By Becky Walz,
As the end of the regular season draws near the South Winn girls’ basketball team (7-10, 6-7 UIC) has been busy on the hardwood throughout northeast Iowa, going 2-1 this last week.
Full court press
Friday, the Warriors used full court pressure to defeat Clayton Ridge (6-12, 3-9 UIC) at home 36-32.
In a game which was close throughout, the Eagles took the first period 7-6. South Winn bounced back to win the half 14-11 before pushing ahead to a 28-20 lead after three frames and did just enough in the final eight minutes to claim the win.
“Our girls played a tough game once again defensively. We really pressured them full court and that was the difference I feel in the game,” said coach Mike Gehling. “We had a season low with 11 turnovers which was awesome for us.”
Three Warriors contributed seven points apiece including Karissa Wenthold, Chloe Wiltgen and Vanessa Bullerman. Ella Theis and Charlotte Moonen were active under the baskets hauling in six rebounds each while Allison Hageman snared five. Theis also led South Winn in steals with four.
Clayton Ridge 7 4 9 12 32
South Winn 6 8 14 8 36
Scoring – Karissa Wenthold 7; Chloe Wiltgen 7; Vanessa Bullerman 7; Emmy Gehling 4; Alexis Johanningmeier 4; Ella Theis 3; Allison Hageman 2; Charlotte Moonen 2
Rebounds – Theis 6; Moonen 6; Hageman 5; Wiltgen 4; Johanningmeier 4; Wenthold 3; Bullerman 3; Adele Conway 1; Assists – Hageman 2; Wenthold 1; Wiltgen 1; Gehling 1; Johanningmeier 1; Steals – Theis 4; Wiltgen 2; Bullerman 2; Wenthold 1; Moonen 1; Gehling 1; Conway 1; Johanningmeier 1
Too much to handle
The Lady Warriors couldn’t hang on to the incoming Upper Iowa Conference team Waukon (10-5, 3-1 NEIC) on the road Monday night, falling 45-27.
Two big frames by Waukon led to the demise of SW. The Indians sprinted out to a 17-4 first period lead that dissolved to 20-14 by halftime. Again in the third Waukon put up 17 points leaving the Warriors trailing 37-20 with eight minutes to play and not enough offense to battled back.
“We turned the ball over too many times to beat a team like Waukon. I still see good progress with this team and we are going to keep competing every game,” said coach Gehling.
Wenthold had the hot hands for the Warriors with 12 points. Theis and Bullerman put up five points apiece with Wiltgen adding three to the mix. Alexis Johanningmeier put up two to complete the scoring for SW.
South Winn 4 10 6 7 27
Waukon 17 3 17 8 45
Holding on
A big first quarter offensively allowed South Winn just enough cushion Monday night to defeat North Fayette Valley (10-8, 7-6 UIC) in Calmar 37-33.
SW opened the game with solid shooting and defense, eliminating the TigerHawks second chance opportunities under the basket and led 16-1 until the final second when NFV hit a long trey to make it 16-4. In the second frame, the Warriors hit three baskets early, including a reverse layup by Theis, before the offense went cold at the 5:42 mark. That is when NFV got hot and scored the final 10 points of the quarter to make it a 22-19 SW lead at the break.
The offensive woes continued in the third for SW as four of the Warriors’ eight points came at the charity stripe, allowing NFV a slim 31-30 advantage with eight minutes remaining. Turnovers plagued both UIC squads as time dwindled in the final frame and they went scoreless for four minutes. A long shot by Wenthold with 35 ticks on the clock gave SW a 35-33 lead. Wenthold and Johanningmeier sealed the win as each went 1-of-2 at the stripe in the final five seconds for the win.
“Our girls defense in the fourth quarter was awesome holding them to only two points. As a program we needed to win a game like this,” noted coach Gehling.
Wenthold went over 500 points for her career during this game, putting up 13 to pace SW. Theis added eight while Johanningmeier was on the board with seven. Three other Warriors had at least two points.
NFV 4 15 12 2 33
South Winn 16 6 8 7 37
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