BELLEVILLE - The New Glarus girls basketball team won the rubber game against Belleville 39-33 in a WIAA Division 4 regional quarterfinal Tuesday, March 4.
New Glarus sophomore Vanessa Narveson scored a team-high 10 points to lead the Knights. Senior teammates Sierra Watrud and Courtney Feller each added nine points.
Belleville led 20-10 in the second quarter and the Knights switched to a full-court press that ignited a 7-0 run. The Knights then switched to a 1-3-1 press.
"That got them kind of flustered," a New Glarus assistant coach said. "They made mistakes and were a little out of sync, so that really helped us. We got a few more free throws than them tonight, and holding them to only 12 points in the second half was exciting to see."
New Glarus (10-13) will play at No. 1 seed Cuba City on Friday in the regional semifinals.
"Cuba City is next, the No. 1 seed in our bracket," the coach said. "They're a tough team and we'll see how it goes. We're going to give everything we have for Cuba City. We need to play as hard as we can."
Argyle 53, Albany 13
ARGYLE - The Orioles did what they do best by pressing and running away with a 53-13 win over Albany in a WIAA Division 5 regional quarterfinal Tuesday.
Argyle (13-10) raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter against the Comets and the lead ballooned to 21 points by the half.
"I thought we did a nice job," Argyle coach Kurt Ritschard said. "We came out and pressed like we typically do. We forced them into quick shots and turnovers; we did a nice job forcing them into situations they didn't want to be in. Every shot they took was contested, and I thought going into the game, they definitely surpassed expectations tonight."
Argyle's Kayla Butler-Paulson and Jessica Treuthardt each scored 10 points.
"We played good overall team defense," he said. "We didn't shoot it the best in the first half. I think we left quite a few points on the board and I think our defense is what won us the game tonight."
With the win, Argyle advances to Friday's regional semifinal where they will play at Monticello.
"I think if we can defend and communicate, we have a good chance of beating anybody. Our shooting will come around. We scored 53 tonight, but we really didn't shoot the ball that well, but we'll get that taken care of, and hopefully, we'll give Monticello the best game we got.
"Playing Monticello in the second round will be a fun atmosphere. We split during the season; we're both very competitive teams, and I think whoever has the best fundamentals will have the best shot to win."
Black Hawk 59, Catholic Central 29
SOUTH WAYNE - Black Hawk senior Jen Wellnitz scored a game-high 24 points to propel the Warriors to a 59-29 win over Catholic Central in a Division 5 regional quarterfinal.
Black Hawk (15-6) jumped out to a 17-5 lead in the first quarter. The Warriors were able to extend the lead to 15 points by the half.
"Jen had 11 of her 24 in the first quarter, so she got involved very early in a variety of ways - from the free throw line, and our only 3-pointer of the night came from her," Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said. "We were able to finish some opportunities. Catholic Central played hard, and they hit some shots in the second half to kind of hang around.
"They're better than their record was. For a team that has zero wins on the season, they certainly didn't throw in the towel. So we had to work for it."
Black Hawk senior Mikayla Sigafus and sophomore Aleigha Sigafus each scored nine points and senior Michelle Flanagan added eight points.
"We just had some athletes make some plays," he said. "Jen had nine steals and eight assists, and I won't be surprised when I go to the tape to see she got a triple double tonight. We were a little rusty, so I felt like we were really helpful to get this one and advance."
Black Hawk will host Juda in the regional semifinals on Friday.
"Conference foe, and you know, they're familiar with us, and we're familiar with them," Flanagan said. "It's an exciting time of year, and a busy week - but it's good to be busy."
Monticello 56, Williams Bay 12
MONTICELLO - The Ponies looked to push the ball on the fast break early and often and they cruised to a 56-12 win over Williams Bay in a Division 5 regional quarterfinal.
Monticello (14-8) jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the first quarter and led by 22 points by the half. Monticello junior Alyssah Kubly scored a game-high 19 points and junior Jordan Garrison scored 14 points. The Ponies scored 18 of their 30 points in the first half in transition.
"We knew coming in that we needed to use our transition as part of our offense, so we definitely looked to go," Monticello coach Lori Brokopp said. "We pushed the ball as hard as we could. It's something that we've been working on all year. Our game is our quickness, and I told the girls we need to look to our strengths, and that this was a team we could run against and we were able to execute.
"We did a lot of pressing and they had a hard time getting the ball up the court."
Monticello will host Argyle in the regional semifinals on Friday. The Ponies split two games with the Orioles this year.
