NEW GLARUS - Monday's non-conference girls basketball game between New Glarus and Pecatonica brought out all the rare stats one would see in a box score. There were more total fouls than field goals (44 to 36) and the losing team shot 20 more free throws than the winning team (39 to 19).
But in the end, it was New Glarus coming away with a 57-51 victory, thanks to a 13-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter.
"They got to the line too many times and we turned it over too much. But in the end, we got the victory and that's all that matters," New Glarus head coach Megan Scheele said. "We need to learn from what we did wrong and fix them before Friday."
New Glarus had a relatively dismal night from the field, missing numerous shots from both inside the paint and from mid-range.
"You make your layups and it's a different game," Scheele said. "I told them that we need to take our time. Work together. We'll figure this out."
It took three quarters to get going, but once the Glarner Knights found their groove, there was little Pecatonica could do.
"You could see it (the confidence) coming. Their eyes got bigger and they got into the mode to keep going," said Scheele, whose team appeared much more conditioned to the up-and-down grind in the fourth quarter. "We try to work them hard in practice and we hope it was our conditioning. But they executed and got it done."
New Glarus led 9-2 in the first quarter, but a 12-4 run over a three-minute span from the end of the first into the start of the second quarter tied the game up at 14. At the half, the Vikings led 27-26.
"At about three minutes left in the half, we sat them down and said to just relax," Pecatonica head coach Tom Wilkins said. "We wanted to keep ourselves in it until the half and we did. We took a one-point lead into the half."
Pecatonica could have changed the course of the game with a better night at the free throw line. The Knights nearly gift-wrapped points for the Vikings, who finished just 19 of 39 (48.7 percent) from the charity stripe, including 12 of 23 in the second half.
"That kind of says it all," Wilkins said.
New Glarus, meanwhile, was 14 of 19 from the line and 5 of 6 in the second half.
"It would have been a little lopsided if they made a few more," Scheele said. "Our goal is to get some team turnovers and tonight it worked in our favor. But we let them get to the line too many times."
Senior Alycia Atwell led all scorers with 18 points and was a perfect 6 for 6 from the stripe for the Knights (2-1). Alycia Esselstein led Pecatonica (0-3) with 15 points and played all of the second half, despite picking up her fourth foul just 19 seconds into the third quarter. Lizzy Britt added 13 points for the Vikings.
"They keep working. But I've been really happy with the kids. They're working hard all the time," said Wilkins, whose team has just four players that are either juniors or seniors. "We'll have a few miscues here and there that we try to point out. We just have to convert a few shots and sometimes our rebounding gets away from us a little bit. We have to be strong on the glass."
New Glarus hosts Cambridge (3-1) Friday while Pecatonica welcomes last year's WIAA Division 4 runner-up Black Hawk (1-0) to town.
But in the end, it was New Glarus coming away with a 57-51 victory, thanks to a 13-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter.
"They got to the line too many times and we turned it over too much. But in the end, we got the victory and that's all that matters," New Glarus head coach Megan Scheele said. "We need to learn from what we did wrong and fix them before Friday."
New Glarus had a relatively dismal night from the field, missing numerous shots from both inside the paint and from mid-range.
"You make your layups and it's a different game," Scheele said. "I told them that we need to take our time. Work together. We'll figure this out."
It took three quarters to get going, but once the Glarner Knights found their groove, there was little Pecatonica could do.
"You could see it (the confidence) coming. Their eyes got bigger and they got into the mode to keep going," said Scheele, whose team appeared much more conditioned to the up-and-down grind in the fourth quarter. "We try to work them hard in practice and we hope it was our conditioning. But they executed and got it done."
New Glarus led 9-2 in the first quarter, but a 12-4 run over a three-minute span from the end of the first into the start of the second quarter tied the game up at 14. At the half, the Vikings led 27-26.
"At about three minutes left in the half, we sat them down and said to just relax," Pecatonica head coach Tom Wilkins said. "We wanted to keep ourselves in it until the half and we did. We took a one-point lead into the half."
Pecatonica could have changed the course of the game with a better night at the free throw line. The Knights nearly gift-wrapped points for the Vikings, who finished just 19 of 39 (48.7 percent) from the charity stripe, including 12 of 23 in the second half.
"That kind of says it all," Wilkins said.
New Glarus, meanwhile, was 14 of 19 from the line and 5 of 6 in the second half.
"It would have been a little lopsided if they made a few more," Scheele said. "Our goal is to get some team turnovers and tonight it worked in our favor. But we let them get to the line too many times."
Senior Alycia Atwell led all scorers with 18 points and was a perfect 6 for 6 from the stripe for the Knights (2-1). Alycia Esselstein led Pecatonica (0-3) with 15 points and played all of the second half, despite picking up her fourth foul just 19 seconds into the third quarter. Lizzy Britt added 13 points for the Vikings.
"They keep working. But I've been really happy with the kids. They're working hard all the time," said Wilkins, whose team has just four players that are either juniors or seniors. "We'll have a few miscues here and there that we try to point out. We just have to convert a few shots and sometimes our rebounding gets away from us a little bit. We have to be strong on the glass."
New Glarus hosts Cambridge (3-1) Friday while Pecatonica welcomes last year's WIAA Division 4 runner-up Black Hawk (1-0) to town.
