NEW GLARUS — Belleville junior Toria Devoe is the newest member of the 1,000-point club, and just the seventh in school history. Devoe hit the mark minutes before halftime in her team’s 69-46 win over New Glarus. She entered the game needing just 15 points to reach the career milestone.
“It’s hard to put into words how much my coaches and my team have helped me, but it just means a lot that I’m the seventh player. It’s really exciting,” Devoe said. “But this was a big win for our team, and that’s all that really matters to us.”
Belleville led 35-26 at the intermission, with Devoe’s 15 points heading the charge. Coach Eric Liegel’s lineup made a few adjustments in the second half, the most obvious one was simply pressuring the Knights on the offensive end and finding the open player to pass to.
“I didn’t feel like we found a lot of rhythm on offense in that first half,” Liegel said. “I just told them we have got to move the basketball — the basketball is our energy. When you see that basketball moving, you know we’ve got the right energy on offense.”
The Wildcats came out of the locker room like gang busters, and over the first five minutes of the second half extended their lead to more than 20.
Devoe and teammate Maddi DeSmet — herself reaching the 1,000-point club earlier this season — led the game with 22 points each.
“I’m happy for her. I’m happy for our team,” Devoe said of DeSmet.
Ava Shrader added 12 points for Belleville. The Wildcats (17-5, 7-1) are tied with Cambridge (16-5, 7-1) for first place in the Capitol South with two games to play. The two squads were scheduled to play Feb. 14, with the winner clinching at least a share of the league title.
“I think all of us are working really hard for that conference championship,” Devoe said. “We’re really pushing each other each day in practice.”
New Glarus (7-12, 4-4) is in the middle of the pack in conference. The Knights have battled illness and injuries this season, and are relatively young still.
“We’re kind of banged up and ill. The kids obviously want to get back as fast as they can, but their health is more important in the long run,” said coach Kevin Parman. “It’s been a tougher year for us, but it’s a good group of kids. I’m lucky to have the group that I have.”
Annabelle Curl, a freshman, and Kate Parman, a sophomore, tied for a team-high 10 points. Eve Maclean added eight points and nine rebounds.
