SOUTH WAYNE — In a defensive battle between two Lafayette County teams, Darlington defeated Black Hawk 42-24 on Thursday, Nov. 30.
In four games, Darlington has limited its opponents to 32 ppg. However, the Redbirds have also averaged 40.3 ppg. Head coach Brad Solberg knew going into the season his team would be in tight games.
“These are the games that we are going to be in,” Solberg said. “I tell the kids all the time, we have to be comfortable in these games. If we aren’t, it means we are in for a long night. These are the games that we have to play in.”
The two teams played two minutes before Hailey Wellnitz scored the first points of the game. While grabbing an offensive board, she drew a foul on Jaidyn Evenstad. Wellnitz cashed in on her opportunities at the free-throw line, going 2-for-2.
Aubrey McCarthy tied the game, making the first field goal five minutes into the half. Prior to her basket, there were 11 missed field-goal attempts — eight from Black Hawk and three from Darlington. Another two minutes passed before the next basket.
Zoie Zuberbuhler scored along the baseline, drawing a foul on Veronica Cheatham. Zuberbuhler turned the possession into a 3-point play, making the and-one.
For the remainder of the half, Darlington outscored Black Hawk 19-5. In that time, Maddie Gratz sank a pair of threes for a 14-2 lead.
“We just wanted to mix it up a bit, giving them a different look,” Solberg said. “We didn’t want them to settle in and get into a rhythm. We wanted it to lead into some offense for us.”
Wellnitz responded with her own 3-pointer, but it was the only field goal Black Hawk made in the first half.
Despite the offensive contribution, Wellnitz picked up her third foul on a 3-point attempt from Niasia Niedziejko. At the free-throw line, Niedziejko went 2-for-3. Catie Hartwig got in on the scoring, followed by another bucket from Gratz.
Kendra Haldiman broke up the scoring with a pair of free throws, but Niedziejko ended the half at the charity stripe, going 2-for-2. Darlington took a 24-7 lead into the locker room.
“We felt pretty good coming into it. We had a poor shooting performance the last game (against Dodgeville), and it unfortunately carried over to the first half,” Black Hawk head coach Steve Herbst said. “We can’t make one shot in the first half — that’s all.”
Black Hawk woke up in the second period, though, matching Darlington’s scoring.
Gratz made a move in the post for two, but Mya Milz answered less than a minute later. McCarthy and Maddy Lange then exchanged a pair of offensive rebounds.
The Warriors got within 13 points at 28-15 with a 3-point play from Wellnitz. On a fast break, Milz fed Wellnitz the ball for two points. On the play, Ava Hendrickson picked up her first foul, and Wellnitz made the subsequent free throw.
In response, Sadie Goebel completed her own 3-point play. She stole the ball from Cheatham on a dribble and took it all the way back for two points. Milz fouled her on the shot, sending Goebel to the line for an and-one. There, Goebel converted for a 33-15 lead.
Goebel then ran into foul trouble, picking up three fouls in a span of five and a half minutes. The first of her three fouls sent Reese Anderson to the line for two points, and Goebel’s third resulted in a free throw make from Haldiman.
With Haldiman’s free throw, Black Hawk trailed by 13 once again, 33-20. That was the closest the Warriors got, though, as the last four minutes of the game were played from the line.
Down the stretch, Darlington was 7-for-11 at the charity stripe. The Redbirds finished 14-for-22 at the line for 63.6%. On the other side, Black Hawk was 11-for-13 at the line for 84.6%.
Every Darlington player that touched the floor scored, led by Gratz with 11 points. The remaining nine players combined for 31 points.
Defensively, the Redbirds narrowly outrebounded the Warriors 30-29. Goebel led her team with five boards.
“We know our offense is a bit slow this year, so defense is going to be a big impact on our team,” Goebel said. “We have to get back on D and get the boards.”
Wellnitz was the leading scorer for Black Hawk, tallying eight points. Lange followed with six points, and Haldiman had five. Maddy Place paced the Warriors with six rebounds, while Milz and Lange chipped in five each.
BLACK HAWK 52, HILLSBORO 33
WISCONSIN DELLS — After two competitive games against Brodhead and Shullsburg, Black Hawk tapered off, suffering losses to Darlington and Dodgeville. To avoid a snowball effect, Herbst encouraged his team to focus on the positive.
“We just have to build off what we did the second half. We played them (Darlington) pretty tough in the second half,” he said.
The Warriors did just that, bouncing back for a nonconference win over Hillsboro on Saturday, Dec. 2 at Wisconsin Dells’s Just a Game Fieldhouse. Black Hawk led 29-14 at halftime and continued the momentum into the second half.
Lange led the offense with 19 points and four steals. Haldiman was the second-highest scorer with nine points. Defensively, Place led with eight rebounds, followed by Milz with seven.
