ALBANY — Argyle-Pecatonica freshman Avari Steiner was sick during her team’s first game against Albany-Monticello on Jan. 4, but she made a big impact in the latest meeting. Steiner was 8-for-9 from the free-throw line with 13 second-half points in her team’s 50-41 win over the Comets on Tuesday, Feb. 6. With the victory, the Orioles claimed their first girls basketball conference championship.

“I just go out there and play and do what I can to help the team out. I’m just an all-around player — pass or shoot — I do what I can to make a score at some point,” Steiner said. “Conference champions feels amazing. First time in Argyle history. The whole team loves it.”

Although the teams spent nearly a month scouting each other, neither could anticipate the change each would undergo. In the first meeting, then-No. 4 AP forced 23 turnovers with 15 steals against AM, then No 2. This time around AM, now ranked fourth, cut its turnovers to 14.

“Anytime you play Albany, you have to come in prepared,” said Jen Krogman, head coach of now second-ranked AP. “When they came out tonight, oh my gosh. It wasn’t the same Albany team that looked a little fearful the first time we played them. They came out like ‘You aren’t going to bully us.’ I thought they played a heck of a game.”

The Comets’ confidence showed early, as Alana Durtschi put her team on the board first just 12 seconds into the game. After a free throw from Brooke Wellnitz, Durtschi extended Albany-Monticello’s lead with a 3-pointer from the right side.

Kylie Butler responded with her own shot beyond the arc, taken near the sideline. Momentum stayed with the Comets, as Abby Hollis and Karlee Wilkins drained back-to-back 3-pointers for a 13-6 lead.

The Orioles went on a six-point run to make it a one-possession game. Wellnitz scored in the post, and Butler got two on a reverse layup. Following an AP timeout, Wellnitz grabbed a defensive board, pushed the ball up to Butler, who fed Anna Tisch for two.

Avary Briggs’s 2-point bucket held the Orioles at bay, but back-to-back points from Anna Tisch and Butler tied the game at 18 with two minutes to halftime.

In the closing minutes of the first, Durtschi ensured her team went into the locker room with the lead. The reigning Six Rivers East Player of the Year sank her second 3-pointer of the frame and ended the half at the line, converting an old-fashioned 3-point play.

“Transition defense was good tonight,” AM head coach Derik Doescher said. “We set ourselves up well at halftime.”

In addition to holding a 24-20 edge after the first, AM drew two fouls each on Butler, Wellnitz and Anna Tisch — the Orioles’ top three scorers.

“I told them, ‘You guys don’t really foul much anymore, so I’m not really worried. Just play your game — don’t play any different. If you pick up a third, well, you can’t take them home,’” Krogman said of her game plan for the second half.

AP got back to its style of play to start the second. Butler grabbed a defensive rebound and ran the length of the floor. Although she missed the layup, Loretta Tisch was there for the board. Loretta Tisch went 0-for-2 at the line, but the hustle set up the next offensive play.

Wellnitz grabbed a defensive rebound and hit Loretta Tisch in stride for a fast-break basket, much like a quarterback connecting with a wide receiver. 

Butler and Loretta Tisch scored on back-to-back possessions, forcing a Comet timeout. Out of the pause, Butler tied the game at 28.

The stalemate lasted all of two minutes, as Hollis put Albany-Monticello ahead again with a 3-pointer. Butler and Wellnitz picked their third fouls, while Maddie Hirsch’s first sent Briggs to the line to shoot three. Briggs was 2 of 3, giving the Comets a 33-28 lead. 

Following an AP timeout, Steiner hit her stride. She drained a 3-pointer from the right side on a kickout from Wellnitz and drew Durtschi’s second foul. At the line, she went 2-for-2 to tie the game at 31. 

The Comets gained possession on a jump ball but gave it right back to the Orioles on a 5-second violation. The miscue allowed Butler to score, giving Argyle-Pecatonica its first lead with just under eight minutes to play.

