By Adam Krebs
sportseditor@
themonroetimes.com
MADISON - The Black Hawk Lady Warriors are going to bring home the first set of basketball hardware in school history. The Warriors knocked off Minong Northwood in the second WIAA Division 4 state semifinal, 42-31, Thursday.
"It was a thrill. I don't even have words to explain how excited we were," senior forward Katie Place said. "It was a physical game and I'm so glad we came out and pulled it off."
Black Hawk will play Wausau Newman (25-2) in the state championship game Saturday at 12:05 p.m.
To get the to title game, the Warriors knew they would have to play their best.
After struggling from the field in the first half, head coach Mike Flanagan reminded his squad to keep their heads up.
"I just had a sense that if we just kept with it and just kept coming after them (with the press), then they will turn it over some," Flanagan said.
Black Hawk (27-1) responded and overcame a 3-for-21 shooting performance in the first half with excellent defense. Both teams shot the same percentage (14.3 percent) from the floor in the south end of the court, something Flanagan jokingly called for an investigation.
"First half we were terrible at shooting, just absolutely terrible. Nothing was falling," junior guard Melissa Wellnitz said.
One noticeable offensive weapon missing was Melissa's sister, senior Kim Wellnitz, who couldn't get into a rhythm against the Evergreens' zone defense.
"I was not playing my hardest, and I admit that. I should have gone out there and played harder," Kim Wellnitz said. "It was frustrating being in the middle. My problem was I was trying to dribble in there and I couldn't do that. I think I wasn't being selfish enough and taking it to the hoop myself and trying to get fouled. I kept kicking it out. Coach told me in the locker room to be more aggressive and to take it myself and I was not going to lose this (semifinal) two years in a row."
The Warriors immediately got off to a quick start in the third. Melissa Wellnitz hit a big 3-pointer to open up the third quarter, bringing the Warriors back to within a point of the lead.
"I knew we had to start cutting our way up and get a lead and I took that shot because I was like, 'Hey, why not?' because I was so wide open," she said. "Then we started going after that."
Sophomore Chaesta Shager drilled a second 3 a little while later to give the Warriors their first lead (24-23) since a 6-5 advantage midway through the first quarter. On Black Hawk's next possession, senior Kim Wellnitz scored on a layup off of an assist from her sister, Melissa.
"We started making shots and things started going more smoothly for us," Rachel Rygh said.
Black Hawk outscored Northwood 13-2 in the frame, which turned nearly all momentum in the Warriors' favor.
"I thought we played a pretty good first half. I thought we probably could have taken an even larger lead if we didn't turn the ball over so much," Northwood head coach Jason Schultz said. "In the second half, they did some things defensively that took away what we like to do. I give them credit."
One of the changes made at halftime was to move Melissa Wellnitz off of the Evergreen's leading scorer, Annie Block, and have Shager take over the matchup.
"We just told Shags to stay really close to her and to not play off of her. That adjustment was probably the difference," Flanagan said.
Block, who scored a game-high 16 points and was 0-for-6 from the field in the second half, complimented the Warriors on their defense.
"They defended very well. Both halves they defended well, but in the second half we started to panic," she said.
As the fourth quarter rolled around, Black Hawk held all the momentum and went to a stall offense, forcing Northwood (25-1) into quick shots and fouls. The Warriors hit 8 of 10 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
"I just pushed myself into my own little box and put them in," junior guard Alyssa Piefer said. Piefer got to the line after getting fouled hard on a breakaway layup attempt.
In the first half, it was Rygh, a junior, who kept the Warriors in the ballgame, scoring 10 points, seven of which from the free throw line. One of those freebee's came at the conclusion of the first quarter. Rygh was fouled on a shot in the lane as time expired and got to shoot two free throws alone on the court.
"That was a little strange - definitely not something I'm not used to. It was kind of relaxing not having anyone else in there, it was just me, myself and the ball," Rygh said.
She led Black Hawk with 15 points. Kim Wellnitz had eight, and Place and Shager each had six. Place had eight rebounds and Kim Wellnitz had seven. Black Hawk was 18-for-24 in the game from the free throw line, and hit 7 of 18 shots (38.9 percent) from the field in the second half. The Warriors scored 21 points off of 23 Northwood turnovers while giving up just 14 possessions themselves.
The Warriors will get to play for a shot at the gold ball trophy, something Kim Wellnitz said she is ready for.
