecatonica finished with 28 turnovers. Black Hawk had 21.
In the end, the Warriors had pulled 16 seconds - er, points - ahead of the Vikings, 67-51.
"This style of play can get ugly at times," Black Hawk head coach Mike Flanagan said. "But the more possessions you have, the more chances you have to capitalize or turn it over. We try to keep that tempo going because we feel that goes in our favor."
Since the teams' first meeting Dec. 12, when both were ranked in the top five in the AP poll, they've had much different luck.
On Thursday, both teams came out sprinting. The Warriors laid a heavy press on the Vikings, forcing turnover after turnover, yet only occasionally capitalizing on the miscues.
Kim Wellnitz, who had 24 points, nine rebounds and three steals, drained a 3-pointer with 4 minutes, 24 seconds left in the first quarter to give Black Hawk (13-1, 6-0 Six Rivers East) a 9-2 lead.
Pecatonica (8-7, 3-5) tried to stay in the race, bringing the score to 13-7 by the end of the opening period.
"(Black Hawk's) press is going to cause a lot of people trouble if they don't take advantage of space," Vikings head coach Mike Armitage said. "We didn't take care of space. We threw the ball to (Black Hawk), they caught it and capitalized on it."
In the second, the Warriors' Paige Butler joined the race. The senior scored 10 of her 18 points in the frame.
"Those are the kind of girls you need in a big game," Flanagan said of Butler and Wellnitz. "Paige struggled against Potosi and it's good to see her bounce back. That second quarter was exactly what we needed from her."
Black Hawk led 34-20 at halftime.
"The game plan from halftime was that we were down 14 and our goal was that when the fourth quarter starts to be down by only seven," Armitage said. "Things didn't go the way we wanted to and we needed a short turnaround."
During the entire first half of non-stop running, neither team called a timeout, despite 33 combined turnovers (20 by Pecatonica).
"If I call a timeout to rescue my kids, it's not worth calling a timeout. All I'm going to tell them are basic things - block out better, make sure we maintain possession of the basketball and make sure we don't get in a track meet with them. Those are things that have been ingrained in them and a timeout is not going to do anything," Armitage said.
"I don't see where wasting a timeout telling them something they've heard 1,000 times before is worth it, because it's not."
The Vikings did just what their coach asked for in the third quarter. They opened the half breaking the press and controlling the ball, scoring the first seven points and cutting the deficit in half.
Black Hawk continued getting to the free throw line and kept Pecatonica at bay as much as it could. Still, the Vikings cut the lead to 46-40 by the end of the third.
Pecatonica found itself in trouble, though. Kimee Chandler (13 points) had to sit out the much of the third quarter with four fouls.
"(Pecatonica) is just like us in that there are certain kids they want to have out on the floor doing things. And when they're not out there doing things because of fouls or whatever, you really have to feel bad for the kid. Kimee is a great player and makes them 'go'," Flanagan said.
Alisha Esselstein (seven points) and Brittany Kent (eight points) each picked up their fourth fouls in the first two minutes of the fourth, leaving Armitage's squad playing soft in the paint.
"It's obvious we didn't play a lot of players, and when our players get the minutes, they have to stay on the floor," he said.
Because of the fear of fouling out, the Vikings allowed numerous second, third and fourth chances for the Warriors to score. Black Hawk opened the fourth on a 9-0 run.
Chandler fouled out with 3:49 to play when Butler snagged a rebound and got the hoop and the harm.
The officials struggled to figure out how many points came after the basket with the foul, and Armitage told them just to give Black Hawk three free throws instead of one.
Wish granted. The Vikings head coach was called for a technical, and the Warriors cruised from there.
"I didn't agree with some of the things that were happening with all 12 individuals that were on the floor. But you have to deal with it. I should have dealt with that situation a little better," Armitage said.
Black Hawk finished the game going 9-for-13 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter - exponentially better than its 2-for-9 third quarter. The Warriors finished 23-for-41 from the charity stripe, compared to Pec's 9-of-10.
"We didn't shoot our free throws well, but look at the number of times we got there. If you convert more than the other team attempts, then you're going to win a lot of ball games," Flanagan said.
Pecatonica finished with 28 turnovers. Black Hawk had 21.
