SOUTH WAYNE — Warrior Nation showed up to watch Black Hawk senior Maddy Lange join the school list of basketball players with 1,000 career points. There was also a glimmer of hope that the resurgent Warriors could pluck off a surprise win against one of the state’s top teams.

“Black Hawk is a team that just battles. They’ve really emerged the second half of this season,” said Argyle-Pecatonica coach Jen (Wellnitz) Krogman after her team’s 69-49 win on Feb. 20. “We put in a couple of different looks, and honestly, we had great looks at the basket. The shots just weren’t falling.”

Krogman herself is a member of the 1,000-point club, and her Wellnitz family is steeped in program lore. Younger sister Hailey is a senior at Black Hawk now, while sophomore sister Brooke is a star under Krogman at Argyle. 

“We know we’re going to get their best effort — with the sibling rivalry and the history,” Krogman said.

Black Hawk (14-10, 7-7, Six Rivers East) gave AP (21-3, 11-3), ranked seventh in Division 4, a run for its money early on. Just a few weeks after upsetting D5 No. 7 Barneveld, the Warriors never let their deficit slip into too deep of a hole in the first half. With 8:45 remaining in the opening period, AP went ahead 19-10 thanks to an and-one drive by Avari Steiner. Reese Anderson mirrored the play on the other end, and then Jaci Kammes buried a 3-pointer to bring it back to three points. AP responded with a 9-0 run to make it 28-16 with 4:10 remaining. Black Hawk closed the half on a short run itself to make it 33-24 at the break. 

Lange closed the half with 10 points — just two shy of the magic number of 1,000. Less than two minutes into the second half, she was left open on the right wing and buried a three-pointer, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

“It’s incredible. It’s something that I’ve always dreamed about,” Lange said. “As a freshman and sophomore, I didn’t think it was possible. But then I just put in the work these last two years and knew it was attainable.”

The Warriors twice got the deficit back to within four points, the last of which at 41-37 with 11:10 left thanks to a Hailey Wellnitz drive.

Then AP started clicking on all cylinders, and Black Hawk was quickly overwhelmed.

Loretta Tisch drove to the dish for a bucket, then Steiner hit a pull-up three-pointer to make it 46-37. Forty seconds later Kylie Butler buried a pull-up three of her own. Brooke Wellnitz then found Butler on a quick cut through the lane, and moments later off of a steal found Butler in transition for another and-one. Steiner and Wellnitz each added a bucket over the next two minutes to cap a 19-0 run that spanned more than six minutes. 

“Avari is a 43% three-point shooter. If we’re going to shoot threes, we’ve been saying we want them to be rhythm threes,” Krogman said.

Lange led all scorers with 25 points, while Hailey Wellnitz had eight for the Warriors. Lange also had seven rebounds. Mya Milz notched nine rebounds to lead Black Hawk.

AP had four players in double figures: Butler (18), Steiner (17), Brooke Wellnitz (16) and Tisch (12). Brooke Wellnitz also tallied 13 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Tisch had eight boards and seven steals, and Diana Hendrickson added seven rebounds. AP out-rebounded Black Hawk 37-27.

“Black Hawk, for being the shortest team in the conference, is the best rebounding team in the conference. We knew we had to keep them off the boards. We executed really well,” Krogman said.

Both programs now have to immediately turn their focus to the postseason. AP made a run to state last year in Division 5, but was bumped to D4 not through the WIAA’s competitive balance rule changes, but because Wisconsin Heights was given the thumbs up to move down. A level. AP still managed to get a first-round bye in the playoffs, but its sectional is arguably the toughest in the state. Five of the top 10 ranked teams in the final WBCA Division 4 poll are in AP’s Sectional #3: Cuba City (19-5, 2nd), Aquinas (20-4, 4th), Neillsville (21-3, 6th) and Bangor (20-4, 10th). If AP wants to make a return trip to play at state at the Resch Center in Green Bay, they will likely have to beat two of those ranked teams. However, other star-studded programs are also in the same section, including Mineral Point (18-6), Darlington (15-8) and Belleville (19-5) in the same half-sectional.

“If we can execute that outside game, I think we’re going to be a hard beast to stop,” said Krogman, the former Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year while playing at UW-Green Bay. “I think our offense will be good, but defense is what wins championships, for sure. That’s our biggest area of improvement. We’re breaking that down every day in practice.”

Black Hawk does not have a bye in the first round of the Division 5 playoffs. The Warriors received a 5-seed and will host 12-seed Southwestern on Feb. 25. The winner will either host Boscobel (4-20) or, more likely, travel to 10th-ranked Belmont (16-7). Belmont defeated Black Hawk 67-46 on Jan. 31. However, the Warriors ripped off six straight wins after that night, including toppling Barneveld. 

Black Hawk edged out River Ridge 52-49 in the regular season finale Feb. 21. Lange had 28 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Milz had 10 points and seven rebounds. Maddy Place had six points and eight rebounds, and Hailey Wellnitz tallied 10 rebounds.

Lange said she is aware her chapter of playing high school basketball is coming to an end soon, but she’s just trying to soak up as much of it as she can

“I’ve been trying to think about it and just getting through these last two games. Now that we have the 5-seed we’re playing at home. I know we have what it takes to win that game and move on,” Lange said.