SOUTH WAYNE - The Black Hawk girls basketball team can't wait until an opposing player turns her head.
Black Hawk used various halfcourt traps to storm back from an early deficit to roll to a 49-32 win over Monticello Thursday night.
"Coach always tells us when you see someone turn their head, go trap them," Black Hawk junior Rachel Rygh said, who scored a game-high 20 points. "He always says, 'It will eventually wear them down.' We are still a little shaky on it, but we are getting it down."
Monticello started out on fire shooting, which led to a 10-5 first quarter run. Monticello sophomore Desiree Marty nailed a 3-pointer to give the Ponies an 8-5 lead. Monticello junior Taylor Klitzke, who scored a team-high 10 points, hit a jumper to give the Ponies a 10-5 lead.
Black Hawk (3-1, 2-0 Six Rivers East) battled back behind its press and halfcourt traps to fuel a 12-0 second-quarter run. Rygh scored down low off an inbound play to give the Warriors a 15-14 lead with 6 minutes, 45 seconds left in the second quarter. Rygh made a sensational layup on the break after knifing her way between two Monticello defenders. Rygh was fouled on the play and converted the conventional three-point play to give the Warriors a 20-14 lead with 5:22 to go.
"It's all about confidence," Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said. "It all comes down to giving players situations. She's pretty good as a slasher and she did a good job of getting to the rim. She's an athlete. Athletes are a nice commodity to have."
Black Hawk senior Kim Wellnitz, who had a double-double (13 points and 12 rebounds) scored twice off offensive rebounds during the spurt to spark the Warriors to a 29-18 halftime lead.
"We were not aggressive coming out in the first half," Wellnitz said. "Once we started pressing and scoring we started rolling."
With the loss, Monticello drops to 0-5, 0-2. Monticello coach Tom Eveland was impressed with the Warriors halfcourt traps that led to 12 Monticello turnovers in the first half. Monticello senior Mersadi Hilliard and sophomore Becky Nelson scored seven points each.
"They stay with their traps," Eveland said. "A lot of teams trap on the sides. They run and trap in the middle. They run that trap very good. We panicked a little bit and we got in foul trouble."
Eveland was excited with how the Ponies played and bounced back in attacking the press in the second half.
"I give our girls credit," he said. "They have had three coaches in three years and I come in and change everything. They are starting to come together. We will be there in the end."
Black Hawk opened the third quarter with a surge. Rygh drilled her second 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 39-20 lead. Black Hawk senior Katie Place scored on a putback after an offensive rebound late in the third quarter to give the Warriors a 43-24 lead. The Warriors led by as many as 21 points, but committed several turnovers.
"We were up by 20 or so and we were playing like we were down by 20," Wellnitz said. "We kept on throwing the ball away. We kept on turning the ball over and that's how teams beat you."
Black Hawk junior Melissa Wellnitz scored five points and had seven assists and Place had six.
"Last year it was go, go, go," Flanagan said. "We wanted to make it a high-possession game all the time. We were trying to adjust from attacking to playing with a lead. We have a lot of young kids who are learning to play with each other and learning new roles."
It won't get any easier for Black Hawk. The Warriors host Darlington (3-2) Tuesday, then Catholic Memorial (4-1), a Div. 2 school in the WBCA Classic at the UW Fieldhouse Dec. 29.
"Darlington is a really good team," Flanagan said. "We will find out in a hurry what that's all about," he said about playing bigger schools with solid teams.
Black Hawk used various halfcourt traps to storm back from an early deficit to roll to a 49-32 win over Monticello Thursday night.
"Coach always tells us when you see someone turn their head, go trap them," Black Hawk junior Rachel Rygh said, who scored a game-high 20 points. "He always says, 'It will eventually wear them down.' We are still a little shaky on it, but we are getting it down."
Monticello started out on fire shooting, which led to a 10-5 first quarter run. Monticello sophomore Desiree Marty nailed a 3-pointer to give the Ponies an 8-5 lead. Monticello junior Taylor Klitzke, who scored a team-high 10 points, hit a jumper to give the Ponies a 10-5 lead.
Black Hawk (3-1, 2-0 Six Rivers East) battled back behind its press and halfcourt traps to fuel a 12-0 second-quarter run. Rygh scored down low off an inbound play to give the Warriors a 15-14 lead with 6 minutes, 45 seconds left in the second quarter. Rygh made a sensational layup on the break after knifing her way between two Monticello defenders. Rygh was fouled on the play and converted the conventional three-point play to give the Warriors a 20-14 lead with 5:22 to go.
"It's all about confidence," Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said. "It all comes down to giving players situations. She's pretty good as a slasher and she did a good job of getting to the rim. She's an athlete. Athletes are a nice commodity to have."
Black Hawk senior Kim Wellnitz, who had a double-double (13 points and 12 rebounds) scored twice off offensive rebounds during the spurt to spark the Warriors to a 29-18 halftime lead.
"We were not aggressive coming out in the first half," Wellnitz said. "Once we started pressing and scoring we started rolling."
With the loss, Monticello drops to 0-5, 0-2. Monticello coach Tom Eveland was impressed with the Warriors halfcourt traps that led to 12 Monticello turnovers in the first half. Monticello senior Mersadi Hilliard and sophomore Becky Nelson scored seven points each.
"They stay with their traps," Eveland said. "A lot of teams trap on the sides. They run and trap in the middle. They run that trap very good. We panicked a little bit and we got in foul trouble."
Eveland was excited with how the Ponies played and bounced back in attacking the press in the second half.
"I give our girls credit," he said. "They have had three coaches in three years and I come in and change everything. They are starting to come together. We will be there in the end."
Black Hawk opened the third quarter with a surge. Rygh drilled her second 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 39-20 lead. Black Hawk senior Katie Place scored on a putback after an offensive rebound late in the third quarter to give the Warriors a 43-24 lead. The Warriors led by as many as 21 points, but committed several turnovers.
"We were up by 20 or so and we were playing like we were down by 20," Wellnitz said. "We kept on throwing the ball away. We kept on turning the ball over and that's how teams beat you."
Black Hawk junior Melissa Wellnitz scored five points and had seven assists and Place had six.
"Last year it was go, go, go," Flanagan said. "We wanted to make it a high-possession game all the time. We were trying to adjust from attacking to playing with a lead. We have a lot of young kids who are learning to play with each other and learning new roles."
It won't get any easier for Black Hawk. The Warriors host Darlington (3-2) Tuesday, then Catholic Memorial (4-1), a Div. 2 school in the WBCA Classic at the UW Fieldhouse Dec. 29.
"Darlington is a really good team," Flanagan said. "We will find out in a hurry what that's all about," he said about playing bigger schools with solid teams.
