Young Rockets blast off at Random Lake

A slow start didn’t keep the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School girls’ basketball team from taking the rubber match against Random Lake in a Division 4 playoff game on Feb. 23 that was delayed one day due to ice.

The Rockets used a 22-5 tear to take control of the game, and the Rams never got closer than six points the rest of the way in a 72-59 win.

“It was really exciting. We prepared hard this week coming into the game,” sophomore Tara Schmitz said. “Everyone did what they were supposed to do. I think it’s one of the best games we’ve all played together.”

The Rockets fell behind, 10-3, in the first five minutes of the game, then flipped the switch.

Freshman Sophie Beightol hit a three-pointer to knot the game at 12, and barely 30 seconds later drained another on an inbounds play that gave the Rockets their first lead with less than nine minutes to play in the half.

The Rams tied it on a three-pointer, but freshman Kahleah Knight answered from long range to make it 18-15.

Five straight Rocket points made it 23-15, with six and a half minutes left in the half, igniting the large fan base behind the bench that made the short trip to support the team.

Beightol had three three-pointers in  the 22-5 run. Alexis Bahr and Aubrey Marti each had four points.

Beightol’s shooting and the Rockets’ deflections of Rams’ passes and getting out in transition keyed the run. Marti ran the offense as she and her teammates sped down court.

“We had a slow start, didn’t box out, but once we hit a couple of threes they got that momentum going,” coach Mike Bikman, who goes by Coach Bik, said.

“Then we toughened up on defense. Aubrey Marti came in, and I think she’s the one that changed the whole game around just with her controlling the ball.”

“That was pretty intense. It was fun,” Marti said.

“We played a lot harder than the first time we played them,” Beightol said.

The Rockets led, 32-26, at halftime.

In the second half, Rocket sophomore Katelyn Morris grabbed an offensive rebound and made the putback, then scored inside on an inbounds play to extend the lead to 36-26.

The Rams battled back to 47-40, triggering Bik to call a timeout.

Bahr drove the baseline for a bucket, and the teams exchanged hoops before Schmitz drained a three-pointer from the left wing to extend the Rockets’ edge to 55-44 with just more than eight minutes to play.

Bahr hit two straight shots inside in 22 seconds, and it was 59-44 and out of reach for the Rams.

Ball movement was sharp, with Rockets moving and finding the open player for open shots.

“Once you get the ball moving, people are open,” Bik said.

“It’s awesome. When you get them so tired on defense, you get eight, 10 passes and run a minute or two off the clock and then you get a big score like that, that’s just one of the best feelings,” Schmitz said.

It wasn’t the offense, however, that sparked the Rockets to keep a solid margin for the game’s last 18 minutes.

“In the second half, we played really good defense, which we haven’t done in a while,” Bahr said.

“We kept our intensity up,” sophomore Olivia Bahr said.

“The turnovers, the hustle plays, the loose balls ­— we finally got them,” Bik said, also praising Marti for her leadership.

“Aubrey stepped it up today. She talked in the locker room. As a freshman, that’s pretty impressive stuff.”

Beightol had 16 points and six rebounds. Alexis Bahr had 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting and five rebounds. Morris had 13 points on 6-for-13 shooting. Oliva Bahr had nine points and nine rebounds. Marti had nine points and six assists. Schmitz had five points and four rebounds, and Knight had five points and three rebounds.

“These wins are so fun. There’s nothing like it,” Schmitz said.

For the Rams, who finished 10-15 overall and 7-12 in the Big East, Halle Van Horn had 15 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Abby Borchardt had 15 points, Chloe Theis had 12 and Jayla Harter had 10.

The teams has split regular season meetings, each winning at home.

Rockets’ run ends in Laconia

The young Rockets, whose starters are all underclassmen, saw their measuring stick Friday at No. 1 seed Laconia in a 67-19 loss.

The game was tied at 10 before the Rockets took an early lead. Then the Spartans took over. It was 37-15 at halftime, and the Rockets were outscored, 30-4, in the second half.

The Spartans’ 1-3-1 press was too much for the Rockets.

“You could see our girls shaking, literally. They were just panicking,” Bik said.

Morris had seven points. Molly Johannes had 29 points to lead the Spartans.

The Rockets finished 8-17 overall and 5-14 in the six-team Big East South, tied for fifth with Kohler.

“We’ve got a lot of people coming back,” Bik said.