BLANCHARDVILLE - The Pecatonica girls basketball team wanted to face some good competition midway through the season to gauge itself against some of the state's best teams. After splitting with Mineral Point and Weston at their own holiday tournament, the Vikings dropped a tough game Saturday, 48-41, to Wausau Newman Catholic.
"It was great that in this last three-game stretch we were able to play teams of the caliber that we will have to face in the tournament," Vikings head coach Mike Armitage said. "Certainly we didn't want to go 1-2. But we played three very good teams and each game came down to the wire."
Newman, a perennial state contender from the Marawood South Conference, brings balanced scoring to every game. Fighting Cardinals head coach Tom Weinkauf said his team has four or five girls who can lead the team in scoring in any game. That made for some tough defensive match-ups for Pecatonica.
In the first quarter, the Vikings came out flatter than they would like. Newman led 11-6 after the first eight minutes, aided by Pecatonica turnovers and preventable mistakes.
"In the first quarter, (Newman) brought pressure and we reverted back to our old habits. We were running around like a bunch of chickens with our heads cut off, not knowing where we were going," Armitage said.
In the second quarter, Pecatonica started playing more consistently and calmly. Scores didn't come easy, but the Vikings brought themselves back into the game, outscoring the Cardinals 9-8 to traily only 19-15 at halftime.
"I said the same things as I normally do," Armitage said of his halftime talk with the team. "There was only one time this year where I really raised my voice to them. They responded well. The kids, to their credit, came out and did their best and did what they could."
Pecatonica came out firing in the second half, with Kimee Chandler and Brittany Kent leading the way.
Chandler drove through the lane for the first score in the second half, and Kent followed up with a 3-pointer moments later to give Pecatonica its first lead since the first two minutes of the game. Morgan Pien and Alisha Esselstein got in on the Vikings' scoring binge, with yet another Kent 3-pointer added in.
Just 3 minutes, 10 seconds into the second half, Pecatonica opened a 27-24 lead.
Chandler hit a 3-pointer with 3:38 left in the third quarter to extend Pec's lead to 30-24. By the time the quarter closed, the Vikings had outscored the Cardinals 24-15 and led 39-34. At one point in the third quarter, Elise Sigg stole her fifth pass of the game and dumped it to Chandler with 2:36 remaining, giving Pec its biggest lead of the game at nine points (35-26).
"In the third quarter we secured the ball better, we were more patient and we controlled the tempo a little bit more," Armitage said. "And then in the fourth quarter, we allowed them to do the same things they did to us in the first quarter."
"In these three games, we reverted back to our old habits when we faced pressure and faced adversity. We're not going to be able to play like that and be successful against good teams."
In the fourth quarter, Newman picked up the pressure and started a comeback. The Vikings turned the ball over frequently, and the Cardinals hit their share of jumpers. It took Pecatonica more than seven minutes to score in the final period.
Chandler, who scored 10 points in the third quarter, capped her day of 14 points with a pair of free throws. By that time, Newman was holding a 45-39 lead. The Cardinals then shot 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the last 41 seconds to close out the game.
"They were a few points better than we were. I liked some of the things we did, but we still have a lot to work on," Armitage said. "The bottom line is that we have progressed - but we're far from where we want to be."
Kent scored 10 points in the game, six in the third quarter. Alisha Esselstein had seven points, Elise Sigg had two, and Kaitlyn Linder, Megan Rindy and Morgan Pien each chipped in with a bucket apiece.
Pecatonica (6-3, 2-1 Six Rivers East) travels to Albany (5-5, 2-2) on Tuesday night.
"It was great that in this last three-game stretch we were able to play teams of the caliber that we will have to face in the tournament," Vikings head coach Mike Armitage said. "Certainly we didn't want to go 1-2. But we played three very good teams and each game came down to the wire."
Newman, a perennial state contender from the Marawood South Conference, brings balanced scoring to every game. Fighting Cardinals head coach Tom Weinkauf said his team has four or five girls who can lead the team in scoring in any game. That made for some tough defensive match-ups for Pecatonica.
In the first quarter, the Vikings came out flatter than they would like. Newman led 11-6 after the first eight minutes, aided by Pecatonica turnovers and preventable mistakes.
"In the first quarter, (Newman) brought pressure and we reverted back to our old habits. We were running around like a bunch of chickens with our heads cut off, not knowing where we were going," Armitage said.
In the second quarter, Pecatonica started playing more consistently and calmly. Scores didn't come easy, but the Vikings brought themselves back into the game, outscoring the Cardinals 9-8 to traily only 19-15 at halftime.
"I said the same things as I normally do," Armitage said of his halftime talk with the team. "There was only one time this year where I really raised my voice to them. They responded well. The kids, to their credit, came out and did their best and did what they could."
Pecatonica came out firing in the second half, with Kimee Chandler and Brittany Kent leading the way.
Chandler drove through the lane for the first score in the second half, and Kent followed up with a 3-pointer moments later to give Pecatonica its first lead since the first two minutes of the game. Morgan Pien and Alisha Esselstein got in on the Vikings' scoring binge, with yet another Kent 3-pointer added in.
Just 3 minutes, 10 seconds into the second half, Pecatonica opened a 27-24 lead.
Chandler hit a 3-pointer with 3:38 left in the third quarter to extend Pec's lead to 30-24. By the time the quarter closed, the Vikings had outscored the Cardinals 24-15 and led 39-34. At one point in the third quarter, Elise Sigg stole her fifth pass of the game and dumped it to Chandler with 2:36 remaining, giving Pec its biggest lead of the game at nine points (35-26).
"In the third quarter we secured the ball better, we were more patient and we controlled the tempo a little bit more," Armitage said. "And then in the fourth quarter, we allowed them to do the same things they did to us in the first quarter."
"In these three games, we reverted back to our old habits when we faced pressure and faced adversity. We're not going to be able to play like that and be successful against good teams."
In the fourth quarter, Newman picked up the pressure and started a comeback. The Vikings turned the ball over frequently, and the Cardinals hit their share of jumpers. It took Pecatonica more than seven minutes to score in the final period.
Chandler, who scored 10 points in the third quarter, capped her day of 14 points with a pair of free throws. By that time, Newman was holding a 45-39 lead. The Cardinals then shot 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the last 41 seconds to close out the game.
"They were a few points better than we were. I liked some of the things we did, but we still have a lot to work on," Armitage said. "The bottom line is that we have progressed - but we're far from where we want to be."
Kent scored 10 points in the game, six in the third quarter. Alisha Esselstein had seven points, Elise Sigg had two, and Kaitlyn Linder, Megan Rindy and Morgan Pien each chipped in with a bucket apiece.
Pecatonica (6-3, 2-1 Six Rivers East) travels to Albany (5-5, 2-2) on Tuesday night.
