It has been long overdue for the Huskies to get revenge on their rival, the Badgers, and this would not be the year, either, as Berkshire again claimed the game, 53-33.
It has been long overdue for the Huskies to get revenge on their rival, the Badgers, and this would not be the year, either, as Berkshire again claimed the game, 53-33.
The Huskies picked up a key win, 38-33, on Nov. 30, 2021, with Haley Domen and Ronee Collins each scoring 10 points. After a knee injury to their senior leader, the Huskies dropped game two, 54-28, on Jan. 19, 2022.
Then, the rivalry was put on pause.
The contest Dec. 19 seemed lopsided on paper from the get-go, with Badger senior Hayley Stoddard pacing her experienced squad versus the Huskies’ young lineup of all freshmen and sophomores.
Not surprisingly, Stoddard and freshman Ivy Kaminski got the game underway with Stoddard winning the tip. She later scored on a short jumper, immediately applying pressure to the Huskies’ inexperienced offense.
In their first three possessions on offense, the Huskies turned the ball over three times, allowing Berkshire to jump out to 6-0 lead.
Stoddard scored four of the first six points.
“We knew that they were going to trap us and they were going to run zone defense,” Stoddard said. “Our offense is more centered around man-to-man defenses, so during practices we were going over zone defenses a lot, and practicing high-low and two-man. But our game plan was to get the ball in and out, and get some shots up, and that should then open up the paint by getting shots off.”
Berkshire Head Coach Kim Domen called a timeout with 5:41 remaining in the opening quarter. Out of the timeout, Kaminski got her team on the board with a jumper, cutting the lead to four.
Nova Young got fouled with four minutes remaining, splitting the pair and bringing the Huskies within two. A double-dribble was then called against the Badgers, followed by a foul, allowing Emily Pleva to get to the foul line for two. She would connect on the second attempt, tying the contest up at six apiece.
“What did I like from last night’s contest?” the coach said. “The fight. The constant effort to play hard. We just would not give up. The consistent effort given by all last night, with limited rotations, was something we as a coaching staff are very, very proud of.”
A put-back from Stoddard gave the Badgers a one-point advantage at the end of the first quarter, 9-8.
A 20-9 run from the Badgers gave them the 29-17 lead at the half.
A great adjustment made by Berkshire Head Coach James Bosley, affecting his team’s approach to offense during the second half, proved to be the difference-maker.
“Cardinal was aggressive going after the ball when we would get it inside,” Bosley said. “We had some problems getting shots up because of that physical play, and had to make adjustments playing through that contact.
“At halftime, it was just trying to tell the girls to remain patient. We also talked about doing things in our half-court offense to be more patient against their zone which helped.”
As the Badgers responded to Coach Bosley’s game plan at halftime, his team made every shot difficult for the Huskies in the second half. Another big run from the Badgers would stretch the lead to 20, 44-24.
“As of late, our third quarters have gone downhill,” Stoddard said, “so we wanted to focus on keeping that quarter up, because we come into the game in the first half and play really well, and this game we really focused on not letting up in the second half.”
The Badgers outscored their opponent in the second half, 24-16, making it nearly impossible for the Huskies to get a clean shot off. A dominant performance in the paint from Stoddard showed her maturity late in the game.
“Hayley can be a dominant player that always draws attention from the other team,” her coach said. “Sometimes she is her own worst enemy when it comes to fouls, because she is so physically strong that she doesn’t know her own strength.
“When she plays like she did Tuesday night, she opens things up for her teammates. Her being able to control herself is showing a lot of growth in her game.”
Stoddard had picked up her fourth foul in the third quarter, which allowed the Huskies to score more points in the paint. But Stoddard controlled the game and finished the contest with 15 points and 18 rebounds.
Junior Olivia Masink nearly recorded everything in the stat line. Finishing with nine points, seven rebounds, two steals and one assist, she also found success in the paint, taking some attention off of Stoddard in the second half.
“We wanted to run the floor to get some quicker shots up, so that we could out-hustle them,” Masink said.
Freshman Ivy Martin finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, knocking down big-time threes just when the Huskies thought they got momentum.
Cardinal finished with Kaminski leading the way with 16 points and nine rebounds. The freshman added six steals to her stat line, while teammates Pleva and Young had eight and seven points respectively.
The young Huskies showed fight and grit, recording 16 steals in the evening.
“This freshman and sophomore group are the stepping stones of the program,” Domen said. “They are laying the foundation for what is to come in the future. I look at the numbers today and look at what is behind the group we have now, and I am excited and beyond blessed to have this opportunity to mold, cultivate and make it my own program.”
In fact, Domen’s young team has raised a few eyebrows around the area. Despite the winless season thus far, the Huskies have shown great fight.
“Hats off to Natalie Soltis, Nova Young, Emily Pleva and Ivy Kaminski, and the rest of the team for how they played,” Bosley said after the game. “You can see they are a hardworking group of girls who are going to make an impact on Cardinal athletics for the next few years.”
With the win, the Badgers improved to 2-6 on the year, while the Huskies dropped to 0-7. They will meet again Jan. 31.
