Gary Seymour, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Photo by Brad Luepke Bonduel High School senior guard Lexi Reinke drives past Amherst’s Kendra Dombrowski for two of her 11 points in Bonduel's 55-38 WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal win.
Photo by Brad Luepke Bonduel High School sophomore guard Kailee Pederson, right, puts the defensive clamps on Kelsey Holderman, of Amherst, Friday night during Bonduel's 55-38 WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal win at Bonduel.
In the lead-up to Friday night’s WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal, coach Missy Dowden imparted some basketball wisdom that perplexed her Bonduel High School team.
Dowden reminded her Bears, the top seed in the region, to take their time running their offense because teams generally don’t like to play defense. The confusion registered on the players’ faces said it all: But we like defense.
Throughout their 22-1 season, Dowden and her Bears have known that if the offense calls in sick, takes a personal day, or even just shows up a little late, as it did against Amherst, it’s all good when you have a shutdown defense in tow.
The Bears recovered quickly from a sluggish opening to bounce the visiting Falcons from the postseason, winning a 55-38 regional semifinal that was nowhere near as close as the final score reflects.
“Having that (first-round) bye is nice,” Dowden said, “but it’s also a hindrance. We didn’t play a game for a week, so it was like a Christmas break. I think it’s such a big hype, to get into the regionals and start playing. We just had to settle down a little bit. Once we settled down, we were fine.”
Nerves and rust were evident on both sides over the first five minutes of the game, when the Bears inched ahead 7-6 on a 3-pointer by Deanna Zernicke, but once they found their bearings it was a quick night for Amherst (10-14), a Central Wisconsin-8 club that lost to Bonduel for the third time.
Senior center Jen Dowden distinguished herself again as an irresistible force, pulling down eight rebounds and rolling in a team-high 13 points that included three from beyond the 3-point arc.
“We knew it would be a tough game, like it was the other two times against them,” she said. “But we also felt confident. We have a lot of fun on defense — we anticipate well and switch well. We’re playing together; I think we’re playing our best ball right now.”
Sophomore Emily Sorenson came off the bench and provided a big spark, netting 10 points and making three steals that helped the Bears pull away to a 28-10 halftime lead.
“That’s what I’m supposed to do when I’m in there, hustle and try to make something happen on defense,” Sorenson said. “Coach is always telling us to anticipate the passes and cut into the passing lanes.”
Bonduel got an early second-half scare when senior guard Lexi Reinke (11 points) banged the top of her right knee in a collision near midcourt. Reinke, whom Amherst coach Gregg Jensen singled out as the player who hurt them most in all three meetings, was not seriously injured.
“Just a charley horse,” she said.
Kailee Pedersen had eight points and Hayley Sorenson had two steals for Bonduel, which can clinch the regional title tonight with a win over visiting Shiocton (14-9), a 49-48 winner over Iola-Scandinavia in the other regional semifinal. Bonduel, 15-0 at home this year, has beaten Shiocton twice this season, by 16 and 15 points.
“It’s nice that we’re playing at home again,” Missy Dowden said. “We told our players at halftime, ‘This is your court. You’ve earned this, now go take care of it.’”
Amherst 6 4 4 22 — 38
Bonduel 10 18 14 13 — 55
Amherst (38)
Gliszinski 3 0-0 6, Glennon 0 2-5 2, S. Dombrowski 1 0-0 3, K. Dombrowski 5 7-7 17, B. Dombrowski 1 0-0 2, Pearson 3 2-4 8.
Bonduel (55)
Collier 1 0-0 2, H. Sorenson 1 0-0 2, E. Sorenson 5 0-1 10, Dowden 5 0-0 13, Reinke 3 3-4 11, Weier 1 2-4 4, Pedersen 3 0-0 8, Zernicke 2 0-0 5.