CG-Belgium girls top rival on the road

On a night when the Ozaukee High School girls’ basketball team struggled mightily shooting from the outside, a Cedar Grove-Belgium bomb gave the Rockets the lead for good.

The Rockets, in their second week back from being quarantined due to the Covid-19 pandemic, topped their rivals on the road, 54-46, on Monday.

Three guards led the way for the Rockets. Senior Alyssa Mentink scored a game-high 22 points, including four three-pointers, and grabbed seven rebounds. Senior Ellie Dirske scored 13 points, including two three-pointers, and had seven rebounds. Sophomore Alexis Bahr had eight points, including one shot from long range, seven rebounds and six steals.

“They were huge. Just playing smart, hitting big shots for us. We know they can do it. It’s become more of them believing in it and gaining the confidence to take those shots,” coach Jason Jones said.

“Alyssa has been doing it. Now we’ve got Alexis and Ellie. If we can get that (outside shooting) going and open up the drives, that just helps our whole offense to run smoother.”

Junior guard Gabby Klas led the Warriors with 19 points, all on two-pointers and free throws. Natalie Miller had nine points and Caitlin Weyker had eight.

“The biggest thing was three-point shooting. They made seven and we didn’t make one all game. We went 0-for-17 from deep,” coach Jason Pollard said.

Still, the Warriors battled back from a 16-7 deficit halfway through the first half to take a 25-24 lead at the break.

A tight second half featured ties at 35 and 41, thanks to buckets by Klas to knot the score twice.

Dirske then nailed a big bomb for the Rockets with just more than five minute to play to give her team a 44-41 lead.

“It was exciting. I’m just glad that I can work with my team,” Dirkse said.

After two missed three-pointers by the Warriors, Rocket senior forward Brooke Braga was fouled and made two clutch free throws in the bonus, the only 15-footers she took on the night, to give the Rockets a 46-41 lead.

Klas cut the deficit to 46-43 with a shot inside, but that was as close as the Warriors would get.

In the game’s final three minutes, Mentink and Bahr each went 2-for-4 on free throws, and Dirkse went 1-for-2.

Mentink said she wishes the team could have maintained its hot start that led to a 12-4 lead in the game’s first six minutes.

“We just really lost control during the first half and had foul trouble,” she said.

“Then we gained control in the second half. Steals could have been better but at least we got defensive rebounds, somewhat.”

Jones said he was happy his team maintained its composure down the stretch.

“They kept their heads in it. It’s something we have not done in the past,” he said.

For Ozaukee, it was the fourth of five games in an eight-day stretch.

“We’ve just got to come ready to play and get a better start to the game,” he said.

Mentink outscores an entire team

In the Rockets’ first game back from quarantine on Jan. 5, Mentink scored 25 points and had seven steals in a 40-24 win over Kohler.

She shot 9-for-17 from the field, including 4-for-5 on three-pointers.

Bahr had seven rebounds and three assists, and Dirkse and Braga each had five rebounds.

The Rockets struggled at home in the second half against St. Mary Catholic on Jan. 7, when the Zephyrs outscored them, 31-15, to pull away for a 59-38 win.

Sophomore guard Chloe Vogel scored 22 points, leading 10 Zephyrs in scoring.

Mentink scored 16 points, and Bahr had nine. Dirkse and Cheyenne Simonet each had seven rebounds, and Simonet had four assists.

On Saturday, host Mishicot took it to the Rockets, 69-29. The Indians had a 38-9 lead at halftime.

Bahr and Mentink each had eight points. Dirkse had five rebounds.

Indian Desiree Kleiman scored 17 points, and Kylie Schmidt scored 16.

The Rockets, 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big East Conference South Division, were to play at Hilbert on Tuesday for their fifth game in eight days. They host Oostburg (5-0) on Friday, Howards Grove on Monday, Jan. 18, and play at Manitowoc Lutheran on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

Warriors win two of three

The Warriors opened the week with a 58-46 home loss to Sheboygan Falls in a nonconference contest.

“Sheboygan Falls was not a team indicated by their record,” Pollard said.

“They had a couple of losses due to Covid forfeits and had not played a lot of games to truly judge the team they have this year. They were also a program that was one win away from making the state tournament last year, so they had some experience playing in big games.   

“They came out with more energy than we did and our shots certainly did not fall throughout the game. The game was very physical and it was a battle all the way through as we tried to come back several times, just to fall short.”

Ozaukee trailed by 12 at the break, 34-22, but managed to play even with Falls in the second half.

Miller led the Warriors with 15 points. Ruth Utecht scored a season-high 10 points. Klas had 10 points.

Falls was led by Dayton Thiel with 17 points and Kamryn Luecke with 16.  

Last Thursday, the Warriors topped Big East foe Reedsville, 62-58.

“This was another team certainly not indicative of their record. They have had several close games that could have certainly turned a season around,” Pollard said.

After a close first half, the Warriors trailed by as many as eight points in the second half before rallying.

With 4:15 to play, Karmasin scored a basket to trim the deficit to 54-52. The Warriors forced a turnover and Miller scored to tie the game with 3:50 to play.

After a Reedsville free throw with just over two minutes to play, Cami Miller got a steal and dished the ball to Natalie Miller who scored to give Ozaukee a 56-55 lead they would not relinquish.

“We shot better than our previous game and had three players in double figures,” Pollard said

“Our defense was great as our team got a lot of steals and forced them into a lot of turnovers.”

Klas had 22 points and seven rebounds.  Natalie Miller scored 18 points, made seven steals and had five rebounds. Weyker had 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Cami Miller led Ozaukee’s inside defense with 11 rebounds and six steals.  

Reedsville was led by Morgan Taddy with 15 points. Kara Kiekhaefer and Mallory Novy each scored 12.

The Warriors were no match for host Howard Grove on Saturday night, losing 75-35.

“They are a strong team within our conference and one of the best teams in the state,” Pollard said.

“In the first half, we forced them into a lot of turnovers and were able to get into our transition offense.”   

The Tigers had three players in double digits and all but two of their players scored. Mackenzie Holzwart had 18 points, Leah Parnitzke had 17 and Maddy Near had 12.

“Natalie Miller kept us in the game in the first half. Our team just ran out of steam to try and be competitive with the Tigers,” Pollard said.

The Warriors got 18 points and five steals from Miller.

Ozaukee, 2-4 in the Big East and 5-8 overall, was to play at Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah (3-9) on Tuesday, will host Hilbert (10-5) on Friday and will play at Sheboygan Christian on Monday, Jan. 18.

Deb Hamm contributed to this article.