SOUTH WAYNE - If Black Hawk senior Kim Wellnitz was considering a career in politics down the road, she gained experience Monday in handling a crowd chanting her name on a big stage.
For Wellnitz, Black Hawk's 56-41 non-conference win over Potosi Monday night was revenge and a milestone rolled into one. Wellnitz made 1 of 2 free throws late in the fourth quarter as Warriors fans were chanting her name. With the free throw she made, Wellnitz scored her 1,000th point. Wellnitz scored 25 points and had 10 rebounds in the game.
"At first I never imagined it," Wellnitz said, who became the second straight Black Hawk player to reach the 1,000-point plateau as she joined Paige Butler who achieved that feat last year at Juda. "I just play game by game and try to help my team by making some baskets. I have to thank all my previous teams I played with. It shows a lot for our basketball program and where we have come from over the years."
With the win Black Hawk (8-1, 4-0 Six Rivers East) avenged a loss to the Chieftains in last year's WIAA Division 4 state tournament.
"I'm just glad we won," Wellnitz said. "Even though it's not the same team, it still feels good. That was a little hurtful," she said, of losing to the Chieftains in the state tournament last year.
Potosi scored eight straight points in the first quarter and rolled to a 14-2 lead using a stifling press.
From there, the Warriors stormed back going on a 13-0 run from the end of the first quarter into the second quarter. Wellnitz scored 13 of her 25 points in the second quarter to spark the Warriors. Fellow senior Katie Place scored 16 points and had a team-high 11 rebounds. Place scored down low and Wellnitz drilled a 3-pointer with 6:18 left in the second quarter to give the Warriors their first lead 15-14. Wellnitz drained a second 3-pointer at 4:42 to give the Warriors a 20-19 lead. Black Hawk turned up the defensive pressure to force 24 Chieftain turnovers in the game. The Warriors outscored the Chieftains 23-10 in the second quarter and opened up a nine-point halftime lead.
"I told the girls, the one thing I was proud of is we stay level-headed with adversity," Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said. "Obviously, in the first quarter there was some adversity. We were just able to ride out the storm. If you keep battling and believing in yourselves, you can overcome a lot of things. That is what the girls proved tonight."
Black Hawk's lead was never in jeopardy until Potosi senior Reba Keene scored on a jumper in the lane to cut the Warriors' lead to 40-34. The Warriors answered with defensive pressure and hit some clutch free throws down the stretch. Black Hawk junior Melissa Wellnitz, who scored 11 points, opened the fourth quarter by hitting a jumper to give the Warriors a 45-34 lead.
Flanagan said the Warriors try to advise confidence in each player.
"I would be lying to say I didn't feel a little bit shaky at that point," he said as the Chieftains cut the Warriors' lead to two possessions.
No free throw was more memorable than the one Kim Wellnitz made with 1:29 to go in the fourth quarter. Flanagan took a timeout so the Warriors could recognize that Wellnitz had reached the 1,000-point milestone.
"It was not in the game plan," Flanagan said, of having Wellnitz reach 1,000 career points against the Chieftains. "We were happy it was able to happen here at home. I would have hated for it to happen on the road."
For Wellnitz, Black Hawk's 56-41 non-conference win over Potosi Monday night was revenge and a milestone rolled into one. Wellnitz made 1 of 2 free throws late in the fourth quarter as Warriors fans were chanting her name. With the free throw she made, Wellnitz scored her 1,000th point. Wellnitz scored 25 points and had 10 rebounds in the game.
"At first I never imagined it," Wellnitz said, who became the second straight Black Hawk player to reach the 1,000-point plateau as she joined Paige Butler who achieved that feat last year at Juda. "I just play game by game and try to help my team by making some baskets. I have to thank all my previous teams I played with. It shows a lot for our basketball program and where we have come from over the years."
With the win Black Hawk (8-1, 4-0 Six Rivers East) avenged a loss to the Chieftains in last year's WIAA Division 4 state tournament.
"I'm just glad we won," Wellnitz said. "Even though it's not the same team, it still feels good. That was a little hurtful," she said, of losing to the Chieftains in the state tournament last year.
Potosi scored eight straight points in the first quarter and rolled to a 14-2 lead using a stifling press.
From there, the Warriors stormed back going on a 13-0 run from the end of the first quarter into the second quarter. Wellnitz scored 13 of her 25 points in the second quarter to spark the Warriors. Fellow senior Katie Place scored 16 points and had a team-high 11 rebounds. Place scored down low and Wellnitz drilled a 3-pointer with 6:18 left in the second quarter to give the Warriors their first lead 15-14. Wellnitz drained a second 3-pointer at 4:42 to give the Warriors a 20-19 lead. Black Hawk turned up the defensive pressure to force 24 Chieftain turnovers in the game. The Warriors outscored the Chieftains 23-10 in the second quarter and opened up a nine-point halftime lead.
"I told the girls, the one thing I was proud of is we stay level-headed with adversity," Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said. "Obviously, in the first quarter there was some adversity. We were just able to ride out the storm. If you keep battling and believing in yourselves, you can overcome a lot of things. That is what the girls proved tonight."
Black Hawk's lead was never in jeopardy until Potosi senior Reba Keene scored on a jumper in the lane to cut the Warriors' lead to 40-34. The Warriors answered with defensive pressure and hit some clutch free throws down the stretch. Black Hawk junior Melissa Wellnitz, who scored 11 points, opened the fourth quarter by hitting a jumper to give the Warriors a 45-34 lead.
Flanagan said the Warriors try to advise confidence in each player.
"I would be lying to say I didn't feel a little bit shaky at that point," he said as the Chieftains cut the Warriors' lead to two possessions.
No free throw was more memorable than the one Kim Wellnitz made with 1:29 to go in the fourth quarter. Flanagan took a timeout so the Warriors could recognize that Wellnitz had reached the 1,000-point milestone.
"It was not in the game plan," Flanagan said, of having Wellnitz reach 1,000 career points against the Chieftains. "We were happy it was able to happen here at home. I would have hated for it to happen on the road."
