ALBANY — Two of the premier small school basketball programs the past several seasons reside in the same conference. Both entered December ranked in the top ten and have aspirations for runs at a state championship. 

So did Argyle-Pecatonica coach Jen Krogman love season Albany Monticello scheduled for the second game of the season?

“I did not,” she said bluntly following her team’s narrow 42-38 victory on Thursday, Dec. 2. “We’ve had plenty of practice, but you don’t get this type of environment, for one, and this type of speed in practice. We’re fortunate that we came out with a win because obviously they are a very well coached team, and a very young team. They fought their butts off.”

The respect for the two programs is also top tier. There was no cattiness or bad blood on the court, players chuckled and laugh with each other during pauses in action and after the game, and both coaches talked glowingly of the other side’s effort and performance.

“At the end of the day, I love the energy, love the battle,” AM coach Derik Doescher said. “We’ll learn from the mistakes, but what an environment. Every time we play it’s like this no matter whose gym it is. It’s a great opportunity for both communities and for these players to play in front of them.”

Prior to the game, Doescher and Albany celebrated one of their most fervent supporters, “Grandma Hazel”. Now battling heart failure, kidney disease and Type II Diabetes, Hazel Ommodt already beat breast cancer 25 years ago. The school held a promotion t-shirt sale “Hoops for Hazel”, which raised more than $6,000 for a scholarship fund for Albany graduates moving forward.

After the game, Doescher said he was proud of the full house of fans, and he was  proud of his Space Stallions for limiting No. 1-ranked AP, a Highway 78 co-op, to just 42 points.

“I told the girls I find it hard to believe that anybody else will hold this team to 42 points. They’re too talented, too well coached, they’re too athletic. Typically, Argyle-Pec is going to be in the 70s and 80s,” Doescher said.

As good as his team’s defense was, the offense struggled to find the net.

“Obviously, on the flip side, 38 is a problem. It’s not an end of the world problem, but it felt like at times tonight we were either going 100 mph and out of control, or we were going 5 mph and way to passive,” Doescher said.

AM shot well below their expected percentage from both the three-point and free throw lines. AM was 11 of 19 from the charity stripe — cutting those misses in half changes not just the outcome, but the dynamics of how the stretch run played out.

Meanwhile, Krogman’s team was unable to live up to expectations of creating mass chaos from tip to final buzzer.

“I think it was because of the fouls. Usually we are a track meet, but tonight we had to kind of play a different game because of our foul issues” Krogman said.

Not only did AM reach the double bonus in the first half, but star AP guard and future UW-Milwaukee Panther Kylie Butler found herself with three fouls in the first half. It only got worse for the senior after halftime, as she was whistled for a fourth violation just 63 seconds into the second stanza. 

Krogman said the entire team — including Butler — made the best of the situation.

“She was a fantastic teammate on the bench,” Krogman said. “What an awesome thing to show that the next girl can step up and we can exist without her. We do not want to exist without here, but if an injury were to happen or foul trouble, I just can’t speak enough about our non-starters for stepping up the way they did. They were game changers, 100%.”

One of those that stepped up was fellow senior and all-conference pick Loretta Tisch. Though she only scored six points, Tisch found a way to get a crucial basket and keep a slight cushion on the lead.

“I think a big part of that is the mental side of the game. We all have to stay calm and continue to play as a team,” she said.

Early in the first half, AP went on a 10-0 run after an Avari Steiner three-pointer that made it 12-4 less than six minutes into the game. Slowly AM crept back into the game, keeping the 78ers from running away with the score. Much of that offense came from sophomore Heidi Olson, who attacked the rim and scored 11 of her game-high 14 points in the opening 18 minutes.

“People forget, and I do too sometimes, she’s only a sophomore. I realize she played and started varsity last year. She is just so athletic and she has that ability to take over. But she’s only a sophomore and she’s going to get better” Doescher said.

Aleah Harris led AP with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Brooke Wellnitz added 10 points and eight boards, and Steiner finished with nine points.

“I don’t think we’re going to find anybody at this level of basketball more physical for rebounding (than Wellnitz). Her knack to be around the ball is uncanny,” Doescher said. “I told the girls ‘what an opportunity to know the speed it takes to play to hang with a team like this, the physicality of guarding Brooke Wellnitz, rebounding against her. If we take those lessons tonight, we’re going to be really, really good.’

Both teams will now go at least seven weeks before meeting again (Jan. 22) in Argyle. AM was moved up to Division 4 for this postseason thanks to the WIAA’s Competitive Balance standards. 

AP, which was in D4 last year, drops back down to D5. Their varsity lineup is filled with experience, with the starting lineup playing together for three seasons.

“I told our parents, I am promising you a gold ball. We couldn’t do it in 2024, and kudos to Albany-Monticello, that was the team that beat us. We’ve got a chip on our shoulder because we’ve got nothing to show for last season, and that really bothers us,” Krogman said. “It almost feels like it’s now or never, because we have a team that’s been together since they were freshmen. We’ve got to get the job done — and that is non-negotiable for us. The girls know we have a target on our back, but we like it there.”