SOUTH WAYNE — The Road to the Resch couldn’t have started much better for the unbeaten Black Hawk Warriors.

The state’s top-ranked team in Division 5 opened the WIAA playoffs with a 100-17 throttling of winless North Crawford Feb. 19.

Junior Natalie Leuzinger was 11-for-18 from the field with 28 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. She also committed the Warriors’ only turnover.

Bailey Butler was 9 of 14 from the field and had 21 points, five assists and nine turnovers. Hannah Butler notched a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals. Kaylee Marty (11) and Maddy Huschitt (16) gave Black Hawk five players in double figures.

In all, Black Hawk had 25 steals. The Warriors dove deep into the bench early on, with all players getting steady court time in rotation. The halftime score was 67-9

The Warriors (22-0) are now scheduled to host Iowa-Grant (8-15) Feb. 22, with a possible regional final matchup with either Potosi-Cassville (14-8) or Kickapoo (21-2) coming to South Wayne Feb. 23.

Monticello 63, Johnson Creek 35

MONTICELLO — The Ponies led by just five points at halftime but outscored Johnson Creek 36-13 over the final 18 minutes to advance out of the first round of the playoffs Feb. 19.

Alyssen Noriega scored 21 points to lead Monticello, with teammates Lindsey Pence and Harley Disch each scoring 10 apiece. 

It was the second time this season the Ponies defeated Johnson Creek (6-16), winning 63-20 back on Nov. 19.

Monticello will now travel to second-seeded Randolph Feb. 22. 

Argyle 70, Madison Country Day 12

ARGYLE — The Orioles dominated its opening playoff game, getting scoring contributions from 13 players.

Jena Saalsaa had 16 points to lead Argyle, while Tori Lantz had 15, Alysabeth Lantz 10 and Kirsten Ostby eight. The Orioles hit 28 field goals in the game — none of which from beyond the arc. The home squad was also 13 of 20 from the free throw line.

Argyle, the No. 3 seed, led 49-7 at halftime. Up next for the Orioles is a Feb. 22 game against Central Wisconsin Christian (14-8) which defeated Cambria-Friesland 53-47. A win would put Argyle in the Feb. 23 regional final against either Monticello (13-9) at home, or at No. 2-seeded Randolph (19-4).

Rio 77, Juda 44

RIO — Senior point guard Jordyn Hutzler came into the postseason averaging 20.5 points per game for Rio. 

After the opening round win over Juda (3-19), that number went up. Hutzler scored 35 points on 15 of 37 shooting. She was a dreadful 2-for-13 from beyond the arc and hit just 3 of 5 free throws, but the Panthers could not contain her or McKenzie Sampson, who finished with 18 points. Sampson scored 11 more points than her per-game average. Sophomore Adeline Hutzler scored 11 for Rio.

Juda senior Montana Steinmann tried to keep the Panthers in the game, scoring 29 points on six 3-pointers, a 2-pointer and 9 of 12 shooting from the free throw line. Hannah Powers had eight points for the Panthers, and Riese Price finished with six.

Rio (17-6) led 48-22 at halftime, and outscored Juda 29-22 in the second half.