NEW GLARUS - New Glarus girls basketball coach Braden Rindy celebrated his 28th birthday in style Monday as his Glarner Knights won a 45-40 thriller over Monticello.
New Glarus freshman Alycia Atwell stole the ball and made two clutch free throws with 4.9 seconds left to ice the game.
"It feels really good to just break loose from our losing streak and to give our coach a win on his birthday," Atwell said. "I just felt like we were in a good position to win. I just thought we could finally get what we wanted this season."
Atwell, who scored nine points, had plenty of help in a complete team effort for the Knights. New Glarus junior Tanya Gruter, who scored 10 points, was a difference maker in the fourth quarter, helping the Knights come back from an 11-point deficit. Gruter powered her way to a basket down low and she was fouled with 1 minute, 31 seconds left and converted the conventional three-point play at the foul line to give the Knights a 41-40 lead.
From there, the turnover bug plagued Monticello (2-4, 1-2 Six Rivers East). Trailing just 41-40, the Ponies turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions and the Knights made 4 of 7 free throws in the last 45.8 seconds to seal their first win. The Ponies had 12 of their 17 turnovers in the second half.
The Ponies received a bad break when senior Nicole Smith and sophomore Taylor Pfeuti fouled out with 3:48 left.
"I think that hurts you as far as wanting to press," Monticello coach Paul Wedig said about having two players foul out from a seven-girl rotation. "I think most of our turnovers came from us being tired. We weren't working as hard to get open."
The Knights used a 1-2-2 press to get off to a fast start. A jumper by junior Michelle Preston (10 points) gave the Knights a 9-6 lead.
The Ponies then went on a 15-1 run at the end of the first quarter and into the second. The spurt was highlighted by Monticello junior Sadi Hilliard's 3-pointer, a basket down low by sophomore Taylor Pfeuti and an offensive rebound and jumper by Desiree Marty to turn a three-point deficit into a 21-10 lead.
"You know that is on everyone's minds, we haven't won a game," Rindy said. "The monkey is off our backs now. It's a good Christmas gift."
New Glarus weathered the first-half storm, as sophomore Lauren Narveson gave the Knights a spark late in the second quarter, scoring six points off the bench. New Glarus made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 1:30 to cut the Ponies' lead to 25-18 at halftime. That set the tone for the second half.
Preston started the Knights' second-half comeback. She kept the pressure on the Ponies by hitting a jumper to start the quarter and a 3-pointer at 5:45 to cut the Ponies' lead to 29-25 and ignite a 14-6 spurt. A basket down low by Preston cut the Ponies' lead to 31-28. A steal and a layup by junior Rachel Miller sliced the deficit to 31-30.
Rindy was excited to see a breakthrough performance by Preston and said she now has the confidence to score.
"She makes every shot in practice," he said. "She has been struggling a little shooting the first few games. She knew she could score."
Preston missed a 3-pointer at the top of the key at the end of the third quarter and Atwell put back the offensive rebound to give the Knights a 32-31 lead.
"Tanya and Alycia are very strong and hard to stop," Rindy said. "We told them we would feed it into them and they would have to take control and they did."
Monticello senior Sarah Silver scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Ponies, including a game-tying jumper and a go-ahead basket down low during a critical stretch in the fourth quarter.
Gruter, who grabbed nine rebounds, including four offensively, believes the Knights' win was overdue.
"I think we have been working hard as a team," Gruter. "I think we can progress from this first win and only get better."
Wedig doesn't need to be convinced.
"New Glarus has a great team," Wedig said. "Regardless of what their record was coming into this game, they have played some solid teams."
New Glarus freshman Alycia Atwell stole the ball and made two clutch free throws with 4.9 seconds left to ice the game.
"It feels really good to just break loose from our losing streak and to give our coach a win on his birthday," Atwell said. "I just felt like we were in a good position to win. I just thought we could finally get what we wanted this season."
Atwell, who scored nine points, had plenty of help in a complete team effort for the Knights. New Glarus junior Tanya Gruter, who scored 10 points, was a difference maker in the fourth quarter, helping the Knights come back from an 11-point deficit. Gruter powered her way to a basket down low and she was fouled with 1 minute, 31 seconds left and converted the conventional three-point play at the foul line to give the Knights a 41-40 lead.
From there, the turnover bug plagued Monticello (2-4, 1-2 Six Rivers East). Trailing just 41-40, the Ponies turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions and the Knights made 4 of 7 free throws in the last 45.8 seconds to seal their first win. The Ponies had 12 of their 17 turnovers in the second half.
The Ponies received a bad break when senior Nicole Smith and sophomore Taylor Pfeuti fouled out with 3:48 left.
"I think that hurts you as far as wanting to press," Monticello coach Paul Wedig said about having two players foul out from a seven-girl rotation. "I think most of our turnovers came from us being tired. We weren't working as hard to get open."
The Knights used a 1-2-2 press to get off to a fast start. A jumper by junior Michelle Preston (10 points) gave the Knights a 9-6 lead.
The Ponies then went on a 15-1 run at the end of the first quarter and into the second. The spurt was highlighted by Monticello junior Sadi Hilliard's 3-pointer, a basket down low by sophomore Taylor Pfeuti and an offensive rebound and jumper by Desiree Marty to turn a three-point deficit into a 21-10 lead.
"You know that is on everyone's minds, we haven't won a game," Rindy said. "The monkey is off our backs now. It's a good Christmas gift."
New Glarus weathered the first-half storm, as sophomore Lauren Narveson gave the Knights a spark late in the second quarter, scoring six points off the bench. New Glarus made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 1:30 to cut the Ponies' lead to 25-18 at halftime. That set the tone for the second half.
Preston started the Knights' second-half comeback. She kept the pressure on the Ponies by hitting a jumper to start the quarter and a 3-pointer at 5:45 to cut the Ponies' lead to 29-25 and ignite a 14-6 spurt. A basket down low by Preston cut the Ponies' lead to 31-28. A steal and a layup by junior Rachel Miller sliced the deficit to 31-30.
Rindy was excited to see a breakthrough performance by Preston and said she now has the confidence to score.
"She makes every shot in practice," he said. "She has been struggling a little shooting the first few games. She knew she could score."
Preston missed a 3-pointer at the top of the key at the end of the third quarter and Atwell put back the offensive rebound to give the Knights a 32-31 lead.
"Tanya and Alycia are very strong and hard to stop," Rindy said. "We told them we would feed it into them and they would have to take control and they did."
Monticello senior Sarah Silver scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Ponies, including a game-tying jumper and a go-ahead basket down low during a critical stretch in the fourth quarter.
Gruter, who grabbed nine rebounds, including four offensively, believes the Knights' win was overdue.
"I think we have been working hard as a team," Gruter. "I think we can progress from this first win and only get better."
Wedig doesn't need to be convinced.
"New Glarus has a great team," Wedig said. "Regardless of what their record was coming into this game, they have played some solid teams."
