Girls Regional Schedule
Tuesday's Games
DIVISION 2
No. 9 Monroe (5-17) at No. 8 Portage (10-12)
DIVISION 4
No. 11 Waterloo (2-20) at No. 6 Darlington (14-8)
DIVISION 5
No. 16 Green Lake (3-16) at No. 1 Black Hawk (19-2)
No. 12 Argyle (7-15) at No. 5 Juda (15-7)
No. 13 Pecatonica (4-18) at No. 4 Randolph (17-5)
No. 14 Albany (5-17) at No. 3 Fall River (19-3)
No. 10 Monticello (10-11) at No. 7 Oakfield (13-8)
- All games at 7 p.m., unless noted
BRODHEAD - Brad Pickett doesn't mind admitting that his Brodhead girls basketball team is more than a little miffed.
"They're playing with a chip on their shoulder because I think they feel a little bit disrespected," Pickett said.
The casual observer might not understand why. The Cardinals did, after all, post a school-record 19 victories this season while dominating the Rock Valley South Conference.
But along the way, Brodhead suffered the worst kind of loss, as sophomore center Carly Mohns suffered major knee damage, ending the season for the Cardinals' top scorer and rebounder. Pickett said word trickled quickly back to his team that most thought the Cardinals were done, too, without their top player.
What transpired next, a five-game winning streak to end the regular season, is a source of great pride for Pickett.
"I think they kind of took that as a slap in the face a little bit," the coach said. "We've always talked about being a team and they've bought into showing this team is pretty darn good, with or without Carly. They're playing with a chip on their shoulder because I think they felt a little bit disrespected after Carly went down."
That mentality should come in handy for the Cardinals with the WIAA regional tournament getting under way tonight. Second-seeded Brodhead (19-3) has a first-round bye and will host the winner of tonight's game between No. 7 Jefferson vs. No. 10 Parkview in a Division 3 regional semifinal game on Friday.
Pickett certainly likes his team's focus entering the postseason.
"I can't really explain it," Pickett said. "It's something that really brings a group ... not that this group wasn't close to begin with, but they're the underdog now because no one thinks this team can do good things and win basketball games without Carly."
Teams who believe that will have to answer to junior guards Taylor Douglas and Amanda Pickel, both of whom have picked up their production in a big way in the five games since Mohns' injury. Douglas is averaging more than 19 points per game in that stretch - six better than before her teammate was hurt. Pickel is scoring 11 points per game, up from 7 prior to the Mohns injury.
Just as impressive, Pickett points out, is that the Cardinals' key defensive stat - points allowed per game - is virtually unchanged since Mohns was hurt.
"It wasn't just one kid that needed to step up," Pickett said. "You don't fill those shoes with one kid. It has really emphasized that it's a team game. If you stick together as a team, you can do good things."
That's a message Mike Flanagan, coach of the area's other league champ, embraces whole-heartedly after watching his Black Hawk squad put the finishing touches on a fourth straight Six Rivers East Conference title last week.
That secured a No. 1 seed in Division 5 for the Warriors, who will host No. 16 Green Lake tonight.
Black Hawk didn't deal with a major injury this season, but the Warriors did have to overcome a great deal of loss to graduation, forcing them, "To reinvent our style of basketball," Flanagan said.
"The last four years we were very uptempo, especially the last three," he said. "We relied on the press a lot to create a lot of opportunities. That's just not the identity of this team."
Sophomore Jen Wellnitz leads the Warriors with averages of 14.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while senior Kate Quinn averages 8.9 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Black Hawk allows 33.8 points per game, which ranked second behind Juda (29.7) in the Six Rivers East.
"I give this group of kids a lot of credit for being fundamental and disciplined on defense," Flanagan said. "To find a way to get it done differently, it's a testament to the kids and their flexibility and their basketball IQ."
"They're playing with a chip on their shoulder because I think they feel a little bit disrespected," Pickett said.
The casual observer might not understand why. The Cardinals did, after all, post a school-record 19 victories this season while dominating the Rock Valley South Conference.
But along the way, Brodhead suffered the worst kind of loss, as sophomore center Carly Mohns suffered major knee damage, ending the season for the Cardinals' top scorer and rebounder. Pickett said word trickled quickly back to his team that most thought the Cardinals were done, too, without their top player.
What transpired next, a five-game winning streak to end the regular season, is a source of great pride for Pickett.
"I think they kind of took that as a slap in the face a little bit," the coach said. "We've always talked about being a team and they've bought into showing this team is pretty darn good, with or without Carly. They're playing with a chip on their shoulder because I think they felt a little bit disrespected after Carly went down."
That mentality should come in handy for the Cardinals with the WIAA regional tournament getting under way tonight. Second-seeded Brodhead (19-3) has a first-round bye and will host the winner of tonight's game between No. 7 Jefferson vs. No. 10 Parkview in a Division 3 regional semifinal game on Friday.
Pickett certainly likes his team's focus entering the postseason.
"I can't really explain it," Pickett said. "It's something that really brings a group ... not that this group wasn't close to begin with, but they're the underdog now because no one thinks this team can do good things and win basketball games without Carly."
Teams who believe that will have to answer to junior guards Taylor Douglas and Amanda Pickel, both of whom have picked up their production in a big way in the five games since Mohns' injury. Douglas is averaging more than 19 points per game in that stretch - six better than before her teammate was hurt. Pickel is scoring 11 points per game, up from 7 prior to the Mohns injury.
Just as impressive, Pickett points out, is that the Cardinals' key defensive stat - points allowed per game - is virtually unchanged since Mohns was hurt.
"It wasn't just one kid that needed to step up," Pickett said. "You don't fill those shoes with one kid. It has really emphasized that it's a team game. If you stick together as a team, you can do good things."
That's a message Mike Flanagan, coach of the area's other league champ, embraces whole-heartedly after watching his Black Hawk squad put the finishing touches on a fourth straight Six Rivers East Conference title last week.
That secured a No. 1 seed in Division 5 for the Warriors, who will host No. 16 Green Lake tonight.
Black Hawk didn't deal with a major injury this season, but the Warriors did have to overcome a great deal of loss to graduation, forcing them, "To reinvent our style of basketball," Flanagan said.
"The last four years we were very uptempo, especially the last three," he said. "We relied on the press a lot to create a lot of opportunities. That's just not the identity of this team."
Sophomore Jen Wellnitz leads the Warriors with averages of 14.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while senior Kate Quinn averages 8.9 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Black Hawk allows 33.8 points per game, which ranked second behind Juda (29.7) in the Six Rivers East.
"I give this group of kids a lot of credit for being fundamental and disciplined on defense," Flanagan said. "To find a way to get it done differently, it's a testament to the kids and their flexibility and their basketball IQ."
