SOUTH WAYNE — Black Hawk junior Tara Wellnitz sank a pair of free throws five seconds remaining in the game to cap a furious second-half rally and lead the Warriors to a stunning 24-23 non-conference girls’ basketball victory over the Darlington Redbirds in a defensive slugfest Dec. 21.

The Warriors (5-2) outscored the Redbirds (6-4) by a 12-2 margin over the final 13-plus minutes of the game to pull out a one-point victory and defeat the ‘Birds for the sixth straight meeting dating back to 2013. Due to a variety of reasons, these two teams had not played each the three previous seasons.

“Defense was key because the scoring was so low. It was who could stop the other team from scoring more,” said Black Hawk head coach Cora Holland. “We stayed patient throughout the game. We were down the entire game until the end, so I was proud of how the girls fought back.”  

Darlington held a 15-10 lead at the intermission and extended the lead out to 11 points early in the second half after junior Cayla Golackson knocked down back-to-back baskets and then added an assist on a basket by senior Taylor Wedig that put the ‘Birds up 21-10 with 13:53 left to play.

Darlington would manage to score just two free throws the rest of the way as they committed nine turnovers and went 0-for-12 from the field— including 0-for-5 from 3-point range— over their final 25 possessions of the game.

Junior Jaylyn Schwartz went 1-of-2 from the line with 6:35 to play to put Darlington on top 22-12, but Wellnitz and senior McKenzie Quinn teamed up to score the game’s next eight points to trim the gap to 22-20 with 1:49 to go. Wellnitz hit a key 3-pointer and went 1-of-2 at the line, while Quinn sank all four of her free throw attempts to aid the comeback.

Senior Emma Rielly snapped a six-minute scoreless streak for the ‘Birds when she hit a free throw with 18.1 seconds to play to put the guests ahead 23-20.

Wellnitz answered with a free throw with 10.9 left to cut the deficit to two, and then senior Tatum Baumgartner rebounded Wellnitz’s miss on her second attempt, got fouled and made 1-of-2 with 8.1 to play to make it a one-point game at 23-22.

Wellnitz hauled in the rebound following Baumgartner’s missed second attempt, and then she was fouled with 5.0 on the clock. The junior calmly sank both foul shots to give the Warriors their first lead of night at 24-23.

The Redbirds got off a final shot at the buzzer, but the attempt was off the mark.

Darlington grabbed a 2-0 lead on a basket by Wedig just moments into the game, and then extended the lead out to 15-4 thanks to treys by Rielly and Jaidyn Evenstad.

The Warriors outscored the Redbirds, 6-0, over the final seven minutes of the first half to clip the deficit to five at the intermission.

Darlington outshot Black Hawk from the field, 21.4 percent to 17.1, and held the Warriors to just six made field goals for the game while winning the turnover battle, 13 to 20. However, the Warriors shot 10-for-18 from the line to the Birds’ 3-for-12 showing to pull off the comeback.

“That was awesome because we have been struggling with our free throws this season. I was happy to see them make some when they really counted the most,” Holland said.

Wellnitz scored seven of her game-high 11 points in the second half, using a 4-for-6 performance from the foul line to rally the Warriors. She also pulled down eight rebounds and had three steals and a blocked shot in the win.

Freshman Maddy Lange added five points and Quinn finished with four for Black Hawk.

Wedig tallied eight points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals to lead the way for Darlington. Golackson chipped in with five points, four rebounds and three assists, while Rielly added four points and a team-high three steals.

At South Wayne, on Thursday, Dec. 23, the Warriors extended their Six Rivers East winning streak to 62 games and remained unbeaten in league play this season at 4-0 after rolling over the visiting Juda Panthers (3-8, 0-4) by a score of 64-22.

“We’ve had a couple of tight conference wins, so it was nice to have a game that wasn’t so close. We had a chance to play everyone tonight and we had a lot of girls step up and perform,” said Coach Holland.

Things remained tight early with Juda senior Katie Nusbaum burying a pair of early 3-pointers to counter the 1-2 punch of Warrior juniors Raylin Peterson and Tara Wellnitz, who combined to score 11 points to lead the hosts out to a 16-12 lead midway through the first half.

Then, Wellnitz pumped in eight straight points to cap a 12-0 Black Hawk scoring run that extended the lead out to 30-16 by halftime.

“We needed out defense tonight. We relied on the defense to get the offense going. We had players step up and force turnovers, which led to transition points,” noted Holland.

The Warriors extended the lead to as many as 21 early in the second half, and then closed the game scoring 23 unanswered points over the final 11 minutes to cruise to their 34th victory in a row over the Panthers.

Wellnitz had a monster night with scoring a game-high 24 points and pulling down 12 rebounds for a double-double. She also recorded a team-high eight steals and five assists.

Peterson finished with 13 points, four boards and four assists, while Tatum Baumgartner had eight points and five steals. Maddy Lange scored seven points and Jaliyah Collins grabbed five rebounds for the Warriors, who had nine of their 10 players score.

Nusbaum and sophomore Briliey Swedlund netted six points apiece to lead the Panthers.

Black Hawk game against Milwaukee Washington at the Watertown Holiday Shootout on Wednesday, Dec. 29, was cancelled.

The Warriors will stay at home to host Warren (Ill.) in a non-conference game on Thursday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m.