SOUTH WAYNE — In the night cap of a boys and girls basketball doubleheader, the Comets (16-0, 6-0 Six Rivers East) cruised to a 54-20 victory over the Warriors on Thursday, Jan. 12.

The last time Albany won on Black Hawk’s home court was 21 years ago. As of late, the Comets have had the Warrior’s number. Last season, Albany defeated Black Hawk for the first time since 2007, snapping a 65-game conference win streak for the Warriors.

“It’s been 21 years for Albany to win in this building. That’s a long time,” Albany head coach Derik Doescher said. “The quality program that Black Hawk has had, it’s saying a lot. They set the standard of where we want to be and where we wanted to get. They pushed us to that standard. I’m proud of the girls and our program.”

Jaliyah Collins scored the first points of the game, giving Black Hawk its only lead. Albany went on to score six unanswered points for a 6-2 lead. McKenna Broughton opened for the Comets, followed by a three-point play by Alana Durtschi. In her trip to the free-throw line, Gracie Freitag went 1-for-2.

The Warriors got back to within one at 8-7 with a basket each from Maddy Lang and Mya Milz and a free throw from Kendra Haldiman. Black Hawk didn’t score for the remainder of the half, as Albany went on a 19-0 run.

“In the first five to ten minutes of the game one, we had energy, and two, we had motivation,” Black Hawk head coach Cora Lierman said. “The girls were working really hard. They looked like they really wanted it. They had confidence, and that’s what converts to points and stops on defense. We had that to start the game, but that ran out early.”

After a basket by Durtschi, Avary Briggs scored her first points of the game with a three. Freitag scored again, and, with Durtschi’s 2-for-2 trip to the free-throw line, the Comets took a 10-point lead with just over five minutes left.

Briggs sank another three to extend the lead. Anna Ellinger chipped in two points, and Freitag completed a three-point play at the charity stripe.

Black Hawk had a chance to score, as Lang went to the line to shoot bonus. She missed her shot, but Hailey Wellnitz grabbed the rebound. Freitag then fouled Wellnitz on the put-back. Wellnitz missed both of her shots.

On the opposite end, Ellinger grabbed her own rebound and turned it into two points. As the final seconds of the half wound down, Raylin Peterson stole the ball and chucked it up at half court. Her buzzer-beater hit the rim and bounced out, as the Comet’s took a 27-7 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Peterson made her first field goal. After a three-point play from Durtschi, Wellnitz went to the line again. Although she missed her shots, Peterson grabbed the second rebound and put it back in for two. On the next possession, Collins added two points with a reverse layup.

Showing off her offensive prowess, Durtschi scored the next five points for Albany. Her first basket was a three, followed by a floater for two more. The next 3-pointer came from Hollis to give the Comets a 40-15 lead.

Down the stretch, Hollis went to the line with Milz’s fourth foul. She made both of her shots and followed it up with a basket in the next possession. The small run was the end of Hollis’s scoring for the game. The sophomore, who averages 17.2 ppg, struggled to find her groove.

“Abby got in foul trouble in the first half with two quick fouls and sat 12 minutes,” Doescher said. “In the second half, she never really got things going. When you do a lot of sitting it’s hard to get engaged.”

Instead, teammates Durtschi and Briggs stepped up in her place. After a charge taken by Freitag, Briggs chipped in another two points. 

With just over three minutes left and a 50-17 game, both coaches called upon their substitutes. Off the bench, Veronica Cheatham drained a 3-pointer for Black Hawk, while Emerson Briggs scored two points. Ellinger ended the game with an offensive put-back.

Durtschi and Avary Briggs stepped up for Albany, scoring 17 and 10 points, respectively. On the season, Durtschi averages 12.9 ppg, while Avary Briggs tallies 8.3 ppg.

“Alana Durtschi played such a complete game in the leadership role, rebounding, point guard, guarding the other team’s best player in Peterson and scoring on top of it. Avary Briggs was huge,” Doescher said. “She hit some threes in the first half when Abby was out and in the second half ripped and got to the rim a couple times. She showed her athleticism. It just shows that we are not a one- or two-person team and that other girls can step up at any time. It makes us a scary guard because who do you take away, who do you guard when other kids are stepping up like that.”

The remainder of the offense was balanced between Freitag (eight points), Hollis (seven points), Ellinger (six points), Emerson Briggs (four points) and Broughton (two points).

For Black Hawk, Peterson led with six points. Collins and Lange totaled four points each, followed by three from Cheatham. Milz chipped in two points, and Haldiman had one free throw.

In their last three games, the Warriors have faced two ranked teams in New Glarus (No. 6 in Division 4) and Albany (No. 4 in Division 5). Lierman sees this as a benefit, knowing Black Hawk will see Albany again this season.

“All of the teams that we have played in this stretch here have been ranked,” Lierman said. “What’s exciting is we get to play teams twice. We have to pick our heads up and figure out what we can change moving forward.”

BLACK HAWK 33, JUDA 19

JUDA — The Warriors bounced back with a conference win over Juda (1-13, 0-5 Six Rivers East) on Friday, Jan. 13. Black Hawk had a slim 14-13 lead at halftime but broke out for 19 points in the second half while limiting Juda to six.

Peterson led the offense with 11 points. The next highest scorers were Wellnitz and Cheatham with five points each. All five of Cheatham’s points came from the free-throw line. Haldiman chipped in four points, while Lange and Milz tallied three points each. Collins had the remaining two points.

Ciarrah Davis put up seven points to lead the Panthers. Lavinia Rufer trailed close behind with six points, four of which came in the second half. Katie Brooks contributed four points, while Jackie Nusbaum totaled two.