Molly Olson knotted the score at 35, but Loretta Tisch regained the lead with a free throw. She and Wellnitz trapped Olson before halfcourt, allowing Anna Tisch to grab the loose ball. Anna Tisch drove to the basket, drawing Durtschi to defend and leaving Wellnitz alone on the other block for an easy two.

Just as AP was gaining traction, Butler fouled out of the game with five minutes remaining. Sensing a crucial moment in the game, Krogman called timeout.

“First thing I did was grab Kylie and told her she’s going to be the best teammate she can be,” Krogman said. “I told her, ‘I don’t want to see any tears. You’re going to be the loudest person on the bench and be a fourth coach for me.’ She did just that. I’m really proud of her for that. I’m even more proud of the team for rising to the occasion.”

Without their leading scorer — Butler averages 23.6 ppg — the Orioles still found a way to score. Steiner drew Hollis’s second foul and made the and-one for a 41-36 advantage. Wellnitz went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe and then fed Anna Tisch on a give-and-go for a nine-point edge.

Hollis kept the game within reach, hitting a 3-pointer with 1:34 left. It was the Comets’ first points since Butler fouled out, despite the team reaching bonus nearly three minutes earlier at 4:24. 

AM was forced to foul, putting AP in the bonus. The Orioles were 0-for-4, leaving the door open for the Comets. Durtschi grabbed a rebound from Loretta Tisch’s missed free throw and pushed it up the floor to Hollis. Loretta Tisch fouled Hollis in the act of shooting a three, and Hollis made 2 of 3 to make it a 45-41 game.

Despite a poor performance from the line in the previous minute, Steiner kept her mantra simple.

“Just make it. Have a nice shot. Hold my follow through,” she said.

She went 5-for-6 from the line in the final 35 seconds. Steiner finished with 13 points — all scored in the second half — going 8-for-9 from the line with a 3-pointer. Despite fouling out with five minutes left, Butler led her team with 15 points. Wellnitz grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, and Loretta Tisch added six boards.

Durtschi and Hollis combined for 26 points, going 6-for-14 from beyond the arc. Two of the Comets’ seven 3-pointers came in the second half, as the Oriole defense adjusted their perimeter pressure. 

“Our problem right now is we don’t get a lot of points in the paint. In the second half, they can keep guarding further and further out on the perimeter because you don’t have those threats inside, and that really hurt us,” Doescher said. “It’s definitely something we have to work on because teams are keying in on us on the perimeter right now.”

With the win, first-year co-op AP claimed its first girls basketball title. The Orioles have won every game since their season-opening loss, continually climbing the Division 5 rankings.

“A lot of people didn’t want this co-op. I thought it would be for the best. I fought for this co-op hard,” Krogman said. “We have five girls from Argyle and six from Pec, and boy did they mesh. There was fear that the two schools don’t love each other, but these girls are so cool. I love these kids.”

Although the defending Six Rivers East Conference champion Comets, also in their first year as a co-op, could not pull off back-to-back titles, Doescher knows his team is in a better position because of it.

“It’s a big difference from last year. Outside of Barneveld, we weren’t stressed very often,” Doescher said of the strength of schedule in 2022-23. “That’s why we added Randolph. We knew with the girls Argyle-Pecatonica had coming in that it would be tough. It’s good for us. It hurts. You’d like to win the conference championship, but hopefully these girls will learn from this and it will prepare us better for the tournament than it did last year.”

With a handful of regular season games left, both teams are looking toward the postseason. AP (19-1, 7-0 Six Rivers East) and AM (19-3, 5-2) are in different sectionals and would not meet until the state tournament. The Comets have a stacked sectional with four ranked teams, including No. 1 Assumption (20-0), No. 6 Randolph (15-5) and No. 7 Lourdes Academy (18-2). The Orioles also have two ranked teams in their sectional — No. 5 Cochrane-Fountain City (20-1) and No. 8 Royall (20-2). Playoff brackets will be released Sunday, Feb. 11.