Composed Rocket girls pull away at Ozaukee

Konzak, Bahr make shots to turn back the tide as Warriors’ star Weyker closes in on a career milestone

OZAUKEE’S ADDISON SCHUBERT (left) battled Cedar Grove-Belgium’s Elena Engevold for a loose ball Monday night in Fredonia. Photo by Sam Arendt
By 
MITCH MAERSCH
Ozaukee Press staff

The Cedar Grove-Belgium High School girls’ basketball team knows the ebb and flow of a game, and the Rockets rode the roller coaster to a 54-35 victory in Fredonia on Monday.

The Rockets held a 26-15 halftime lead and a double-digit advantage over Ozaukee for the first several minutes of the second half, but the Warriors fought back.

Guard Savannah Quade hit two shots inside, the first after Caitlyn Weyker saved the ball from going out of bounds. Addison Schubert hit two free throws, then a jumper, and with nine and a half minutes to play the Warriors were within striking distance, down 35-27.

It was time for the Rockets to answer, and they did.

Junior guard Grace Konzak drilled an open three-pointer from the right corner on a pass from Sophie Beightol, and O-livia Bahr followed by taking an inbounds pass and hitting an inside shot while being fouled. She made the free throw, and the Rockets led, 41-27, with just more than six minutes to play.

The Warriors never got closer than 12 the rest of the way.

“We talked before the game about basketball being a game of runs,” Rocket forward Tara Schmitz said. “They’re going to get a run, we’re going to get a run. We just have to stay calm when they get a run and slowly come back from it. It was interesting at times. We were able to keep our composure enough and pull it together.”

Bahr led all scorers with 21 points. She and Schmitz each had six points down the stretch, scoring 12 of the Rockets’ final 13 points.

Once the Rockets relaxed, they turned the game back around.

“We were panicking, and we were struggling to get our offense going. We knew we just needed to slow down and collect ourselves,” Bahr said.

Rockets’ coach Mike “Bik” Bikman described the game’s turning point.

“That was a big three-pointer. That’s why we put her in,” he said of Konzak. “She’s just a great sixth man. She probably could start against half the teams that we play against. She just knows her role. She and Aubrey (Marti) complement each other. If I can get both of them in there to handle the ball, that’s even more fun.”

Ozaukee coach Linda Weyker praised her defense for keeping the team in the game.

“We played hard, tough defense tonight. That was our game plan,” she said, crediting Schubert and Meredith Clark.

“They played some strong help-side defense and contained people, especially at the end of the first half. They had a great defensive set there,” she said.

Ozaukee guard Caitlyn Weyker agreed that’s what brought the Warriors back.

“We really focused defensively on shutting the girls down. It was a total team effort. We all knew what we had to do,” she said. “We really worked on our man defense and collapsing when everything comes to the inside and packing the lane. I think that really helped us. Offensively, we were able to move the ball way more, which helped us a lot.”

Weyker, who averages 21.5 points per game, was held to 11. Bik credited Beightol’s defensive effort in limiting Weyker, who came into the game 22 points from 1,000 in her career.

Weyker wasn’t the only one struggling to find the bottom of the net. The Warriors barely rimmed out several shots that could have made the game closer.

“It’s really unfortunate when that happens, but we’ve just got to keep playing through it all. We’ve just got to keep shooting until the shots fall and break the lid that’s on the basket,” Weyker said.

Weyker could reach four digits in career scoring at big East Conference South Division leader Oostburg (6-0) on Friday, Jan. 26. If not then, the Warriors host Kohler (1-5) on Monday, Jan. 29.

“It’s just going to mean so much to me. I work my butt off. It’s amazing to feel it, but at the same time you’ve just got to go out and play and see what happens,” she said.

Coach Weyker is proud of her daughter but said the milestone has never been discussed.

“It’s going to be a moment when it happens. It definitely is, but we focus on team more than that,” she said. “We haven’t talked about it once in the locker room. We haven’t talked about it once at a practice. It’s more about team. It’s not about individuals. When it happens, it happens, but it’s about team play.”

Ellie Rodgers had 11 points and Quade had seven.

Ozaukee is 0-7 in the conference and 3-13 overall. The Rockets are 3-5 in the conference and 5-10 overall.

Behind Bahr’s 21, Schmitz, Konzak and Katelyn Morris each had six points.

Bik said he is glad to see his team finally get back to playing better.

“They finally got back from Christmas vacation,” he said. “It was a team effort and that’s what I love about it, and that’s what we’ve been missing.”

The Rockets host Random Lake (4-3) on Friday, Jan. 26, and play at Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah on Tuesday, Jan. 30.

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Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

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