SOUTH WAYNE - The Black Hawk girls basketball team surged into sole possession of first place in the Six Rivers East Conference after rolling to a 52-37 win over Barneveld Saturday night.
Black Hawk (15-1, 8-0 Six Rivers East), ranked sixth in the Associated Press Division 4 state poll, led 36-33 entering the fourth quarter. The Warriors made an adjustment on their press and went on a decisive 11-0 fourth quarter run to hand the Eagles their first conference loss in a gym packed with pink T-shirts in a fundraiser for breast cancer research. In a conference showdown dubbed as "The Shootout for a Cure", the Warriors wore pink shoelaces and the officials sported pink whistles.
Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan knows a Six Rivers East Conference title was at stake, but he doesn't want his team to rest on their laurels.
"We wanted to take that first one," Flanagan said. "We don't feel like we have accomplished anything yet. We have a lot of work to do."
Flanagan said the Warriors weren't coming out to contest shooters on the press. Instead of double teaming and trapping with the press, the Warriors switched to a man-to-man press.
"We stayed with our assignments a little bit more and we didn't look to rotate as much," Flanagan said. "We were a little more disciplined. We wanted to make them work hard and not give them open looks."
With the win Black Hawk improved to 4-1 against teams ranked in the top 10 in the state when they played them. The Warriors have now beaten the Eagles in three straight games the last two years.
Black Hawk senior Maria Meives started the spurt by nailing a jumper to start the fourth quarter. After junior Katie Place sank two free throws to give the Warriors an eight-point lead with 5 minutes, 7 seconds to go, the press adjustment paid big dividends.
The Warriors came up with a steal, which led to a layup on the break by senior Savannah Ernzen to give Black Hawk a 43-33 lead. Black Hawk senior Gabi Lehner capped the spurt with a layup on the break to give the Warriors an insurmountable 47-33 lead.
"We didn't want to let our fans down," Black Hawk sophomore Melissa Wellnitz said, who scored 11 points. "We just try to play every game the same. We just wanted to keep working hard and trying our best."
The game lived up to the advanced billing and followed a movie script early on, which had the makings of a climatic finish.
Black Hawk senior Paige Butler scored five of her 11 points in the first quarter as the Warriors jumped out to a 6-1 lead on her 3-pointer from the wing.
"We have to realize, we have another time to beat those guys," Butler said. "We have to work as hard or harder."
Barneveld (14-2, 8-1), ranked fifth, answered in the second quarter coming back to take a 15-13 lead when senior Brooke Allen scored down low. Barneveld senior Melissa Carmody scored down low on the Eagles' next possession to give them a 17-13 lead. The Warriors responded by closing the second quarter on a 9-2 spurt punctuated with a basket down low by Place that gave the Warriors a 22-17 halftime lead.
Black Hawk junior Kim Wellnitz had eight points. However, it was the baskets by Meives and Ernzen that gave the Warriors the momentum they needed.
"If someone would have asked me before the game, who would be on the floor at the end of the game, I couldn't tell them," Flanagan said. "It depends on who is feeling it. We don't have set rotations. We just look for a lot of kids to take advantage of their opportunities and I think they did that."
Black Hawk (15-1, 8-0 Six Rivers East), ranked sixth in the Associated Press Division 4 state poll, led 36-33 entering the fourth quarter. The Warriors made an adjustment on their press and went on a decisive 11-0 fourth quarter run to hand the Eagles their first conference loss in a gym packed with pink T-shirts in a fundraiser for breast cancer research. In a conference showdown dubbed as "The Shootout for a Cure", the Warriors wore pink shoelaces and the officials sported pink whistles.
Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan knows a Six Rivers East Conference title was at stake, but he doesn't want his team to rest on their laurels.
"We wanted to take that first one," Flanagan said. "We don't feel like we have accomplished anything yet. We have a lot of work to do."
Flanagan said the Warriors weren't coming out to contest shooters on the press. Instead of double teaming and trapping with the press, the Warriors switched to a man-to-man press.
"We stayed with our assignments a little bit more and we didn't look to rotate as much," Flanagan said. "We were a little more disciplined. We wanted to make them work hard and not give them open looks."
With the win Black Hawk improved to 4-1 against teams ranked in the top 10 in the state when they played them. The Warriors have now beaten the Eagles in three straight games the last two years.
Black Hawk senior Maria Meives started the spurt by nailing a jumper to start the fourth quarter. After junior Katie Place sank two free throws to give the Warriors an eight-point lead with 5 minutes, 7 seconds to go, the press adjustment paid big dividends.
The Warriors came up with a steal, which led to a layup on the break by senior Savannah Ernzen to give Black Hawk a 43-33 lead. Black Hawk senior Gabi Lehner capped the spurt with a layup on the break to give the Warriors an insurmountable 47-33 lead.
"We didn't want to let our fans down," Black Hawk sophomore Melissa Wellnitz said, who scored 11 points. "We just try to play every game the same. We just wanted to keep working hard and trying our best."
The game lived up to the advanced billing and followed a movie script early on, which had the makings of a climatic finish.
Black Hawk senior Paige Butler scored five of her 11 points in the first quarter as the Warriors jumped out to a 6-1 lead on her 3-pointer from the wing.
"We have to realize, we have another time to beat those guys," Butler said. "We have to work as hard or harder."
Barneveld (14-2, 8-1), ranked fifth, answered in the second quarter coming back to take a 15-13 lead when senior Brooke Allen scored down low. Barneveld senior Melissa Carmody scored down low on the Eagles' next possession to give them a 17-13 lead. The Warriors responded by closing the second quarter on a 9-2 spurt punctuated with a basket down low by Place that gave the Warriors a 22-17 halftime lead.
Black Hawk junior Kim Wellnitz had eight points. However, it was the baskets by Meives and Ernzen that gave the Warriors the momentum they needed.
"If someone would have asked me before the game, who would be on the floor at the end of the game, I couldn't tell them," Flanagan said. "It depends on who is feeling it. We don't have set rotations. We just look for a lot of kids to take advantage of their opportunities and I think they did that."
