SOUTH WAYNE — Black Hawk defeated Weston 45-27 on Tuesday, Dec. 13 despite its No. 1 scorer Tara Wellnitz sitting on the bench with injury.

Wellnitz twisted her knee in Black Hawk’s game against Shullsburg Monday, Nov. 28. Initially suspecting no injury, Wellnitz got an MRI just to “cover her bases,” where she learned she had suffered a torn ACL.

“During practice and pregame it was in the back of the girls’ mind that they didn’t have Tara,” head coach Cora Lierman said. “We are extremely sad for the loss of Tara to our team, but we have to focus on who our team is now. The girls did a good job mentally of getting over that hurdle.”

The Warriors jumped out to a 6-0 lead, with Raylin Peterson providing the first four points. She made a bucket in the post and was 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Jaliyah Collins scored the other two points as grabbed on offensive rebound and put it back in.

Weston scored its first points as Addie DeMars stole the ball and went down the court for two points. 

Black Hawk’s aggressiveness and boxing out paid off, as Mady Lange and Hailey Wellnitz scored the next four points after grabbing offensive rebounds.

The Eagles got within four, as Alivia Koch and Aubri Koch scored back-to-back points. 

Alivia Koch then picked up two quick fouls. The first was on Lange, who went to the line for a pair of free throws. She missed both of them, but Kendra Haldiman grabbed the second rebound. Alivia Koch then fouled Haldiman in the act of shooting. Haldiman made one of her free throws.

The Warriors scored six more unanswered points with shots from Hailey Wellnitz, Kendra Haldiman and Keira Haldiman.

With the half winding down, the Eagles went on a run of their own. Jasmine Meyer had a free throw and basket and, paired with a bucket from DeMars, Weston trailed 19-13 at half.

Eight seconds into the second half, Weston committed its first of 11 second-half fouls. Its next two allowed Black Hawk to extend its lead to 10 points, as Peterson went 2-for-4 from the free-throw line.

On Meyer’s second foul of the half and fourth of the game, Hailey Wellnitz went to the line for bonus. For the remaining 8:49 of the game, the Warriors went to the line for every Eagle foul. Hailey Wellnitz missed her shot, but Collins grabbed the rebound. Kaid Donovan fouled Collins, sending her to the line for two shots. Collins made one of them. 

Hailey Wellnitz kept the momentum on the side of Black Hawk, as she took a charge from Alivia Koch. With her third foul, Alivia Koch was the third player for Weston with three or more fouls. With the possession, Hailey Wellnitz then knocked down a 3-pointer.

For the remainder of the game, the Warriors outscored the Eagles two to one. Lange and Peterson worked together for the final four points for Black Hawk. The highlight of Weston’s run was a 3-point bank shot from Donovan on the inbounds play.

Hailey Wellnitz led the Warriors with 12 points, including one 3-pointer. In the absence of her sister Tara Wellnitz — who averaged 16 points in two games — Hailey Wellnitz stepped up into the scoring role.

“It’s not every day that you can replace a girl with her sister,” Lierman said. “We lost a Wellnitz but we gained a Wellnitz in a huge way. Hailey stepped up. On the court, nobody is going to out-hustle her. She was the one we needed to fill a role, and she did.”

Kendra Haldiman also scored in double figures with 10 points, including Black Hawk’s second 3-pointer. Lange and Peterson chipped in eight points each, while Collins tallied five. Keira Haldiman scored the final two points. Although the Warriors won, they were just 7-for-20 from the free throw line for 35%.

Weston had six players score, but none of them made it to double digits. Alivia Koch totaled seven points, followed by Meyer with five. Allison Gillmore, DeMars and Aubri Koch each had four points. Donovan scored the final three points from beyond the arc. The Eagles struggled from the free-throw line, too, going 1-for-5.