NEW GLARUS — The Knights planned to take their season one game at a time. In their 26 contests, they have succeeded 26 times. Victories 25 and 26 came against Marshall and Mineral Point in the WIAA Division 4 regional tournament.

On Feb. 24, New Glarus stifled Marshall 81-49, and the next night overwhelmed the defending WIAA Division 4 state champion Pointers 63-43.

Five different players scored in double figures against Marshall, led by senior Alex Atwell with 19 points. She was 4-for-5 from the free-throw line with one three. Lindsay Schadewalt finished with 18 points, including a pair of threes. Elle Lancaster also drained a pair of threes in her 16-point total. Grace Nommensen and Payton Schneider also scored in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

“It was a 100% team effort,” said Knights coach Kevin Parman. “They picked each other up like they’ve been doing all year. We’re not perfect … but I couldn’t be more proud of the girls in how they played here tonight.” 

A season ago, Mineral Point was on the other end, thrashing New Glarus by the exact same score in the sectional final.

“We just remembered how it felt last year to be in that spot, and we didn’t want to feel that way again, so we just came out with a lot of aggression,” junior guard Lindsey Schadewalt said. “Obviously their team is a little different (from last year), but it was still kind of personal in a way.”

Defense was the name of the game for the Knights in the first half, as they forced the Pointers into 12 turnovers and allowed just 16 points. 

“Last year they took us out, so it felt great just to do the same thing to them this time,” said New Glarus senior forward Alex Atwell.  “We focused on defense, and that allowed us to slowly build our lead.”

On offense, the points were pretty evenly distributed for the Knights in the first half, too. Elle Lancaster got New Glarus going early with a big 3-pointer, while Atwell hit a 3 and scored seven in the frame. Bella Brenkman, Jordyn Runde, Payton Schneider and Grace Nommensen all had two points. 

Leading scorer Lindsey Schadewalt, a junior, went into halftime with nine points, though she had to work for all nine, as the Pointers worked diligently to keep her away from any easy looks.

“If you don’t have the offensive half that you want, it’s good to know my teammates will have your back and score themselves. And our defense really stepped up, too, so we could afford to have a few missed shots,” Schadewalt said.

She hit a big 3-pointer at the 9:13 mark to put the Knights ahead 23-7, bringing the home fans to their feet. Mineral Point then closed the half on a 9-4 run, making it 27-16 at the break.

In the second half, the Pointers started tiring down and Schadewalt began finding creases in the defense. She would go on to score 22 points in the half, giving her a game-high 31 on the night. Perhaps even more impressive was her 18-for-20 performance from the charity stripe.

“By us working them so hard on offense and defense, we figured we could tire them out a little bit, which we could then get our looks that we wanted,” Schadewalt said. “And we wanted to get to the free throw line to gain some more opportunities for ourselves.”

Atwell struggled with foul trouble early in the second, collecting her fourth foul at the 12:37 mark on a charge in transition that negated a hoop. However, when she got back into the game for the final five minutes, she played under poise and control, and contributed at both ends of the court.

“I was a little stressed out sitting on the bench, but I was really proud of everyone on the court. Jordyn stepped up by playing my position and doing what she needed to do. No one fouled out and we did our jobs,” Atwell said.

The Pointers did bring their deficit to as low as eight points in the second half, trailing 33-25 with 12 minutes to play. That when Schadewalt got going full steam, scoring 12 of 16 New Glarus points during a four-minute span that blew the game wide open with the Knights going ahead by 20.

“We were fortunate to get our good free throw shooters on the line, and then we knocked them down. That was a huge difference in the second half,” Parman said. The Knights were 26-for-31 at the stripe. “They are just picking each other up. I couldn’t be more proud of them and the community. One game at a time is what we’ve been talking about all year, so we’ll enjoy this one tonight and the get back to work on Monday.”

New Glarus (26-0, ranked No. 3 in Division 4) now faces off against No. 7 Cuba City (24-2) at 7 p.m. on March 2 in Dodgeville in the sectional semifinal. The winner will face either No. 1 La Crosse Aquinas (25-1) or Bangor (20-6), two powerhouses that each have at least one state title and four appearances at state since 2017.

Meanwhile, the Knights will seek their first trip to state.

“We’ve been getting better and better each year under coach Parman,” Atwell said. “Three of us have been starting these last three years, and I think that helps us keep building – we learn how to play together and build that chemistry.”