Girls Basketball: Bonduel tops Menominee Indian in CWC-East opener

Full-court pressure spurs Bears to win
By: 
Morgan Rode
Sports Editor

BONDUEL — The Bonduel High School girls basketball team turned full-court pressure defense into a big offensive run in the first half before coasting to a 72-36 Central Wisconsin Conference-East Division victory over Menominee Indian on Tuesday.

The visiting Eagles jumped out to an early lead, as junior Mimi Beaulieu-Morgan opened the game with a four-point play before senior Senihseah Wayka converted a three-point play to give the team an 8-6 lead with just under 14 minutes to play in the half.

A bucket from Bonduel junior Breanna Schnell tied the game. Sophomore Brenna Hertzfeldt then converted a pair of shots before sophomore Kylie Hoffman added a basket to put the hosts up 14-8.

A field goal from Menominee Indian junior Kay-Li Corn made it 14-10, but Bonduel responded by scoring the next 17 points to grab a commanding lead.

Bonduel’s full-court pressure forced several Menominee Indian turnovers during the stretch, leading to layups on the offensive end.

“I think that when we started pressing, we knew where their weak spots were so that we could pick it off — we knew it was coming — and that really helped us,” said Bonduel junior Madison Kurey. “Then we made our layups, which really helped, too.”

The Bears held the Eagles to just two field goals and six points in the final 11 minutes of the half.

Bonduel scored 48 points in the opening 18 minutes of play for an average of over 2.5 points per minute.

The Bears played unselfishly, with eight different players scoring in the first half. Sharing the scoring load has been something Bonduel has done extremely well during it’s perfect start to the season.

Junior Kara Troxel tallied 11 of her team-leading 16 points in the opening half, while Hertzfeldt scored all eight of her points in the half. Schnell, Kurey and freshman Josie Hoffman all added six first-half points, while sophomore Allaina Robaidek had five.

“Very unselfish kids,” said Bonduel coach Jerry Reinke. “If I had anything to complain about, I’d say sometimes they are a little too unselfish. Sometimes they don’t shoot the open shots that they should. But there was good balance. I think we pride ourselves on that and I think it makes us a little more difficult to defend if we can get that good balance.”

Menominee Indian was able to keep pace with Bonduel in the second half, but with his team holding a big lead, Reinke was able to empty his bench and watch the team coast to a win.

Robaidek led the hosts by scoring seven points in the half, with Troxel, Josie Hoffman and sophomore Meghan Wondra all tallying five points.

Schnell grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds, while Robaidek had seven. Hertzfeldt finished off a well-rounded performance with four assists and four steals. Troxel tallied three steals.

The convincing win was a strong start to conference play for the Bears, but the team is staying grounded.

“(The win) helps our confidence but our coach always says, ‘Don’t look at this game and say this is how we’re going to be forever.’ We need to focus on the next game,” said Schnell. “We’re always thinking about how we’re 0-0, not getting too cocky and thinking that we’re so good. We have to play hard every game and give it all we got.”

Despite what the scoreboard said, Menominee Indian coach Michael Skenadore was pleased with the way the team responded in the second half and battled until the end.

“I learned that we’re not quite ready for primetime yet,” said Skenadore. “I think that my girls did show some grit through the second half. I think they were a little shell shocked in the first half.

“We got them together and set some goals for the second half and we met our goals in the second half, so we did alright. I’m not complaining about the second half at all.”

Beaulieu-Morgan scored nine points in the second half to finish with 13 for the game. Senior Alyssa Corn tallied all six of her points in the second half and Wayka totaled five points.

It was the Eagles first loss on the young season.

Both teams dive back into CWC-East play on Friday, with Bonduel traveling to take on Wittenberg-Birnamwood and Menominee Indian playing a road game against Iola-Scandinavia.

Menominee Indian 14 22 — 36

Bonduel 48 24 — 72

Bonduel (72): Allaina Robaidek 5-8 12, Kara Troxel 4-4 16, Josie Hoffman 0-0 11, Erin Timler 0-0 2, Meghan Wondra 0-0 5, Brenna Hertzfeldt 0-0 8, Breanna Schnell 2-2 6, Madison Kurey 0-1 8, Kylie Hoffman 0-0 4.

Menominee Indian (36): Mimi Beaulieu-Morgan 4-5 13, Senihseah Wayka 3-5 5, Selena O’Kimosh 0-0 3, Mariah Fish 2-2 2, Alezaha King 0-2 2, Jaylynn Martin 1-2 1, Alyssa Corn 0-1 6, Kay-Li Corn 0-0 4.

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