CLINTON - Black Hawk senior Rachel Rygh surely didn't want her last basketball game to come just two games shy of the state tournament. When push came to shove (and Rygh was dropped hard to the floor in the second quarter), the senior found her stroke en route to a 56-44 win over Burlington Catholic Central in the WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal.
"It was one of those nights where sometimes you're feeling it and sometimes you're not. I was just open and the girls got me the ball," Rygh said.
Black Hawk (25-0), the top ranked team in the state according to the Associated Press, will now face Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah (17-8) in the sectional championship Saturday in Watertown for the right to play at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Rygh scored 13 points in the first half (20 total), including three 3-pointers to key the win. In fact, the spark Black Hawk was looking for came off of a negative play on Rygh, a sure first-team all-conference selection. Rygh was called for a blocking foul on what appeared to be a charge by Burlington's Caitlin Synder with 6:05 left in the second quarter. The ensuing free throws allowed Catholic Central to tie the game at 11.
"You have to work with the refs at that point," Rygh said. "You can't get every call that you want. We probably weren't going to get many charges called so we're going to have to work around that."
But the senior never looked back, scoring eight points in a 2 1⁄2 minute stretch to help guide the Warriors to a 28-16 lead with 3:46 left.
"That was a big key," Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said.
The Warriors, who led 30-22 at halftime, also got some help from its youngest member, freshman Jen Wellnitz. The younger sister of senior Melissa (12 points), forced a half dozen turnovers and had nearly 10 rebounds in the first half. The last board came with just over 3 minutes to play, and Jen Wellnitz went coast-to-coast for the hoop and the harm on the other end during the key 17-5 run.
"If I'm not shooting well, then as long as I'm playing defense well it makes up for it," Jen Wellnitz said. "I really try hard on the defensive end to make up for the offense."
In the second half, Black Hawk played an offensive and defensive scheme to not only maintain the lead, but to put pressure on the Hilltoppers.
"In the second half we worked our offense a little bit, bringing defenders in, whereas in the first half we were just putting up shots," Rygh said.
The Warriors used their trademark pressure defense to force 25 turnovers. But the big key, according to Flanagan, was turning the ball over just seven times themselves.
"(Our seniors) have seen a lot of big games," Flanagan said. "I think the last couple of games we've needed to take better care of the ball. You're going to have nights like tonight where not every possession is going to result in points, so the possessions you get have take advantage of It's not effective to turn a team over 25 times and then give it up 15 yourself."
Black Hawk has beaten Catholic Central in the playoffs in all three times the two teams have played in the last four seasons. In volleyball, the streak is the other way around, with the Hilltoppers continually bumping off the well-established Warriors in the tournament.
"They got us in volleyball and I think they gave us the initiative to come out here and get at them a little bit harder in basketball," Rygh said.
Jen Wellnitz finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds and Black Hawk shot 16 of 28 from the free-throw line, including 6 of 10 in the final three minutes.
"It's about 50/50 I'd say," Jen Wellnitz said of her desire to reach state for either herself or Melissa. "I want to get back to state, because that would be awesome. For myself, (older sister) Kim is already riding me, saying I have to live up to her."
"It was one of those nights where sometimes you're feeling it and sometimes you're not. I was just open and the girls got me the ball," Rygh said.
Black Hawk (25-0), the top ranked team in the state according to the Associated Press, will now face Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah (17-8) in the sectional championship Saturday in Watertown for the right to play at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Rygh scored 13 points in the first half (20 total), including three 3-pointers to key the win. In fact, the spark Black Hawk was looking for came off of a negative play on Rygh, a sure first-team all-conference selection. Rygh was called for a blocking foul on what appeared to be a charge by Burlington's Caitlin Synder with 6:05 left in the second quarter. The ensuing free throws allowed Catholic Central to tie the game at 11.
"You have to work with the refs at that point," Rygh said. "You can't get every call that you want. We probably weren't going to get many charges called so we're going to have to work around that."
But the senior never looked back, scoring eight points in a 2 1⁄2 minute stretch to help guide the Warriors to a 28-16 lead with 3:46 left.
"That was a big key," Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said.
The Warriors, who led 30-22 at halftime, also got some help from its youngest member, freshman Jen Wellnitz. The younger sister of senior Melissa (12 points), forced a half dozen turnovers and had nearly 10 rebounds in the first half. The last board came with just over 3 minutes to play, and Jen Wellnitz went coast-to-coast for the hoop and the harm on the other end during the key 17-5 run.
"If I'm not shooting well, then as long as I'm playing defense well it makes up for it," Jen Wellnitz said. "I really try hard on the defensive end to make up for the offense."
In the second half, Black Hawk played an offensive and defensive scheme to not only maintain the lead, but to put pressure on the Hilltoppers.
"In the second half we worked our offense a little bit, bringing defenders in, whereas in the first half we were just putting up shots," Rygh said.
The Warriors used their trademark pressure defense to force 25 turnovers. But the big key, according to Flanagan, was turning the ball over just seven times themselves.
"(Our seniors) have seen a lot of big games," Flanagan said. "I think the last couple of games we've needed to take better care of the ball. You're going to have nights like tonight where not every possession is going to result in points, so the possessions you get have take advantage of It's not effective to turn a team over 25 times and then give it up 15 yourself."
Black Hawk has beaten Catholic Central in the playoffs in all three times the two teams have played in the last four seasons. In volleyball, the streak is the other way around, with the Hilltoppers continually bumping off the well-established Warriors in the tournament.
"They got us in volleyball and I think they gave us the initiative to come out here and get at them a little bit harder in basketball," Rygh said.
Jen Wellnitz finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds and Black Hawk shot 16 of 28 from the free-throw line, including 6 of 10 in the final three minutes.
"It's about 50/50 I'd say," Jen Wellnitz said of her desire to reach state for either herself or Melissa. "I want to get back to state, because that would be awesome. For myself, (older sister) Kim is already riding me, saying I have to live up to her."
