DARLINGTON — Two schools, one cause. That was the theme Jan. 4 at Darlington as the Redbirds hosted a doubleheader against Highland that also raised over $8,000 for the Aaron P. Lancaster Memorial Scholarship Fund. It was just a bonus, then, that Darlington came away with wins in the girls’ and boys’ games, 47-20 and 66-54, respectively.

The girls’ Redbirds (8-3) notched their seventh game in a winning streak by starting off strong, and never held a deficit.

Following a scoreless period of three minutes that included multiple steals from Darlington, Maddie Gratz broke the 0-0 stalemate with a pair of free throws. Steals soon after from Catie Hartwig and Lilly Ritchie translated to baskets by Gratz and Lylah Norgard, respectively, as well as a Cardinals (5-5) timeout at 14:35.

Tough defense prevailed for the next two scoreless minutes, until Highland finally drained its first basket on a second chance. The Redbirds promptly responded through a Sadie Goebel three. 

“Our defense effort was good, and we were able to force Highland into some difficult plays,” Darlington girls’ head coach Mike Flanagan said. “We also played solid post defense and rebounded well, outside of a few possessions.”

On most trips to the Redbirds’ end of the court, the Cardinals’ head coach Josh Tarrell could be heard exclaiming variations of one phrase to his team — 15 (Goebel) doesn’t get a shot. Up to Saturday’s game, she was 18-66 from beyond the arc, and one of Darlington’s leading scorers. Goebel added a game-high 16 points to her total against Highland, including a 4-for-9 day attempting 3-pointers.

“On offense, we did a decent job spacing the floor against Highland’s zone defense, and tired to use both sides of the floor,” Flanagan said.

The Redbirds’ defense bordered on suffocating, and it nearly held the Cardinals to under 10 points in the first half. That would’ve been the case, but a three point play for the away squad with 40 seconds on the clock its total at 11 points. 

But Darlington had the last laugh. Hartwig was on the receiving end of patient passing from the Redbirds to score with a layup with 14 seconds left in the half. Norgard stole the ball off the inbounds pass in her team’s paint, and got a pass off to Hartwig who released a quick shot ahead of time expiring. The pair of scores put Darlington ahead 23-11 as time expired.

The Redbirds were equally as effective on offense in the second half, and held Highland to less points over the same stretch.

In addition to leading Darlington in scoring, Goebel was also a force in the paint with a game-high 10 rebounds for a double-double. Gratz’s seven steals and six assists led all athletes on the court, and she finished tied for third on the team with six points.

For Flanagan, while there were positives, there were also areas he wanted the team to improve.

“We need to do a better job taking care of the ball,” he said. “We had some unforced turnovers that resulted in empty possessions. Our overall field goal percentage needs to improve, and we have to convert free throws when  we draw fouls.”

Those improvements will need to have a quicker turnaround, with tough matchups moving forward — at Division 4 ranked opponents No. 7 Mineral Point (7-5, 4-1 SWAL) on Jan. 7 and against No. 2 Cuba City (10-1, 5-0) on Jan. 10.

“Mineral Point and Cuba City are, and have been, the top teams in the conference for several seasons,” Flanagan said. “We are going to spend our practice time focused on the basic ways we can take care of the basketball, create optimal scoring opportunities, and negate their offensive strengths.”

DHS boys keep the ball rolling

The boys’ game was more of a contest, though the Redbirds (6-2) still managed to hold the lead throughout.

“It was a bit of a sloppy game at times, with both teams looking a little tired after a short turn around after tough games Friday night,” Darlington boys’ head coach Tom Uppena said. “We struggled to get in a flow offensively, and had several scoring droughts.”

Broker Buschor slipped out of the Cardinals’ (7-1) sights for a moment, and he made them pay with a wide open three 17 seconds into the competition. Zeke Zuberbuhler then kept the Redbirds ahead with a two following a second-chance basket from Highland.

The Cardinals held the game to a 1-point difference with a quick shot, before a Buschor fadeaway put the host squad ahead, 7-4. Zuberbuhler swung around a successful pick by Dante Glendenning on Darlington’s next possession and drained a three.

As 15:20 showed on the clock, Highland either needed to keep up, or the Redbirds were liable to leave them behind. Unfortunately for Darlington, the Cardinals decided to keep it close.

After the Redbirds claimed a 17-7 lead with 8:13 to play, capped by a Zuberbuhler steal and shot along the baseline, Highland began chiseling away at the difference. A pair of three’s and two free throws along with two minutes later, Darlington’s lead was suddenly two points, 17-15. Glendenning answered the latter free throws with a jumper in the paint, followed by a shot under the hoop after a Cardinals’ basket.

The final five minutes of the half featured an 11-6 run for the Redbirds, with three’s being drained by Buschor, Zuberbuhler, and Cagyn Paisley. The final shooter also drained a buzzer beater to put the game at a 9-point split going into the break, 32-23.

Darlington kept the Cardinals at arms’ length throughout the first nine minutes of the second half, before Highland surged with a pair of three’s to a 41-37 lead for the Redbirds. Ryder Fitzsimons stepped up, first rebounding his own miss for a bucket, then draining a contested three. Glendenning was next, rolling around a pick to claim a chip shot, followed by scooping up a Highland miss  and being the recipient of a Taggart Gille pass on his way to the hoop.

Glendenning’s second basket in the run signaled an 11-point lead, and it was also Darlington’s farewell to a lead closer than 10 points over the final seven minutes of play.

Zuberbuhler led a host of Redbirds in double figures with a game-high 18 points, followed by Buschor (17 pts), Glendenning (12 pts), and Paisley (10 pts). Rebounding was more hotly-contested — Glendenning, Gille, Buschor, and Fitzsimons all paced the team with eight apiece. Gille led assists (5) while Zuberbuhler led steals (5) — the latter stat line being a game-high.

“The Cardinals put a lot of focus on stopping Broker [Buschor] and Zeke [Zuberbuhler], but we had some other guys step up and score when we needed it,” Uppena said. “It was a good win for us as Highland is a talented, well-coached team that will be a tough out in Division 5.”