SHULLSBURG — Darlington’s varsity girls Redbirds picked up where their 2021-22 regular season campaign left off — with a win, 77-42 at Shullsburg.
The Redbirds ended last season with a solid 16-10 record, a third-place finish in a SWAL conference stacked with talent, and a loss at WIAA Division 4 Regionals to the eventual State Champions, Mineral Point.
Darlington returns All-SWAL First-Team selection senior Cayla Golackson.
The Miners opened the game strong, posting a 10-2 run before Darlington charged to lead with a 21-1 run toward the middle of the first half. That wouldn’t stop Shullsburg from keeping the match within nine points, ending the first half down only 33-24 — much of that resulting from foul trouble, where the Miners added 12 points on 22 attempts from the free throw line.
The first reason for the Redbirds’ success involved getting the ball to everyone, and at least five players scored at least eight points. Freshman Kylie Butler saw 18 points over the game, senior Jaylyn Schwartz got 13 points, junior Aubrey McCarthy scored 10 points, junior Jaidyn Evenstad contributed nine points, and senior Cayla Golackson added eight points.
When the second half started, Darlington made sure the game didn’t stay close by playing tough basketball that focused on good defense and getting rebounds.
To that end, Butler led the team in steals with seven, followed by Schwartz with four, and senior Mady Wedig with three.
Leading the way for rebounds was Schwartz who pulled in nine rebounds (four on offense, five on defense), McCarthy with five (two on offense, three on defense), and junior Ava Hendrickson with four (two on offense, two on defense).
That tough basketball philosophy led the Redbirds to only allowing 18 points in the second half, and it bolstered their offense, where they scored 44 points to close the game out, 77-42.
The Redbirds looked to stay hot when they visited the Platteville Hillmen (1-1) Tuesday night. Darlington will face River Ridge (1-0) Tuesday, Nov. 29 to resume play after the Thanksgiving break.
