DARLINGTON — Nine different players scored for Darlington in an 82-12 victory over Argyle on Monday, Jan. 30.
Although the two teams are in different divisions and conferences, they have a history. Darlington’s Elementary/Middle School Principal Mike Flanagan coached Argyle head coach Jen Wellnitz while at Black Hawk, and Wellnitz now coaches freshmen Kylie Butler and Sadie Goebel on the Wisconsin Purple Aces AAU team.
“Kylie is an awesome kid and an awesome basketball player,” Wellnitz said. “I love watching her play. It gets me really excited for the upcoming AAU season. I love coaching her.”
Butler — who leads the team with 14.6 ppg — started slow, though, as her teammates did the early damage. Darlington held Argyle scoreless for eight minutes with its press while scoring 11 points of their own.
Maddie Gratz opened the game with a basket, assisted by Butler. Jaylyn Schwartz then followed with two more points. After a series of fouls and an Oriole timeout, Aubrey McCarthy grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up for two points. She kept the momentum on Darlington’s side, taking a charge from Jaylin Hartwig.
On the Redbirds next inbounds play, Zoie Zuberbuhler passed the ball in to Cayla Golackson, who passed back to Zuberbuhler in the corner for a three. Golackson then scored her own basket on the following inbounds play.
Hartwig put Argyle on the board eight minutes in, as she broke to the basket untouched on a side-out play. A minute later, Butler scored her first points of the game, too.
“I knew my threes weren’t dropping, so I had to drive and make something happen,” Butler said. “Once one fell the rest started to go.”
The shot in the paint opened the floodgates for Butler, as she drained a three on the next possession with a kickout from Golackson.
Although the Redbirds were clicking offensively, they struggled to move defensively and sent Hartwig to the line for bonus with nine minutes left in the half. Hartwig missed the shot, but Hannah Gierhart grabbed the offensive rebound. As she drove to the basket, she dribbled the ball off her foot and out of bounds for a turnover.
It didn’t take long for Hartwig to get another scoring opportunity, as she went back to the line a minute later with a foul from Ava Hendrickson. This time, Hartwig made both of her shots to make it a 22-6 game.
Jaidyn Evenstad contributed to the next two scores for Darlington, as she made a fast-break layup and grabbed a defensive rebound. She then pushed the ball up the court to McCarthy for two more fast-break points.
Defensive troubles continued to plague the Redbirds, though, as Hannah Gierhart went to the line for double bonus with five and a half minutes left in the first half. Although she didn’t convert from the charity stripe, Mya McNett scored two minutes later. It was Argyle’s first offensive contribution in the first half from someone other than Hartwig.
Darlington ended the half on a 9-0 run, though, beginning with a three from Butler. McCarthy then grabbed a loose ball and went down the floor for two points. Zuberbuhler then dished the ball to McCarthy and Golackson for the final four points.
The Redbirds took a dominant 41-9 lead into halftime.
It may have taken Butler nine minutes to score in the first half, but it took just 30 seconds in the second half, as she rained down yet another three. She then stole the ball and dished it to Evenstad for a bucket. The two reversed roles on the next play, as Evenstad stole the ball and assisted Butler for two.
With a convincing lead, Darlington head coach Brad Solberg subbed in his bench players to get more experience. Mady Wedig knocked down a pair of threes, Hendrickson assisted Goebel for two points and Alyza Johnson grabbed three defensive rebounds.
For Argyle, Hartwig made a pair of free throws. Brianna Gaertig went to the line for bonus. Her first shot missed, but she got another opportunity, as Darlington stepped into the lane too early. She sank her second attempt for a point.
With a running clock, the Redbirds dribbled out their final possession until the buzzer rang out.
Hartwig scored nine of Argyle’s 12 points, going 5-for-9 from the free-throw line. The other three points came from McNett and Gaertig. On the boards, Gierhart grabbed six rebounds.
“Jaylin is not a very vocal kid. She’s pretty shy, but she has a lot on her plate,” Wellnitz said. “We ask her to do basically everything. Kudos to her for stepping up. We keep telling her how glad we are to have her because without her the last couple nights, we’d only have two or three points.”
Butler led Darlington with 23 points, including three 3-pointers. She was one assist away from a double-double. McCarthy and Golackson also scored in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. The pair grabbed seven rebounds apiece.
DARLINGTON 50, FENNIMORE 32
FENNIMORE — The Redbirds never trailed in a SWAL conference game on Tuesday, Jan. 31. With the win, third-place Darlington put a game between itself and fourth-place Fennimore.
Although the Golden Eagles shot better from the floor — 33.3% on 2-pointers and 25% from 3-point range compared to 30% and 21% — the Redbirds made up for it at the free-throw line. Fennimore committed 15 fouls, sending Darlington to the line for 25 free throws. The Redbirds cashed in on 19 of those opportunities.
Butler, who finished with 19 points, was 5-for-6 from the charity stripe while McCarthy (six points) and Evenstad (eight points) chipped in four free throws each. Gratz (four points) was a perfect 2-for-2 and Zuberbuhler (four points) made a pair of shots from the line. On the boards, the Redbirds had five different players snag five rebounds: Butler, McCarthy, Evenstad and Schwartz.
