NEW GLARUS — The latest chapter of the Brodhead-New Glarus girls basketball rivalry concluded with a 68-58 Knight victory on Tuesday, Dec. 12. Although Brodhead had a 2-point lead at half, New Glarus began the second frame with a 23-2 run. The Knights built up a 21-point advantage 10 minutes into the second period, but the Cardinals trimmed the lead to just 10 points at the final.
“It’s a lot of fun,” New Glarus head coach Kevin Parman said of the rivalry. “You know no matter what anyone’s record is, everybody will come out and give it their all. They played really hard. I love playing Brodhead. It’s a good program — right down the road. Good girls, good coach.”
In the previous two years, New Glarus and Brodhead have met three times. The Cardinals beat the Knights 51-36 in the 2021-22 regular season. New Glarus then upset Brodhead 61-47 in a regional final. Last year, the Knights beat the Cardinals 76-56. Each teams’ win occurred on the road.
New Glarus’s victory on Tuesday was the first time this years’ seniors beat Brodhead on home turf — a feat that Emma Martinson and her fellow seniors were proud of.
“We were talking before tonight’s game how the seniors have never beaten them at home,” Martinson said. “It was awesome to get a win over them at home.”
The first half was a back-and-forth battle, though, with five ties and six lead changes. Brodhead’s Allie Dahl scored the first points of the game with a 2-for-2 trip to the free-throw line, but New Glarus’s Lindsey Schadewalt tied the game with a putback.
Payton Schneider’s kickout to Elle Lancaster for a 3-pointer gave New Glarus its first lead, 5-2, one that the Knights held for another six minutes.
Brodhead regained the lead, 15-14, seven minutes into the game with a three from Addison Yates. The Cardinal advantage lasted all of a minute before Schadewalt tied the game at 15 with a free throw. Her fastbreak basket gave the Knights a 17-15 lead once again.
As the half wound down, the Cardinals gained momentum. With six minutes left in the frame, Dahl tied the score at 23 with a pair of free throws. Yates’ 3 gave Brodhead a 26-25 advantage. Anya Brenkman tilted the game back in favor of New Glarus, but Makenna Schooff tied the game once again at 29 with a free throw.
Dahl’s double bonus trip to the line resulted in two more points for Brodhead and a 31-29 lead. She then fouled Eve MacLean with 11.8 seconds left in the half. MacLean made both of her free throws to tie the game at 31.
Brodhead had the last shot, though, as Yates pulled up for a jumper in the lane with 3.1 seconds left. The Knights relaxed, allowing Yates to grab her own rebound and score as the buzzer sounded.
“I saw the clock, so I knew I had a little bit of time,” Yates said. “When I took the first shot and missed, I knew it was fine — I still had time. They didn’t box out, and I got the putback.”
Although Yates stole the momentum from New Glarus going into the locker room, Parman challenged his team to respond. The Knights have a strong nonconference schedule that prepares them for close situations like the one they faced Tuesday.
“Once we are in that situation, we know how good we can be and how we have to react every possession,” Parman said.
The pep talk worked, as the Knights opened the second half with a 23-2 run. Schadewalt and Lancaster scored on three straight possessions for a 38-33 lead. Dahl scored on a floater, but New Glarus kept its foot on the gas.
Schadewalt scored five straight points, forcing Brodhead to take its first timeout. The pause was ineffective, as Schadewalt’s transition bucket gave New Glarus an 11-point advantage (46-35). Following Martinson’s offensive putback, Brodhead head coach Brian Kammerer called his second timeout in three minutes.
“I challenged them in that timeout,” Kammerer said. “I’m sure they were just as frustrated as I was. We blew a 2-point lead at half and were down 13. There were a couple possessions where we didn’t find bodies and box out or go after loose balls.”
Martinson gave New Glarus a 15-point lead with a steal and bucket then received an assist from Schadewalt for two more. The Knights’ run ended with a basket from Schadewalt.
“Not playing last year hurt me because I like basketball,” Martinson said. “I’m just trying to make the most of my last season and use that as motivation on every possession.”
New Glarus reached a 21-point advantage (58-37) as MacLean kept a possession alive with an offensive rebound and dished to Schadewalt for two.
Despite facing its largest deficit, Brodhead didn’t back down. The Cardinals went on a run in the last seven minutes to trim that deficit to just 10 points. Yates was key to the offensive effort, as the senior scored 14 of Brodhead’s final 21 points.
“They didn’t give up,” Kammerer said. “We were able to still cut it to 10. I’m proud of them. They are starting to figure out what their roles are. Addie and Allie are starting to feed off each other and involve everybody.”
Schadewalt led all scorers with 33 points, which is just above her season average. Lancaster also finished in double figures with 11 points.
“You’re not going to stop a Lindsey Schadewalt. You can only hope to contain her,” Kammerer said. “She’s one of the best shooters and players in the state. We were just trying to lock her down and limit her touches. Makenna Schooff did a nice job guarding Lindsey.”
Yates finished with 26 points, going 6-for-6 from the charity stripe with four 3-pointers. Dahl tallied 15 points.
New Glarus, ranked No. 3 in Division 4, improved to 7-1 on the season. Meanwhile, Brodhead dropped to 3-5.
“If people just look at the box score or what our overall record is, then they obviously don’t know what we are trying to accomplish with our team,” Kammerer said. “We might not always end up on the winning end, but if we continue to play the way we did against one of the best teams in the state like we did in the first half we will be ok.”