"It's exciting. Never before in school history has it happened (been to the championship) and for us to be the first - it's just crazy. And I want to get that gold ball, too," she said.
sportseditor@
themonroetimes.com
MADISON - The Black Hawk Lady Warriors are going to bring home the first set of basketball hardware in school history. The Warriors knocked off Minong Northwood in the second WIAA Division 4 state semifinal, 42-31, Thursday.
"It was a thrill. I don't even have words to explain how excited we were," senior forward Katie Place said. "It was a physical game and I'm so glad we came out and pulled it off."
Black Hawk will play Wausau Newman (25-2) in the state championship game Saturday at 12:05 p.m.
To get the to title game, the Warriors knew they would have to play their best.
After struggling from the field in the first half, head coach Mike Flanagan reminded his squad to keep their heads up.
"I just had a sense that if we just kept with it and just kept coming after them (with the press), then they will turn it over some," Flanagan said.
Black Hawk (27-1) responded and overcame a 3-for-21 shooting performance in the first half with excellent defense. Both teams shot the same percentage (14.3 percent) from the floor in the south end of the court, something Flanagan jokingly called for an investigation.
"First half we were terrible at shooting, just absolutely terrible. Nothing was falling," junior guard Melissa Wellnitz said.
One noticeable offensive weapon missing was Melissa's sister, senior Kim Wellnitz, who couldn't get into a rhythm against the Evergreens' zone defense.
"I was not playing my hardest, and I admit that. I should have gone out there and played harder," Kim Wellnitz said. "It was frustrating being in the middle. My problem was I was trying to dribble in there and I couldn't do that. I think I wasn't being selfish enough and taking it to the hoop myself and trying to get fouled. I kept kicking it out. Coach told me in the locker room to be more aggressive and to take it myself and I was not going to lose this (semifinal) two years in a row."
The Warriors immediately got off to a quick start in the third. Melissa Wellnitz hit a big 3-pointer to open up the third quarter, bringing the Warriors back to within a point of the lead.
"I knew we had to start cutting our way up and get a lead and I took that shot because I was like, 'Hey, why not?' because I was so wide open," she said. "Then we started going after that."
Sophomore Chaesta Shager drilled a second 3 a little while later to give the Warriors their first lead (24-23) since a 6-5 advantage midway through the first quarter. On Black Hawk's next possession, senior Kim Wellnitz scored on a layup off of an assist from her sister, Melissa.
"We started making shots and things started going more smoothly for us," Rachel Rygh said.
Black Hawk outscored Northwood 13-2 in the frame, which turned nearly all momentum in the Warriors' favor.
"I thought we played a pretty good first half. I thought we probably could have taken an even larger lead if we didn't turn the ball over so much," Northwood head coach Jason Schultz said. "In the second half, they did some things defensively that took away what we like to do. I give them credit."
One of the changes made at halftime was to move Melissa Wellnitz off of the Evergreen's leading scorer, Annie Block, and have Shager take over the matchup.
"We just told Shags to stay really close to her and to not play off of her. That adjustment was probably the difference," Flanagan said.
Block, who scored a game-high 16 points and was 0-for-6 from the field in the second half, complimented the Warriors on their defense.
"They defended very well. Both halves they defended well, but in the second half we started to panic," she said.
As the fourth quarter rolled around, Black Hawk held all the momentum and went to a stall offense, forcing Northwood (25-1) into quick shots and fouls. The Warriors hit 8 of 10 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
"I just pushed myself into my own little box and put them in," junior guard Alyssa Piefer said. Piefer got to the line after getting fouled hard on a breakaway layup attempt.
In the first half, it was Rygh, a junior, who kept the Warriors in the ballgame, scoring 10 points, seven of which from the free throw line. One of those freebee's came at the conclusion of the first quarter. Rygh was fouled on a shot in the lane as time expired and got to shoot two free throws alone on the court.
"That was a little strange - definitely not something I'm not used to. It was kind of relaxing not having anyone else in there, it was just me, myself and the ball," Rygh said.
She led Black Hawk with 15 points. Kim Wellnitz had eight, and Place and Shager each had six. Place had eight rebounds and Kim Wellnitz had seven. Black Hawk was 18-for-24 in the game from the free throw line, and hit 7 of 18 shots (38.9 percent) from the field in the second half. The Warriors scored 21 points off of 23 Northwood turnovers while giving up just 14 possessions themselves.
The Warriors will get to play for a shot at the gold ball trophy, something Kim Wellnitz said she is ready for.
"It's exciting. Never before in school history has it happened (been to the championship) and for us to be the first - it's just crazy. And I want to get that gold ball, too," she said.
