By Jason Arndt
Editor
The Waterford girls basketball team had a pressing need for a win and two seniors rose to the occasion in a Jan. 10 matchup with visiting Wilmot.
The Wolverines, who lost four of five games entering the Southern Lakes Conference tilt, spent time preparing for the Panthers’ guard-oriented offense and low post presence of 6-foot-2 Karina Leber.
The urgency and week of planning certainly paid off as the Wolverines defeated the Panthers 53-44 behind the senior leadership of Katie Rohner and Annie Benavides.
Rohner, who scored a game-high 27 points, including nine from behind the arc, added seven rebounds, three assists and five steals.
Benavides collected 12 rebounds, five steals, two blocks along with a career-best 16 points. Her previous high was 15 against Lake Geneva Badger on Nov. 30, 2018.
“We needed a victory real bad and we had a couple of days to prepare for them and I think that helped,” said Waterford coach Dena Brechtl, whose team improved to 7-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play.
“I was super proud of the girls for staying true to what we worked on all week. I knew it was going to work because it worked early on and we just needed to stay true to it.”
The game plan involved stopping the Panthers’ up-tempo offense, including fleet-footed Kenzi Ketterhagen and perimeter threat Julia Hickey, both seniors.
While Ketterhagen knocked in 15 points, including 10 in the first half, Hickey was limited to just four unsuccessful 3-point attempts for Wilmot (6-4, 3-3).
“When they were in that drive offense, we were eliminating that kick out to the 3, so they wouldn’t get those easy 3’s,” Rohner said.
Junior Meghan Schmidt, tasked with handling the Panthers speedy guards, finished with three steals and pitched in four assists.
“Meghan Schmidt is one of the best defenders in this conference and I thought she did a great job,” she said.
Rohner, Benavides leads the charge
In the first half, where the Wolverines carried double-digit advantages multiple times, Waterford carried a 29-24 lead into halftime with Rohner and Benavides leading the charge.
Rohner tallied 15 in the first half while the 5-foot-9 Benavides knocked in nine points, many against the taller Leber, who did not seem to faze her in the paint.
“Nothing bothers Annie – nothing. We are not a big team. Annie is our biggest kid at about 5-9 1/2 on a good day with her tennis shoes on, but nobody scares Annie,” Brechtl said.
Benavides indicates her previous matchup against 6-3 Maddison Baker of West Bend West on Jan. 3 served as preparation for Leber.
“Last week, we played a 6-3 girl from West Bend West straight up,” Benavides said.
Leber collected 16 rebounds and scored all 15 of her points in the paint.
Rohner and Benavides, meanwhile, continued to keep pace in the second half.
The Panthers, who had multiple defenders guarding Rohner, saw three of them foul out in the final frame, including junior bench players Abby Horton and Madelyn Johnson as well as starter Hickey.
Rohner capitalized at the charity stripe, where she converted nine free throws, finishing with 12 total points in the second half.
Panthers coach Jerod Boyd attributes poor positioning and struggles with keeping track of Rohner for his team’s second half foul woes.
“I guess it was just positioning and Rohner is a good player,” he said. “We need to lock down defensively and now we are still exploring and trying to find some kid that is going to step up and guard the best player on the floor.”
The Wolverines play at Burlington Friday in the first game of a boys and girls basketball doubleheader with the girls tipping off at 5:30 p.m.
See the Jan. 17 edition of the Waterford Post for the full story.
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