"Transition game might not work quite as much against Argyle," Brokopp said. "They're quick; they rely on pressure defense. On that night it will come down to taking care of the ball, and executing our halfcourt offensive game. And just cutting down on the turnovers."
Juda 32, Faith Christian 21
JUDA - The fourth-seeded Panthers received a balanced scoring attack and knocked off Faith Christian 32-21 in a Division 5 regional quarterfinal.
Juda freshman Alexis Goecks scored eight points to lead the Panthers. Juda's Molly Marass added five points.
Juda (8-15) outscored Faith Christian 8-2 in the first quarter. The Panthers led by just two points at the half. The Panthers outscored Faith Christian 18-9 in the second half.
Both teams struggled from the free throw line with the Panthers shooting 4 of 14 compared to 4 of 11 for Faith Christian. Chelsea Burkhalter and Marass each made 3-pointers for the Panthers.
Belmont 58, Pecatonica 15
BELMONT - Keegan Kamps scored a game-high 22 points to power Belmont to a 58-15 win over Pecatonica in a Division 5 regional quarterfinal.
The Braves raced out to an 11-4 lead in the first quarter. Pecatonica (1-22) struggled with turnovers and trailed by 21 points at the half.
"It was our passiveness," Pecatonica coach Scott Carlson said of what hurt the Vikings on the Braves' press. "There are times when you have to pass to break the press. There are times when you have to attack. We ended up throwing it away and we didn't attack."
Pecatonica senior Julia Meyer scored a team-high six points. The Vikings shot 13.5 percent.
"Our execution wasn't very good tonight," Carlson said. We didn't move the ball as well as we should have."
Fennimore 48, Darlington 39
FENNIMORE - The 13th seeded Redbirds had to have upset on their minds against Fennimore in a Division 4 quarterfinal.
Darlington (3-20) trailed just 23-22 at the half. The Golden Eagles took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Eagles outscored the Redbirds 18-13 in the fourth to seal the win.
"Something can be said about my girls to play this hard against a team we lost by 40 to earlier in the season," Darlington coach Kelly Rose said. "The difference between the first game and tonight is we had a brand new varsity team this year. It was re-teaching fundamentals and getting everybody in the varsity mindset. I would say it was an all-around basketball team this time around."
Darlington's Mariah Wiegel scored a team-high 12 points and Callie Norton added 10 points.
New Glarus sophomore Vanessa Narveson scored a team-high 10 points to lead the Knights. Senior teammates Sierra Watrud and Courtney Feller each added nine points.
Belleville led 20-10 in the second quarter and the Knights switched to a full-court press that ignited a 7-0 run. The Knights then switched to a 1-3-1 press.
"That got them kind of flustered," a New Glarus assistant coach said. "They made mistakes and were a little out of sync, so that really helped us. We got a few more free throws than them tonight, and holding them to only 12 points in the second half was exciting to see."
New Glarus (10-13) will play at No. 1 seed Cuba City on Friday in the regional semifinals.
"Cuba City is next, the No. 1 seed in our bracket," the coach said. "They're a tough team and we'll see how it goes. We're going to give everything we have for Cuba City. We need to play as hard as we can."
Argyle 53, Albany 13
ARGYLE - The Orioles did what they do best by pressing and running away with a 53-13 win over Albany in a WIAA Division 5 regional quarterfinal Tuesday.
Argyle (13-10) raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter against the Comets and the lead ballooned to 21 points by the half.
"I thought we did a nice job," Argyle coach Kurt Ritschard said. "We came out and pressed like we typically do. We forced them into quick shots and turnovers; we did a nice job forcing them into situations they didn't want to be in. Every shot they took was contested, and I thought going into the game, they definitely surpassed expectations tonight."
Argyle's Kayla Butler-Paulson and Jessica Treuthardt each scored 10 points.
"We played good overall team defense," he said. "We didn't shoot it the best in the first half. I think we left quite a few points on the board and I think our defense is what won us the game tonight."
With the win, Argyle advances to Friday's regional semifinal where they will play at Monticello.
"I think if we can defend and communicate, we have a good chance of beating anybody. Our shooting will come around. We scored 53 tonight, but we really didn't shoot the ball that well, but we'll get that taken care of, and hopefully, we'll give Monticello the best game we got.
"Playing Monticello in the second round will be a fun atmosphere. We split during the season; we're both very competitive teams, and I think whoever has the best fundamentals will have the best shot to win."
