The stage was setting up nicely for a Bay Conference upset Tuesday night when the Shawano Community High School girls opened the second half with a stifling defensive effort that shut out visiting Denmark for the first four minutes of the third quarter.
The only problem for the Hawks was that there was also a lid on the hoop at the other end. Shawano, which trailed 30-17 at intermission, failed to cut into that deficit, and despite a gritty effort down the stretch, the Hawks could get no closer than 12 the rest of the way and fell, 49-32.
“If we hit a couple of buckets there, we get it under 10, maybe cut it to five, and it’s a totally different game,” Shawano coach Ryan Koenig said. “But the shots weren’t falling for us tonight. Some of that is due to (Denmark’s defense), they’re a good team. But it just wasn’t our night.”
Shawano, which fell to 4-9 and 3-6 in conference, had jumped on the visitors early, racing in front 7-2 on a 3-point field goal by Courtney Ainsworth.
Then Denmark, which improved to 6-2 to maintain its hold on fourth place in the Bay Conference, applied some full-court pressure that ultimately proved to be the Hawks’ undoing.
“That surprised us a little bit,” Shawano guard Megan Klitzke said. “We weren’t rotating like we should have, and after we got that early lead, things just weren’t rolling our way.”
In addition to the vexing 1-2-2 press, the Vikings featured a balanced offense. Ten players scored for Denmark, led by Leah Hansen’s 12 points.
Briana Boda led Shawano with 10 points and Ainsworth chipped in seven.
A steal and a layup by Denmark’s Ashley Leiterman with 7:19 left in the fourth quarter proved to be the backbreaker for Shawano, as the Vikings reclaimed the momentum that the Hawks briefly enjoyed after forcing a pair of turnovers with some full-court pressure of their own.
Teagan Monfils’ free throw had brought Shawano to within 35-24, but the Vikings, who had reeled off a 17-1 run after trailing in the first quarter, went up 39-24 after Leiterman’s layup and a bucket by Britney Petersen. Denmark never led by less than 14 the rest of the way.
“We didn’t take care of the ball,” said Koenig, who nonetheless was pleased with his team’s hustle throughout the entire 32 minutes. “But I have the utmost respect for how we hung in there and played hard.”
Koenig believes that Shawano, which has only three seniors on the roster, can still salvage a successful season with a strong finish.
“We want to finish .500,” he said. “If we go 8-8 in conference we’ll finish fourth or fifth, and that would be a good spot for us.”
Denmark (49)
VandenLangenberg 1 1-2 4, Derricks 1 0-0 2, Petersen 4 0-0 8, Hansen 3 3-4 12, Leiterman 3 0-0 6, Rish 1 2-2 5, Laurent 0 1-2 1, Sipple 1 0-0 2, Pennings 1 0-0 2, Nehls 3 0-0 7
Shawano (32)
Monfils 1 1-2 3, Mo. Klitzke 0 1-2 1, Me. Klitzke 1 2-4 4, Vomastic 1 0-0 2, Boda 3 4-5 10, Ainsworth 2 1-2 7, Schreiber 1 1-2 3, Dunnam 1 0-0 2
Denmark 14 16 5 14 — 49
Shawano 8 9 7 8 — 32
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