JUDA - In a heavily anticipated Six Rivers East matchup, Black Hawk came away bumped and bruised and with the win over Juda Friday, 54-45.
The Warriors used a big first quarter to grab the lead and made its free throws down the stretch to stop comeback-runs by the Panthers.
"I'll take it. I certainly won't walk away from this one disappointed," Black Hawk head coach Mike Flanagan said. "Give Juda some props, they came in and played hard. In the end, we're proud of our kids because they persevered and got it done.
"This is a tough place to play - and it always has been. It was a great atmosphere and obviously people were pretty excited about what this game means. It was big for both teams."
Juda, which trailed by as much as 13 in the second half and 12 midway through the fourth, brought the game back to within five points in the final minute and a half.
"I think the girls knew that we were right there," Juda head coach Curt Brown said. "A basket would have brought it to two points in the third quarter. I was really happy how we came back. We didn't stop."
Not only was Juda pulling a comeback attempt, but Black Hawk was in foul trouble throughout the fourth quarter. With 4 minutes, 42 seconds to play in the game, three starters for the Warriors had four fouls - Kim Wellnitz, Melissa Wellnitz and Katie Place. Only Kim Wellnitz fouled out, and that came on an offensive push-off with 2:59 left.
"I thought that (Juda) just hung around. When we struggled to finish they came back. Things got tough. Some kids got into foul trouble and you had other kids out on the floor that you usually might not have out there," Flanagan said.
The Panthers got three big 3-pointers in the second half that sparked rallies. Larissa Klemm banked one in from downtown during a 9-0 run midway through the third. Brittany Riese drained the first of her two fourth-quarter 3s with 4:26 and 2:26 remaining.
"Finally towards the end of the game we started to have some keys to success, we were getting the ball down the floor and got into our offense a little bit more," Brown said. "Right now we're playing about as well as we want. When we lost to Pecatonica and to Clinton, we played without Larissa Klemm and that really hurt us."
Black Hawk erupted in the first quarter, posting a 19-7 lead. Both teams played tough halfcourt defenses that led to numerous turnovers.
"They get out to that lead and it's really hard to come back," Brown said.
Juda outscored the Warriors by a single point in each of the final three periods, but the damage was done.
"All the credit to (Black Hawk). They bring defensive pressure that you just can't practice against," Brown said.
Ellen Kiser had 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for Juda. Teammate Heather Boeke had 10 points and nine rebounds and Klemm had nine points. Rachel Rygh paced Black Hawk with 16 points. Kim Wellnitz had 13 points and Alyssa Piefer had 10.
Black Hawk (7-1, 4-0) now holds a two-game lead on Juda (5-4, 0-2) and stays on top in the conference ahead of Barneveld (6-4, 3-1), Albany (7-4, 2-1) and Pecatonica (4-6, 2-2).
The Warriors play again Jan. 11 at home against Potosi, the team that knocked them out at state last year.
"There's a little bit of history there - they got us two out of three times last year. We're going to want to take care of things on our home court," Flanagan said.
The Warriors used a big first quarter to grab the lead and made its free throws down the stretch to stop comeback-runs by the Panthers.
"I'll take it. I certainly won't walk away from this one disappointed," Black Hawk head coach Mike Flanagan said. "Give Juda some props, they came in and played hard. In the end, we're proud of our kids because they persevered and got it done.
"This is a tough place to play - and it always has been. It was a great atmosphere and obviously people were pretty excited about what this game means. It was big for both teams."
Juda, which trailed by as much as 13 in the second half and 12 midway through the fourth, brought the game back to within five points in the final minute and a half.
"I think the girls knew that we were right there," Juda head coach Curt Brown said. "A basket would have brought it to two points in the third quarter. I was really happy how we came back. We didn't stop."
Not only was Juda pulling a comeback attempt, but Black Hawk was in foul trouble throughout the fourth quarter. With 4 minutes, 42 seconds to play in the game, three starters for the Warriors had four fouls - Kim Wellnitz, Melissa Wellnitz and Katie Place. Only Kim Wellnitz fouled out, and that came on an offensive push-off with 2:59 left.
"I thought that (Juda) just hung around. When we struggled to finish they came back. Things got tough. Some kids got into foul trouble and you had other kids out on the floor that you usually might not have out there," Flanagan said.
The Panthers got three big 3-pointers in the second half that sparked rallies. Larissa Klemm banked one in from downtown during a 9-0 run midway through the third. Brittany Riese drained the first of her two fourth-quarter 3s with 4:26 and 2:26 remaining.
"Finally towards the end of the game we started to have some keys to success, we were getting the ball down the floor and got into our offense a little bit more," Brown said. "Right now we're playing about as well as we want. When we lost to Pecatonica and to Clinton, we played without Larissa Klemm and that really hurt us."
Black Hawk erupted in the first quarter, posting a 19-7 lead. Both teams played tough halfcourt defenses that led to numerous turnovers.
"They get out to that lead and it's really hard to come back," Brown said.
Juda outscored the Warriors by a single point in each of the final three periods, but the damage was done.
"All the credit to (Black Hawk). They bring defensive pressure that you just can't practice against," Brown said.
Ellen Kiser had 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for Juda. Teammate Heather Boeke had 10 points and nine rebounds and Klemm had nine points. Rachel Rygh paced Black Hawk with 16 points. Kim Wellnitz had 13 points and Alyssa Piefer had 10.
Black Hawk (7-1, 4-0) now holds a two-game lead on Juda (5-4, 0-2) and stays on top in the conference ahead of Barneveld (6-4, 3-1), Albany (7-4, 2-1) and Pecatonica (4-6, 2-2).
The Warriors play again Jan. 11 at home against Potosi, the team that knocked them out at state last year.
"There's a little bit of history there - they got us two out of three times last year. We're going to want to take care of things on our home court," Flanagan said.
