FORT ATKINSON - Jocelyn Ver Velde wasted no time in showing the Warriors what her job is on the Eagles' squad.
The Sheboygan County Christian senior center blocked the first of eight shots 35 seconds into the game when she sent a Paige Butler offering out of bounds in the Eagles' 33-30 WIAA Division 4 sectional final victory in Fort Atkinson Saturday night.
"It's what I do," Ver Velde said. "I love blocking shots. It's my favorite thing to do."
The Eagles' (14-10) height and length gave Black Hawk (20-5) fits on the offensive end, while Christian guard Kelly Smies built an early 5-2 lead with back-to-back layups midway through the first quarter. Then, after a sisterly connection from Aryn to Kim Wellnitz and a resulting lay-up, Smies drove the left baseline and put back her initial miss for a 7-4 lead with 38 seconds to go.
The Warriors quickly turned over the ball and Ver Velde scored the first of her 11 points - and finished with 17 rebounds - by working strong on the right block for a banker and a 9-4 lead after one quarter.
Smies connected with Ver Velde to open the second quarter and push the lead, but the Wellnitzes - who had 9 points apiece to lead Black Hawk in scoring - scored back-to-back buckets from the free-throw line to make it 11-8. After a Elizabeth Egerer free throw, Aryn got one of the few shots that got over Ver Velde for two with 3:31 left in the half.
Christian closed out the half on an 8-2 run with an Egerer 3-pointer from right of the circle with 38 seconds to go, providing an 18-12 lead and some big time momentum heading into the locker room.
Butler, a Black Hawk junior guard, had been on fire during the tournament and came into the state-qualifying match scoring 20 points against Burlington Catholic Central. The Eagles held her scoreless in the first half - six points for the game - and that initial block by Ver Velde might have been a big factor, according to Warriors' head coach Mike Flanagan.
"When Paige gets some things going early she typically has a good game," Flanagan said. "That blocked shot I think got in her head a little bit.
"They made her think a little bit about shooting and she wasn't as willing to take shots."
Eagles head coach Tim Roose had plenty of experience with players of Butler's caliber coming from the Central Lakeshore Conference. The league boasts an undefeated Oostburg squad that will play in the Division 3 state tournament.
"We play in a conference where there's one or two players from the other team that can do the same things Paige can," Roose said. "We were ready for it, we do it every single night."
Sheboygan Christian built a 10-point lead at 28-18 with five minutes to go when Smies hit one of two free throws from an Melissa Wellnitz foul.
Butler's first field goal came on a pretty reverse, baseline layup and sparked a 10-3 run over the next three and a half minutes. She capped the run with an offensive rebound of her own miss and putback plus a foul on Sarah Adams. Butler hit the freebie to make it 31-28 Eagles with 36.8 seconds to go.
Sophomore Katie Place nearly stole the ball, but forced the Eagles to inbound in front of the Warriors' bench. Once the ball got back in play, Kim Wellnitz picked their pocket and took the ball in for a lay-up with contact from Sara Lemmenes with 29.9 seconds remaining on the clock. Wellnitz missed the free throw and two Smies free throws made it 33-30 with 19.9 seconds left.
The Warriors went the length of the court, but couldn't penetrate the defense and with the ball kicking around on the ground Place and a pair of Eagles got their hands on the ball and the refs whistled for a jump ball with 4.7 seconds to go. The possession arrow favored Sheboygan Christian and its inbound pass went to Ver Velde, who waited to be fouled. Butler wrapped her hands around the Eagles' center and got enough of the ball to get the jump ball and give the Warriors one last shot with 1.8 seconds left.
Flanagan drew up a play with Aryn Wellnitz as the inbounder from sidecourt. The ball went to Gabi Lehner well beyond the arc from the top of the key, and the junior point guard's attempt drew iron, but fell off to the left.
Kim Wellnitz liked what she saw from herself and her squad in the final minutes, but felt the Warriors' big victory Thursday over Catholic Central wasn't put to rest and got in the way versus the Eagles.
"We came in here too excited from the last game," Wellnitz said. "I don't think we came in here ready enough for this game. We weren't playing physical until the end."
