SOUTH WAYNE - With the Monticello girls basketball team trailing Black Hawk by two points with six seconds to go in the fourth quarter, junior Marissa Berg decided to improvise.
Monticello sophomore Paige Dilley pushed the ball up the court and made a pinpoint pass to a cutting Berg who scored down low right before the buzzer, to tie the game and propel the Ponies to a thrilling 51-50 overtime win over Black Hawk Monday night.
It wasn't the play that Monticello coach Lori Brokopp called, but the Ponies read the defense and made a game-changing play.
"(Dilley) ended up driving to the basket," Berg said. "I was cutting into the middle. I was just a little scared. I turned around and the basket was right there. It feels great."
Monticello sophomore Alyssah Kubly scored a team-high 15 points. Berg scored 13 points and sophomore Courtney Leuzinger had 11. With the win, Monticello (13-5, 7-2 Six Rivers East) takes sole possession of second place in the conference behind Barneveld. It's the first time Monticello has defeated Black Hawk in the last five years.
Brokopp wasn't aware of the Warriors' winning streak over the Ponies.
"I'm really pleased with the girls," Brokopp said. "They came out firing right away and didn't let down. They knew it would be a game that came down to the end. I know it is a good win for our program. This will help get us going for the last few games. This helps get them prepared for the postseason. Black Hawk is a good team and well coached. We will see them again in 10 days."
Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan second-guessed his decision to use pressure as Berg broke free down low for the game-tying basket.
"We were in a position to win it, and we had a breakdown on a defensive rotation," Flanagan said. "Maybe we tried to get too fancy pressuring them."
For a good stretch in the second half, it looked like the Ponies' leg-up for second place in the conference was in jeopardy. Black Hawk (11-8, 7-3) went on an 11-2 run at the end of the third quarter, sparked by juniors Jen Wellnitz and Michelle Flanagan. After battling foul trouble and sitting on the bench for most of the second quarter, Wellnitz scored all of her game-high 20 points in the second half. Flanagan scored 13 points and hit three 3-pointers.
Wellnitz had five of her seven steals in the fourth quarter and overtime before fouling out with 1:11 left in the extra session. She had three straight steals in the fourth quarter and scored on two layups to give the Warriors a 37-36 lead with 4:40 left in the fourth quarter.
"I felt like we heated up on defense in the second half," Flanagan said. "We didn't do a good job early on of keeping them out of the lane. The theme of this game was loose balls. They beat us to loose balls. I feel like there were a couple of those plays they wanted more."
Brokopp was well aware of how Wellnitz can change the momentum of a game.
"We knew coming in here she was going to get her steals and points," Brokopp said. "We just didn't allow it to consume us."
Berg knocked down a jumper with 1:32 left in overtime to give the Ponies a 48-45 lead. Black Hawk junior Olivia Holland hit a jumper with 47.5 seconds to go to slice the Ponies' lead to 48-47. Flanagan made a 3-pointer at the end of the extra session for the Warriors.
Berg said the Ponies were thinking they definitely had to stop Wellnitz.
"We had to get back to running our offense and not be in panic mode," Berg said. "We still had time on the clock."
The Ponies made 6 of 11 free throws in the final 38 seconds of the fourth quarter and overtime to seal it.
"It's a really exciting win," Kubly said. "I don't think we have finished better than fifth or fourth in the conference the last few years. Our goal is second. I hope we get second."
Monticello sophomore Paige Dilley pushed the ball up the court and made a pinpoint pass to a cutting Berg who scored down low right before the buzzer, to tie the game and propel the Ponies to a thrilling 51-50 overtime win over Black Hawk Monday night.
It wasn't the play that Monticello coach Lori Brokopp called, but the Ponies read the defense and made a game-changing play.
"(Dilley) ended up driving to the basket," Berg said. "I was cutting into the middle. I was just a little scared. I turned around and the basket was right there. It feels great."
Monticello sophomore Alyssah Kubly scored a team-high 15 points. Berg scored 13 points and sophomore Courtney Leuzinger had 11. With the win, Monticello (13-5, 7-2 Six Rivers East) takes sole possession of second place in the conference behind Barneveld. It's the first time Monticello has defeated Black Hawk in the last five years.
Brokopp wasn't aware of the Warriors' winning streak over the Ponies.
"I'm really pleased with the girls," Brokopp said. "They came out firing right away and didn't let down. They knew it would be a game that came down to the end. I know it is a good win for our program. This will help get us going for the last few games. This helps get them prepared for the postseason. Black Hawk is a good team and well coached. We will see them again in 10 days."
Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan second-guessed his decision to use pressure as Berg broke free down low for the game-tying basket.
"We were in a position to win it, and we had a breakdown on a defensive rotation," Flanagan said. "Maybe we tried to get too fancy pressuring them."
For a good stretch in the second half, it looked like the Ponies' leg-up for second place in the conference was in jeopardy. Black Hawk (11-8, 7-3) went on an 11-2 run at the end of the third quarter, sparked by juniors Jen Wellnitz and Michelle Flanagan. After battling foul trouble and sitting on the bench for most of the second quarter, Wellnitz scored all of her game-high 20 points in the second half. Flanagan scored 13 points and hit three 3-pointers.
Wellnitz had five of her seven steals in the fourth quarter and overtime before fouling out with 1:11 left in the extra session. She had three straight steals in the fourth quarter and scored on two layups to give the Warriors a 37-36 lead with 4:40 left in the fourth quarter.
"I felt like we heated up on defense in the second half," Flanagan said. "We didn't do a good job early on of keeping them out of the lane. The theme of this game was loose balls. They beat us to loose balls. I feel like there were a couple of those plays they wanted more."
Brokopp was well aware of how Wellnitz can change the momentum of a game.
"We knew coming in here she was going to get her steals and points," Brokopp said. "We just didn't allow it to consume us."
Berg knocked down a jumper with 1:32 left in overtime to give the Ponies a 48-45 lead. Black Hawk junior Olivia Holland hit a jumper with 47.5 seconds to go to slice the Ponies' lead to 48-47. Flanagan made a 3-pointer at the end of the extra session for the Warriors.
Berg said the Ponies were thinking they definitely had to stop Wellnitz.
"We had to get back to running our offense and not be in panic mode," Berg said. "We still had time on the clock."
The Ponies made 6 of 11 free throws in the final 38 seconds of the fourth quarter and overtime to seal it.
"It's a really exciting win," Kubly said. "I don't think we have finished better than fifth or fourth in the conference the last few years. Our goal is second. I hope we get second."
