NEW GLARUS - The Mike Armitage era in Pecatonica got off to a running start with the Vikings rolling to a 60-40 girls basketball season-opening win over New Glarus on Thursday night.
Armitage is in his first season as the Vikings' head coach after three years as an assistant with the Mineral Point boys basketball team and an eight-year stint with the Albany girls program, including three as head coach.
"It was a good win," Armitage said. "Any win is a good win. If we would have won by one point, it would have been a good win."
Pecatonica used a 13-5 third-quarter run, highlighted by 3-pointers from junior Kimee Chandler and Elise Sigg, to extend the lead to 46-30.
The Vikings used a stifling defense to force 23 New Glarus turnovers and limited the Knights to 5-for-16 shooting in the second half.
"I think they (Pecatonica) just had a little more gas in the tank in the second half," New Glarus coach Braden Rindy said.
Sigg scored a game-high 18 points, including four of the Vikings' six 3-pointers, and had a game-high seven steals with four in the first quarter.
The Vikings jumped out to a 15-6 lead that was sparked by a Sigg 3-pointer.
Later, Pecatonica sophomore Alisha Esselstein came up with a steal on the press and threw a bullet pass down low to Sigg for an easy basket.
New Glarus junior Tanya Gruter scored nine of her team-high 15 points in the first quarter to keep the Knights within striking distance.
"She (Gruter) is our go-to post player," Rindy said. "She gives us an inside presence and keeps teams from darting out to our shooters."
It was a season opener of clashing styles, with the Vikings pressuring the passing lanes and pressing in stretches to force the tempo and the Knights content to run a halfcourt attack and pound the ball down low to Gruter.
Playing pressing defense that can lead to instant offense for the Vikings in transition is a blessing and a curse for Armitage, since his team had 20 turnovers.
"I think as long as you use your speed and aggressiveness in the right way, it can help any team," Armitage said. "I think we need to be more disciplined. I think our defense is nowhere near where it needs to be."
The Knights used a 12-4 second-quarter spurt sparked by freshman Alycia Atwell, who scored four of her seven points in the period, to tie the score at 21. The Vikings answered late in the second quarter with 3-pointers by Sigg and Brittany Kent to give the Vikings a 33-22 lead and stretched the Knights' 2-3 zone.
"I was kind of surprised," Sigg said of the Knights' zone. "It kind of caught us off guard. We adjusted to it."
Sigg said the key was keeping their heads, passing the ball, and playing together.
Kent had 14 points, Esselstein added 12 and Chandler chipped in with 11.
"We have waited all year to come back out to play," Kent said. "It was good to come out and play against a good team like New Glarus."
The Vikings closed out the quarter with a bang when New Glarus junior Michelle Preston hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to cut the Vikings' halftime lead to 33-25.
"We played our hearts out in the first half," Rindy said. "I think they (New Glarus) were surprised it wasn't there in the second half."
Armitage is in his first season as the Vikings' head coach after three years as an assistant with the Mineral Point boys basketball team and an eight-year stint with the Albany girls program, including three as head coach.
"It was a good win," Armitage said. "Any win is a good win. If we would have won by one point, it would have been a good win."
Pecatonica used a 13-5 third-quarter run, highlighted by 3-pointers from junior Kimee Chandler and Elise Sigg, to extend the lead to 46-30.
The Vikings used a stifling defense to force 23 New Glarus turnovers and limited the Knights to 5-for-16 shooting in the second half.
"I think they (Pecatonica) just had a little more gas in the tank in the second half," New Glarus coach Braden Rindy said.
Sigg scored a game-high 18 points, including four of the Vikings' six 3-pointers, and had a game-high seven steals with four in the first quarter.
The Vikings jumped out to a 15-6 lead that was sparked by a Sigg 3-pointer.
Later, Pecatonica sophomore Alisha Esselstein came up with a steal on the press and threw a bullet pass down low to Sigg for an easy basket.
New Glarus junior Tanya Gruter scored nine of her team-high 15 points in the first quarter to keep the Knights within striking distance.
"She (Gruter) is our go-to post player," Rindy said. "She gives us an inside presence and keeps teams from darting out to our shooters."
It was a season opener of clashing styles, with the Vikings pressuring the passing lanes and pressing in stretches to force the tempo and the Knights content to run a halfcourt attack and pound the ball down low to Gruter.
Playing pressing defense that can lead to instant offense for the Vikings in transition is a blessing and a curse for Armitage, since his team had 20 turnovers.
"I think as long as you use your speed and aggressiveness in the right way, it can help any team," Armitage said. "I think we need to be more disciplined. I think our defense is nowhere near where it needs to be."
The Knights used a 12-4 second-quarter spurt sparked by freshman Alycia Atwell, who scored four of her seven points in the period, to tie the score at 21. The Vikings answered late in the second quarter with 3-pointers by Sigg and Brittany Kent to give the Vikings a 33-22 lead and stretched the Knights' 2-3 zone.
"I was kind of surprised," Sigg said of the Knights' zone. "It kind of caught us off guard. We adjusted to it."
Sigg said the key was keeping their heads, passing the ball, and playing together.
Kent had 14 points, Esselstein added 12 and Chandler chipped in with 11.
"We have waited all year to come back out to play," Kent said. "It was good to come out and play against a good team like New Glarus."
The Vikings closed out the quarter with a bang when New Glarus junior Michelle Preston hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to cut the Vikings' halftime lead to 33-25.
"We played our hearts out in the first half," Rindy said. "I think they (New Glarus) were surprised it wasn't there in the second half."