Black Hawk 59, Catholic Central 29
SOUTH WAYNE - Black Hawk senior Jen Wellnitz scored a game-high 24 points to propel the Warriors to a 59-29 win over Catholic Central in a Division 5 regional quarterfinal.
Black Hawk (15-6) jumped out to a 17-5 lead in the first quarter. The Warriors were able to extend the lead to 15 points by the half.
"Jen had 11 of her 24 in the first quarter, so she got involved very early in a variety of ways - from the free throw line, and our only 3-pointer of the night came from her," Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said. "We were able to finish some opportunities. Catholic Central played hard, and they hit some shots in the second half to kind of hang around.
"They're better than their record was. For a team that has zero wins on the season, they certainly didn't throw in the towel. So we had to work for it."
Black Hawk senior Mikayla Sigafus and sophomore Aleigha Sigafus each scored nine points and senior Michelle Flanagan added eight points.
"We just had some athletes make some plays," he said. "Jen had nine steals and eight assists, and I won't be surprised when I go to the tape to see she got a triple double tonight. We were a little rusty, so I felt like we were really helpful to get this one and advance."
Black Hawk will host Juda in the regional semifinals on Friday.
"Conference foe, and you know, they're familiar with us, and we're familiar with them," Flanagan said. "It's an exciting time of year, and a busy week - but it's good to be busy."
Monticello 56, Williams Bay 12
MONTICELLO - The Ponies looked to push the ball on the fast break early and often and they cruised to a 56-12 win over Williams Bay in a Division 5 regional quarterfinal.
Monticello (14-8) jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the first quarter and led by 22 points by the half. Monticello junior Alyssah Kubly scored a game-high 19 points and junior Jordan Garrison scored 14 points. The Ponies scored 18 of their 30 points in the first half in transition.
"We knew coming in that we needed to use our transition as part of our offense, so we definitely looked to go," Monticello coach Lori Brokopp said. "We pushed the ball as hard as we could. It's something that we've been working on all year. Our game is our quickness, and I told the girls we need to look to our strengths, and that this was a team we could run against and we were able to execute.
"We did a lot of pressing and they had a hard time getting the ball up the court."
Monticello will host Argyle in the regional semifinals on Friday. The Ponies split two games with the Orioles this year.
"Transition game might not work quite as much against Argyle," Brokopp said. "They're quick; they rely on pressure defense. On that night it will come down to taking care of the ball, and executing our halfcourt offensive game. And just cutting down on the turnovers."
Juda 32, Faith Christian 21
JUDA - The fourth-seeded Panthers received a balanced scoring attack and knocked off Faith Christian 32-21 in a Division 5 regional quarterfinal.
Juda freshman Alexis Goecks scored eight points to lead the Panthers. Juda's Molly Marass added five points.
Juda (8-15) outscored Faith Christian 8-2 in the first quarter. The Panthers led by just two points at the half. The Panthers outscored Faith Christian 18-9 in the second half.
Both teams struggled from the free throw line with the Panthers shooting 4 of 14 compared to 4 of 11 for Faith Christian. Chelsea Burkhalter and Marass each made 3-pointers for the Panthers.
Belmont 58, Pecatonica 15
BELMONT - Keegan Kamps scored a game-high 22 points to power Belmont to a 58-15 win over Pecatonica in a Division 5 regional quarterfinal.
The Braves raced out to an 11-4 lead in the first quarter. Pecatonica (1-22) struggled with turnovers and trailed by 21 points at the half.
"It was our passiveness," Pecatonica coach Scott Carlson said of what hurt the Vikings on the Braves' press. "There are times when you have to pass to break the press. There are times when you have to attack. We ended up throwing it away and we didn't attack."
Pecatonica senior Julia Meyer scored a team-high six points. The Vikings shot 13.5 percent.
"Our execution wasn't very good tonight," Carlson said. We didn't move the ball as well as we should have."
Fennimore 48, Darlington 39
FENNIMORE - The 13th seeded Redbirds had to have upset on their minds against Fennimore in a Division 4 quarterfinal.
Darlington (3-20) trailed just 23-22 at the half. The Golden Eagles took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Eagles outscored the Redbirds 18-13 in the fourth to seal the win.
"Something can be said about my girls to play this hard against a team we lost by 40 to earlier in the season," Darlington coach Kelly Rose said. "The difference between the first game and tonight is we had a brand new varsity team this year. It was re-teaching fundamentals and getting everybody in the varsity mindset. I would say it was an all-around basketball team this time around."
Darlington's Mariah Wiegel scored a team-high 12 points and Callie Norton added 10 points.
