SOUTH WAYNE — Black Hawk entered the 2020-21 season with questions abound. How long could the 54-game winning streak continue? Who would step into the starting roles vacated by four 2020 graduates? Could the team stay COVID-free, especially come tournament time? And could senior star Bailey Butler shine any brighter?

Well, the Warriors answered each with their own emphasis. 

●  The winning streak has reached 75 — the second longest in state history. 

●  Four reserve players turned starters from last year have averaged a combined 35.8 points per game.

●  The team only paused in the final week-and-a-half of the regular season as a precaution in order to enter the postseason without any fears of locker room infections.

●  And Butler? She’s a top contender for Miss Basketball, the annual award given to the state’s top senior.

After disposing of Pecatonica and No. 7 Shullsburg by a combined 80 points in the regional round of the playoffs, the Warriors beat Almond Bancroft (15-10) 68-30 in the sectional semifinal Feb. 18. Two days later, conference rival came to town to give Black Hawk a run for its money, but the host squad walked off the court with more hardware, defeating No. 3 Albany 55-39. 

“It’s just surreal and it never really sinks in until later. We’re just happy to get it done. Props to Derik and props to Albany. We have a lot of respect for them,” Flanagan said.

The 55 points Black Hawk scored against Albany was the lowest since the 2019 state championship game when the Warriors defeated Clayton 51-36.

“(Albany) was really moving the ball well, and their defense — credit to (Albany coach Derik) Doescher, he’s one heck of a coach — defensively, they were just really strong. We needed to work around that. We shed some time and waited for good looks, and that’s what it come down to,” Butler said.

The Comets made it tough on Black Hawk all afternoon. The Warriors shot under 40% from the field in the game, including just a 4-for-18 mark (22.2%) from the 3-point line — a full 14% below the season average to that point. The squad entered the game averaging making eight 3s in 22.5 tries a game.

“They are just so well coached and he (Doescher) bring so much energy and his kids embody it,” Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said. “You always talk about how teams take on the personality of their coaches, and he’s a guy that if you just watch him, it’s evidence of what passion looks like. They get after it defensively and have a lot of nice athletes and are going to be a force in this conference for a while.”

After two minutes of scoreless basketball, Raylin Peterson broke the egg with a basket in the post. After more than six minutes into the game, Black Hawk’s lead on Albany was just 10-5. The pesky Comets simply wouldn’t go away, and back-to-back 3s by Payton Wachholz brought the away team to within a bucket at 16-14 with 7:04 left in the first half.

Then Black Hawk exited the polar vortex and turned up the heat on both defense and offense. The Warriors went on a 15-0 run over the next 4:28, which was broken by a drive by Albany junior Brianna Dahl. At halftime, Black Hawk led 34-18.

“(Flanagan) was really happy about that run. We’ve played in big games like this, and we just knew that we needed to play our game and that’s what we did,” Butler said.

The two teams each scored 21 points in the second half. Black Hawk went up by 20 at the 5:00 mark on a 3 by senior Kaylee Marty, but the Comets kept fighting, pushing Black Hawk to the very end.

Dahl led Albany with 10 points, while Wachholz hit three 3s for 9 points. Jada Flannery scored 6 points in the second half of her final game shared with fellow seniors Lily Brewer and Ashley Letcher.

“I’m very proud of what we did. No one held them under 55 this year. Defensively I felt like we really did a good job on them. But it just takes so much out of you, that I think it affected us on offense. We were short on shots and couldn’t get as many offensive rebounds as normal, but that’s a credit to them. You’re going to need to be really solid on both ends to beat a team like Black Hawk,” Doescher said.

Butler scored 20 points to lead all scorers — just about 2/3 her daily average. She added 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. While she struggled from the field (4-for-11 from 2, 1-for-7 from 3), Butler hit 9 of 10 free throws. Her presence as a ball handler and defender paid even more dividends as well.

Sophomore Tara Wellnitz had 10 rebounds for Black Hawk, while senior Kaylee Marty added 14 points. Senior Macie Stauffacher hit two 3s and scored 8 points. 

Perhaps the player that made the biggest difference for Black Hawk other than Butler was senior post player Makayla Mau. Though she struggled shooting (2-for-10, 6 points), at 6-1, her presence in the post caused fits for Albany all game. Mau repeatedly tipped potential Comet rebounds away from the crowd, and still managed to grab 7 herself. Defensively, Mau was a wall, as she finished with 5 blocks.

“You take away one thing and there is another thing to worry about” with Black Hawk, Doescher said. “Bailey is the best in Wisconsin, but it’s more than Bailey. You’ve got Stauffacher knocking down 3s, you’ve got Marty driving the ball and knocking down shots, then you’ve got Mau at 6-1 and Peterson and Wellnitz, who crashes the boards as well as anybody. So, it’s a pick-your-poison with this team.”

The game marked the final time the senior class would play on the home court. The Class of 2021 never lost a game at home, and by hosting the sectional, the Warriors were able to cut down their net for the second time in a week.

“I just realized that this was the last time playing on this home court,” Butler said. “It really means a lot. I’ve been working with Macie and Kaylee and Mac all these years, and it’s really rewarding to just get up there (to state) one more time.”

In the 38-point win over Almond-Bancroft, Black Hawk put away the Eagles early on, entering the locker room at halftime with a 47-10 advantage. The second half was all but a formality.

Butler led with 24 points, 8 boards, 4 assists and 7 steals. Marty had 15 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. Peterson, Wellnitz and Mau each scored 6 for the Warriors. Black Hawk was 8 of 23 from deep, just shy of its season average, and 27 of 58 from inside the arc. The Warriors also stole the ball 18 times and had just five turnovers.