The Sheboygan County Christian senior center blocked the first of eight shots 35 seconds into the game when she sent a Paige Butler offering out of bounds in the Eagles' 33-30 WIAA Division 4 sectional final victory in Fort Atkinson Saturday night.
"It's what I do," Ver Velde said. "I love blocking shots. It's my favorite thing to do."
The Eagles' (14-10) height and length gave Black Hawk (20-5) fits on the offensive end, while Christian guard Kelly Smies built an early 5-2 lead with back-to-back layups midway through the first quarter. Then, after a sisterly connection from Aryn to Kim Wellnitz and a resulting lay-up, Smies drove the left baseline and put back her initial miss for a 7-4 lead with 38 seconds to go.
The Warriors quickly turned over the ball and Ver Velde scored the first of her 11 points - and finished with 17 rebounds - by working strong on the right block for a banker and a 9-4 lead after one quarter.
Smies connected with Ver Velde to open the second quarter and push the lead, but the Wellnitzes - who had 9 points apiece to lead Black Hawk in scoring - scored back-to-back buckets from the free-throw line to make it 11-8. After a Elizabeth Egerer free throw, Aryn got one of the few shots that got over Ver Velde for two with 3:31 left in the half.
Christian closed out the half on an 8-2 run with an Egerer 3-pointer from right of the circle with 38 seconds to go, providing an 18-12 lead and some big time momentum heading into the locker room.
Butler, a Black Hawk junior guard, had been on fire during the tournament and came into the state-qualifying match scoring 20 points against Burlington Catholic Central. The Eagles held her scoreless in the first half - six points for the game - and that initial block by Ver Velde might have been a big factor, according to Warriors' head coach Mike Flanagan.
"When Paige gets some things going early she typically has a good game," Flanagan said. "That blocked shot I think got in her head a little bit.
"They made her think a little bit about shooting and she wasn't as willing to take shots."
Eagles head coach Tim Roose had plenty of experience with players of Butler's caliber coming from the Central Lakeshore Conference. The league boasts an undefeated Oostburg squad that will play in the Division 3 state tournament.
"We play in a conference where there's one or two players from the other team that can do the same things Paige can," Roose said. "We were ready for it, we do it every single night."
Sheboygan Christian built a 10-point lead at 28-18 with five minutes to go when Smies hit one of two free throws from an Melissa Wellnitz foul.
Butler's first field goal came on a pretty reverse, baseline layup and sparked a 10-3 run over the next three and a half minutes. She capped the run with an offensive rebound of her own miss and putback plus a foul on Sarah Adams. Butler hit the freebie to make it 31-28 Eagles with 36.8 seconds to go.
Sophomore Katie Place nearly stole the ball, but forced the Eagles to inbound in front of the Warriors' bench. Once the ball got back in play, Kim Wellnitz picked their pocket and took the ball in for a lay-up with contact from Sara Lemmenes with 29.9 seconds remaining on the clock. Wellnitz missed the free throw and two Smies free throws made it 33-30 with 19.9 seconds left.
The Warriors went the length of the court, but couldn't penetrate the defense and with the ball kicking around on the ground Place and a pair of Eagles got their hands on the ball and the refs whistled for a jump ball with 4.7 seconds to go. The possession arrow favored Sheboygan Christian and its inbound pass went to Ver Velde, who waited to be fouled. Butler wrapped her hands around the Eagles' center and got enough of the ball to get the jump ball and give the Warriors one last shot with 1.8 seconds left.
Flanagan drew up a play with Aryn Wellnitz as the inbounder from sidecourt. The ball went to Gabi Lehner well beyond the arc from the top of the key, and the junior point guard's attempt drew iron, but fell off to the left.
Kim Wellnitz liked what she saw from herself and her squad in the final minutes, but felt the Warriors' big victory Thursday over Catholic Central wasn't put to rest and got in the way versus the Eagles.
"We came in here too excited from the last game," Wellnitz said. "I don't think we came in here ready enough for this game. We weren't playing physical until the end."
