MADISON - Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan looked up at the cameras and reporters in a post-game press conference and said that Thursday's state semifinal game was eerily similar to last year's state title game against Wausau Newman Catholic.
"It feels like deja vu, I guess," Flanagan said. "We tried several different things as far as how we defended them, but you have to tip your cap to your opponent sometimes. They were definitely the better team."
In 2010, the Fighting Cardinals knocked off the Warriors 64-30 in the WIAA Division 4 state championship. On Thursday, Newman (27-1) again made Black Hawk (26-1) look more like the 51st best team in the state, and not No. 1, in which the Warriors were ranked in the final regular season polls, by a score of 64-40.
"I feel like their pressure in the full court hurt us less this year. I give Melissa and Jen (Wellnitz) a lot of credit. We had a lot of turnovers, but if you look at how those turnovers came, some were from the full court press, but some in the half court were from missing catches or getting tied up," Flanagan said.
Newman came out of the gates with a pressing defense that made Black Hawk look frantic at times bringing the ball up the court.
"We had been practicing against that all week, and we when broke it we were good to go," senior Melissa Wellnitz said.
When the Warriors did get the rock into their half-court offense, either a turnover or missed field goal ensued.
"It was frantic right away," senior Alyssa Piefer said. Black Hawk finished with 23 turnovers to Newman's 13.
The Cardinals were hitting on all cylinders early. With UW-Green Bay recruit Taylor Thomas, a 6-foot post player who scored 26 points, dominating the lane, Black Hawk was forced to play help defense. In doing so, Taylor found wide open teammates outside the arc.
"Some of the kids that we didn't consider much of a threat from the perimeter stepped up and hit big shots," Flanagan said. "I thought we had a pretty good scheme defensively on what we were going to do to take away Thomas, but we did that at the sake of giving up an open perimeter. They just had a lot of kids contribute."
From the beginning, Black Hawk freshman Jen Wellnitz, who was playing at state after being a manager the last two seasons, was moving at a faster-than-sound speed.
"She was going 100 miles an hour and the ball was only going 50," said sister Melissa, who led the team with 14 points and seven steals. "I just told her to calm down and play her game. I know how it is to get overly excited."
Jen Wellnitz admitted that to open the game her adrenaline may have been running a little too high.
"I was pretty pumped, but I was out of control to start the game," said Jen Wellnitz, who had five points on 2 of 13 shooting with nine rebounds. "I knew I had to calm back down."
Black Hawk shot a forgettable 20 percent from the field on 30 shots in the first half, while Newman shot 51.9 percent on 27 shots. The Cardinals also hit four 3-pointers in the first half, with the Warriors going 0-for-4.
"They shot incredibly well," Flanagan said. "In that first quarter we really got behind and failed to finish on some opportunities. It seemed like everything went from there."
Senior Rachel Rygh, who led the Warriors in scoring all season and was named Six Rivers East Conference Player of the Year, was just 1 of 9 from the field and finished with 2 points, 12.5 below her season average.
"We knew Rachel was a heck of a ballplayer," Newman coach Tom Weinkauf said. "Last year she started out against us and had eight points in the first quarter. We were determined to try and know where she was, keep track of her and hold her down. I think we did a pretty good job of it."
Rygh was visibly upset in the second half, as she was taken completely out of her game.
"I thought that we as a team were a little tentative, Rachel included. I don't think you saw Rachel Rygh play today the way she has played all season," Flanagan said. "Things just didn't go well early and then we started second guessing ourselves. That just impacts everything you do on the floor."
Black Hawk did get a great game from forward Kayla Meier, who came off the bench to score nine points and grab nine rebounds.
"I was just really confident in our team," said Meier, who also admitted going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe helped her confidence. "My free throw percentage isn't that high, but I had to do it for my team. We had a great team this year. We all got along and had a great team chemistry."
So for the second straight year, the Cardinals will play for the gold ball. Black Hawk, for the third straight year, ends its season with a loss in the state tournament.
"I wouldn't change the journey as far as getting here. Twenty-six-and-0 is pretty neat," Flanagan said. "We talked about it in the locker room afterwards that it will take some time, but you can't let this impact the way you look back on the season. The first thing I told the girls was that to win all of your games leading up, unless you win the championship you're going to lose sometime. If you're going to have that season ending loss, where else would you want it? We were one of the fortunate few who got to end their seasons up here."
