BELLEVILLE - The New Glarus girls basketball team is always better with Anya Schween in the lineup, but the junior guard's absence Monday night might wind up helping the Glarner Knights in the long run.
With Schween out of town on family business, New Glarus needed somebody to step up on the offensive end.
Lexi Hanson was up to the task.
The junior scored a season-high 17 points, senior forward Alycia Atwell also had 17 and New Glarus' halfcourt trap gave Belleville fits in the Glarner Knights' 47-37 victory in Capitol Conference South Division play.
"Before the game, we talked about how we had to all step up and score extra," Hanson said. "Once I got going at the beginning, I just got some confidence."
The Glarner Knights (6-5,
3-0 Capitol South) needed a jolt after falling behind 16-6 early in the second quarter. Enter Hanson, who scored nine points in the second quarter as the Glarner Knights pulled within 22-20 at halftime.
"She lit the fire for us," New Glarus coach Megan Scheele said after her team's third straight victory. "She's the one who initially started our offense going. No one else was ready to attack. She set the spark, and we haven't seen Lexi that way this year. I know she did it last year, but this was the first game she finally showed everything she had."
Hanson established her varsity high of 22 points last season, but Scheele said she had yet to hit double figures this winter.
Hanson admitted she's been frustrated with her offensive output.
"Definitely," Hanson said. "I get a lot of my points off fast breaks and turnovers and most of the teams we've played this year we haven't got that running action (against), so I guess I don't shoot as much. I learned tonight I should probably start taking it to the basket more and just be confident with my outside shot."
Hanson hit an 18-footer and a 3-pointer from the left baseline in an 8-0 run that gave New Glarus a 30-27 lead late in the third quarter. The Glarner Knights clawed their way back into the game after Scheele implemented a halfcourt trap when her squad fell behind early.
"It was, 'Hey, what are we going to do differently, ladies?" Scheele said. "We stuck with the man press for a little while, but then we switched to the 1-3-1 halfcourt and that worked. The girls were flying around, they did it together and that's what got us going."
Belleville (1-11, 0-2) pulled even at 32-32 on Cassidy Rung's fast-break basket with 5 minutes, 38 seconds left, but Hanson's 3-pointer from the left wing one minute later gave New Glarus a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
The Glarner Knights scored the game's final nine points - Atwell accounting for six of them with a basket in the paint and four straight free throws.
"It's starting to come together," said Atwell, who scored 12 of her 17 points after intermission.
"We're a pretty young team, so it's good to get these wins. I can feel everybody's energy in practice starting to pick up and we're starting to practice more like we want to play."
Scheele said the Glarner Knights matured as a team by getting the road victory minus a key component in Schween.
"(She is a big part of our team, an important piece, but they showed they can do it without her," Scheele said. "It's great to see them have that confidence that, 'Hey, she's a big scorer for us, but we can still get it done (without her)."
Haven Freidig scored 12 points and Elle Joseph added 10 for the Wildcats.
With Schween out of town on family business, New Glarus needed somebody to step up on the offensive end.
Lexi Hanson was up to the task.
The junior scored a season-high 17 points, senior forward Alycia Atwell also had 17 and New Glarus' halfcourt trap gave Belleville fits in the Glarner Knights' 47-37 victory in Capitol Conference South Division play.
"Before the game, we talked about how we had to all step up and score extra," Hanson said. "Once I got going at the beginning, I just got some confidence."
The Glarner Knights (6-5,
3-0 Capitol South) needed a jolt after falling behind 16-6 early in the second quarter. Enter Hanson, who scored nine points in the second quarter as the Glarner Knights pulled within 22-20 at halftime.
"She lit the fire for us," New Glarus coach Megan Scheele said after her team's third straight victory. "She's the one who initially started our offense going. No one else was ready to attack. She set the spark, and we haven't seen Lexi that way this year. I know she did it last year, but this was the first game she finally showed everything she had."
Hanson established her varsity high of 22 points last season, but Scheele said she had yet to hit double figures this winter.
Hanson admitted she's been frustrated with her offensive output.
"Definitely," Hanson said. "I get a lot of my points off fast breaks and turnovers and most of the teams we've played this year we haven't got that running action (against), so I guess I don't shoot as much. I learned tonight I should probably start taking it to the basket more and just be confident with my outside shot."
Hanson hit an 18-footer and a 3-pointer from the left baseline in an 8-0 run that gave New Glarus a 30-27 lead late in the third quarter. The Glarner Knights clawed their way back into the game after Scheele implemented a halfcourt trap when her squad fell behind early.
"It was, 'Hey, what are we going to do differently, ladies?" Scheele said. "We stuck with the man press for a little while, but then we switched to the 1-3-1 halfcourt and that worked. The girls were flying around, they did it together and that's what got us going."
Belleville (1-11, 0-2) pulled even at 32-32 on Cassidy Rung's fast-break basket with 5 minutes, 38 seconds left, but Hanson's 3-pointer from the left wing one minute later gave New Glarus a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
The Glarner Knights scored the game's final nine points - Atwell accounting for six of them with a basket in the paint and four straight free throws.
"It's starting to come together," said Atwell, who scored 12 of her 17 points after intermission.
"We're a pretty young team, so it's good to get these wins. I can feel everybody's energy in practice starting to pick up and we're starting to practice more like we want to play."
Scheele said the Glarner Knights matured as a team by getting the road victory minus a key component in Schween.
"(She is a big part of our team, an important piece, but they showed they can do it without her," Scheele said. "It's great to see them have that confidence that, 'Hey, she's a big scorer for us, but we can still get it done (without her)."
Haven Freidig scored 12 points and Elle Joseph added 10 for the Wildcats.
