SOUTH WAYNE - For Black Hawk sophomore Hannah Butler, being the No. 1-ranked Division 5 team in the Associated Press state poll and seeking to clinch at least a share of a repeat Six Rivers East Conference championship brought its challenges.
Butler said being ranked No. 1 does bring some pressure. However, Butler rose to the challenge scoring a game-high 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds to lead the Warriors to a 55-20 win over Barneveld Thursday. With the win, Black Hawk clinched at least a share of its second straight Six Rivers Conference championship.
"We push ourselves in practice to do our best," Hannah Butler said. "It feels really good. We worked really hard for it."
Hannah's freshman sister, Bailey Butler, added 13 points and had four steals. Sophomore teammate Natalie Leuzinger pitched in 11 points and had five rebounds. Barneveld (9-9, 6-3 Six Rivers East) finished with more turnovers (21) than points (20).
"It's nice to be a conference champion again and get at least a share," Leuzinger said. "It's a great win. Barneveld is a good team. The defense they play is something we don't see a lot. I know seeing it will help us in the playoffs."
Black Hawk senior Brianna Hagen and Leuzinger each drilled 3-pointers early on to spark an 11-0 run by the Warriors to start the game. Bailey Butler scored on a layup and later knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the Warriors' lead to 14-2 with 10 minutes, 54 seconds left in the first half.
Hannah Butler later buried a 3-pointer and senior Hannah Herbst hit a 3 with 4 seconds to go to give the Warriors an insurmountable 30-6 lead at the half. Black Hawk (19-0, 10-0) rolled from there in the second half.
Leuzinger is second in the state out of all Division 5 teams in 3-point shooting percentage (45.9 percent). The top two shooters from behind the arc in each division will participate in the 3-point contest at state. However, she has bigger goals once the regional tournament starts.
"It gives me confidence," Leuzinger said of being second in the state in Division 5 on 3-point percentage. "Those stats really don't mean anything. I would rather be in the state championship than the 3-point contest."
Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan was excited to see the Warriors accomplish one of their goals this season.
"We started the season with three goals and one of them was to repeat as conference champions," Flanagan said. "Not that we are satisfied, but we can check one of those boxes off."
Flanagan said the team's other two goals are to have the best team chemistry they can and to be playing their best basketball at the end of the year.
"We don't set postseason goals because that has inherent pressure," he said.
The Warriors picked up to start the second half where they left off before the break. After knifing her way to the basket, Bailey Butler scored on a layup. Leuzinger scored down low to give Black Hawk a 30-point lead, 39-9, with about 15 minutes to go in the second half. Flanagan shuffled players in and out the entire second half, but stayed with at least two starters on the court each time until the final 4 minutes.
"To be completely honest when you get this late in the season you have to get those kids as many reps as you can to prepare them for the postseason run," he said.
Black Hawk sophomore Maddy Huschitt returned from an ankle injury after missing the past nine games.
"We really want to make sure we have our chemistry going with our top eight," Flanagan said.
Hannah Butler said the keys to winning the game were not giving up many offensive rebounds, forcing more turnovers on defense and getting more offensive rebounds.
The Warriors finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That led to many second-chance scoring opportunities.
"Getting at least 12 offensive rebounds is one of our goals," Flanagan said.
After limiting the Eagles to only one basket in the first half, the Warriors stymied them again in the second half. Barneveld made two shots in the second half.
"You really try to lock down," Flanagan said of the Warriors' defensed. "Eventually, you just hope the other team will crack. I think it was a combination of our fullcourt press and halfcourt pressure. Barneveld is still searching for those other scoring weapons."
Black Hawk will host Platteville in a nonconference game Tuesday.
"We have been fortunate to be crushing people," Leuzinger said. "I'm pretty excited to play them (Platteville). We have tried to get good competition this year. It's a good game to end our season on going into the playoffs."
Butler said being ranked No. 1 does bring some pressure. However, Butler rose to the challenge scoring a game-high 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds to lead the Warriors to a 55-20 win over Barneveld Thursday. With the win, Black Hawk clinched at least a share of its second straight Six Rivers Conference championship.
"We push ourselves in practice to do our best," Hannah Butler said. "It feels really good. We worked really hard for it."
Hannah's freshman sister, Bailey Butler, added 13 points and had four steals. Sophomore teammate Natalie Leuzinger pitched in 11 points and had five rebounds. Barneveld (9-9, 6-3 Six Rivers East) finished with more turnovers (21) than points (20).
"It's nice to be a conference champion again and get at least a share," Leuzinger said. "It's a great win. Barneveld is a good team. The defense they play is something we don't see a lot. I know seeing it will help us in the playoffs."
Black Hawk senior Brianna Hagen and Leuzinger each drilled 3-pointers early on to spark an 11-0 run by the Warriors to start the game. Bailey Butler scored on a layup and later knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the Warriors' lead to 14-2 with 10 minutes, 54 seconds left in the first half.
Hannah Butler later buried a 3-pointer and senior Hannah Herbst hit a 3 with 4 seconds to go to give the Warriors an insurmountable 30-6 lead at the half. Black Hawk (19-0, 10-0) rolled from there in the second half.
Leuzinger is second in the state out of all Division 5 teams in 3-point shooting percentage (45.9 percent). The top two shooters from behind the arc in each division will participate in the 3-point contest at state. However, she has bigger goals once the regional tournament starts.
"It gives me confidence," Leuzinger said of being second in the state in Division 5 on 3-point percentage. "Those stats really don't mean anything. I would rather be in the state championship than the 3-point contest."
Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan was excited to see the Warriors accomplish one of their goals this season.
"We started the season with three goals and one of them was to repeat as conference champions," Flanagan said. "Not that we are satisfied, but we can check one of those boxes off."
Flanagan said the team's other two goals are to have the best team chemistry they can and to be playing their best basketball at the end of the year.
"We don't set postseason goals because that has inherent pressure," he said.
The Warriors picked up to start the second half where they left off before the break. After knifing her way to the basket, Bailey Butler scored on a layup. Leuzinger scored down low to give Black Hawk a 30-point lead, 39-9, with about 15 minutes to go in the second half. Flanagan shuffled players in and out the entire second half, but stayed with at least two starters on the court each time until the final 4 minutes.
"To be completely honest when you get this late in the season you have to get those kids as many reps as you can to prepare them for the postseason run," he said.
Black Hawk sophomore Maddy Huschitt returned from an ankle injury after missing the past nine games.
"We really want to make sure we have our chemistry going with our top eight," Flanagan said.
Hannah Butler said the keys to winning the game were not giving up many offensive rebounds, forcing more turnovers on defense and getting more offensive rebounds.
The Warriors finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That led to many second-chance scoring opportunities.
"Getting at least 12 offensive rebounds is one of our goals," Flanagan said.
After limiting the Eagles to only one basket in the first half, the Warriors stymied them again in the second half. Barneveld made two shots in the second half.
"You really try to lock down," Flanagan said of the Warriors' defensed. "Eventually, you just hope the other team will crack. I think it was a combination of our fullcourt press and halfcourt pressure. Barneveld is still searching for those other scoring weapons."
Black Hawk will host Platteville in a nonconference game Tuesday.
"We have been fortunate to be crushing people," Leuzinger said. "I'm pretty excited to play them (Platteville). We have tried to get good competition this year. It's a good game to end our season on going into the playoffs."