Newman will play River Ridge in the championship Saturday. River Ridge defeated Prentice in the other Division 5 semifinal 43-42 in overtime.
"It feels like deja vu, I guess," Flanagan said. "We tried several different things as far as how we defended them, but you have to tip your cap to your opponent sometimes. They were definitely the better team."
In 2010, the Fighting Cardinals knocked off the Warriors 64-30 in the WIAA Division 4 state championship. On Thursday, Newman (27-1) again made Black Hawk (26-1) look more like the 51st best team in the state, and not No. 1, in which the Warriors were ranked in the final regular season polls, by a score of 64-40.
"I feel like their pressure in the full court hurt us less this year. I give Melissa and Jen (Wellnitz) a lot of credit. We had a lot of turnovers, but if you look at how those turnovers came, some were from the full court press, but some in the half court were from missing catches or getting tied up," Flanagan said.
Newman came out of the gates with a pressing defense that made Black Hawk look frantic at times bringing the ball up the court.
"We had been practicing against that all week, and we when broke it we were good to go," senior Melissa Wellnitz said.
When the Warriors did get the rock into their half-court offense, either a turnover or missed field goal ensued.
"It was frantic right away," senior Alyssa Piefer said. Black Hawk finished with 23 turnovers to Newman's 13.
The Cardinals were hitting on all cylinders early. With UW-Green Bay recruit Taylor Thomas, a 6-foot post player who scored 26 points, dominating the lane, Black Hawk was forced to play help defense. In doing so, Taylor found wide open teammates outside the arc.
"Some of the kids that we didn't consider much of a threat from the perimeter stepped up and hit big shots," Flanagan said. "I thought we had a pretty good scheme defensively on what we were going to do to take away Thomas, but we did that at the sake of giving up an open perimeter. They just had a lot of kids contribute."
From the beginning, Black Hawk freshman Jen Wellnitz, who was playing at state after being a manager the last two seasons, was moving at a faster-than-sound speed.
"She was going 100 miles an hour and the ball was only going 50," said sister Melissa, who led the team with 14 points and seven steals. "I just told her to calm down and play her game. I know how it is to get overly excited."
Jen Wellnitz admitted that to open the game her adrenaline may have been running a little too high.
"I was pretty pumped, but I was out of control to start the game," said Jen Wellnitz, who had five points on 2 of 13 shooting with nine rebounds. "I knew I had to calm back down."
Black Hawk shot a forgettable 20 percent from the field on 30 shots in the first half, while Newman shot 51.9 percent on 27 shots. The Cardinals also hit four 3-pointers in the first half, with the Warriors going 0-for-4.
"They shot incredibly well," Flanagan said. "In that first quarter we really got behind and failed to finish on some opportunities. It seemed like everything went from there."
Senior Rachel Rygh, who led the Warriors in scoring all season and was named Six Rivers East Conference Player of the Year, was just 1 of 9 from the field and finished with 2 points, 12.5 below her season average.
"We knew Rachel was a heck of a ballplayer," Newman coach Tom Weinkauf said. "Last year she started out against us and had eight points in the first quarter. We were determined to try and know where she was, keep track of her and hold her down. I think we did a pretty good job of it."
Rygh was visibly upset in the second half, as she was taken completely out of her game.
"I thought that we as a team were a little tentative, Rachel included. I don't think you saw Rachel Rygh play today the way she has played all season," Flanagan said. "Things just didn't go well early and then we started second guessing ourselves. That just impacts everything you do on the floor."
Black Hawk did get a great game from forward Kayla Meier, who came off the bench to score nine points and grab nine rebounds.
"I was just really confident in our team," said Meier, who also admitted going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe helped her confidence. "My free throw percentage isn't that high, but I had to do it for my team. We had a great team this year. We all got along and had a great team chemistry."
So for the second straight year, the Cardinals will play for the gold ball. Black Hawk, for the third straight year, ends its season with a loss in the state tournament.
"I wouldn't change the journey as far as getting here. Twenty-six-and-0 is pretty neat," Flanagan said. "We talked about it in the locker room afterwards that it will take some time, but you can't let this impact the way you look back on the season. The first thing I told the girls was that to win all of your games leading up, unless you win the championship you're going to lose sometime. If you're going to have that season ending loss, where else would you want it? We were one of the fortunate few who got to end their seasons up here."
Newman will play River Ridge in the championship Saturday. River Ridge defeated Prentice in the other Division 5 semifinal 43-42 in overtime.
