1998-99 GIRL'S BASKETBALL RECAPS
February 23, 1999
North 55, Memorial 35 .. North Boxscore
Johnson roughs up Old Abes
Big fourth quarter pushes North past crosstown rival Memorial
By Steve Beaudry
Leader-Telegram staff
The blood had stopped leaking from Erika Reber's lower lip Tuesday night, but the purplish contusion on her right shin remained -- along with the charley horse in her left thigh.
"Oh, brother, it was war out there," Reber said, slowly shaking her head. "I didn't think my lip would ever stop bleeding. It was a gusher."
The nasty gash and welts were inflicted by Chandra Johnson, the Eau Claire North girls basketball team's 6-foot-3 center.
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Wounds aside, the 5-foot-11 Reber considers herself fortunate.
"I'm so glad Chandra's my teammate," she said. "After the way she went at me in practice (Monday), I knew she was due to have another good game."
Reber's faith in Johnson proved to be well-rooted Tuesday night in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal at the Doghouse. Johnson unleashed a 26-point, 12-rebound roundhouse that knocked Eau Claire Memorial woozy in North's 55-35 victory.
The triumph was the fifth straight for the Huskies (17-4) and earned them a berth in a regional final of the Marshfield Sectional against Hudson Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Eagles Nest.
The three-time defending sectional champion Raiders (16-4) won the Division 1 state title last season and are riding a 10-game winning streak. Their most recent loss was to the Huskies on Jan. 5 in Hudson.
"We played our hardest (Tuesday) and did our best, and we've put ourselves right where we want to be," said Johnson, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to help North inflate a 37-31 lead. "Everything is coming together for us."
Especially for Johnson.
The UW-Green Bay signee averaged a modest 9.2 points per game this season until erupting for 22 in North's win over Chippewa Falls last Friday. It was the fifth straight game she'd increased her scoring output from the previous outing.
Don't think Reber doesn't feel it.
"Erika is our best defender in the post," North coach Chico LaBarbera said. "So, for our practice Monday, Jill Berg, my assistant, suggested we match her up 1-on-1 against Chandra.
"By the end of practice, I was calling Erika our sacrificial lamb -- jokingly, of course."
Said Johnson: "I think going against Erika has made me get a lot tougher underneath the basket."
Reber played another pivotal role in the Huskies' win Tuesday.
In North's last game against Memorial, on Feb. 2, the Old Abes won 61-59 in overtime due in large part to 6-foot Memorial center Amanda Buchholz's career-high 21 points.
"I couldn't stop (Buchholz), and I got in foul trouble," Johnson said.
LaBarbera's strategy Tuesday was simple: Match Reber against Buchholz, and let Johnson focus on scoring.
It worked. Buchholz didn't score, and Johnson shot a sultry 12-for-15 from the field. Reber also had seven points, two assists and two steals.
North senior Kristi Gehring had a breakout game as well. Dating to last season, she was a frosty 6-for-30 shooting in the Huskies' four prior meetings with Memorial. On Tuesday, she scored 10 points.
"Our shots didn't fall for us early, but we knew we couldn't give up," said Memorial guard Bekka Lundquist, who scored nine points. "It was our slow start, I think, that really hurt us."
The Abes (14-7) missed nine of their first 10 shots. But they rallied within 14-9 when reserve forward Lisa Petermann banked in a 45-foot shot at the first-quarter buzzer.
But North, ignited by the fast-break tactics of guards Rachel Evjen and Scooter Aspen, scored the first seven points of the second quarter and never seriously were threatened.
"Before the year, if you would've told me we'd end up 14-7, I'd have taken it," said Memorial coach Steve Smith, whose team graduated its top four scorers from last season's team and returned just two letterwinners. "I couldn't be more proud of the strides my team made this year."
EAU CLAIRE MEMORIAL (35)
FG-A FT-A TP: Crystal Walker 0-8 1-2 1, Atty Klingensmith 0-6 0-1 0, Bekka Lundquist 4-10 0-0 9, Lindsey Scheible 0-1 1-3 1, Amanda Buchholz 0-3 0-0 0, Joanna Leafblad 4-12 2-2 13, Greta Fiedler 2-3 0-0 4, Lisa Petermann 3-4 0-1 7, Kristy Helgoe 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-48 4-9 35.
EAU CLAIRE NORTH (55)
Nicki Robinson 0-2 4-4 4, Rachel Evjen 1-6 3-4 5, Erika Reber 2-2 2-2 7, Kristi Gehring 2-5 5-6 10, Chandra Johnson 12-15 2-3 26, Scooter Aspen 0-2 0-0 0, Larissa Parr 1-4 1-2 3, Bridget Aspen 0-0 0-1 0, Lindsey Rongstad 0-1 0-0 0, Beth Hoenisch 0-0 0-0 0, Kricket Whyte 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-37 17-22 55.
Eau Claire Memorial 9 11 11 4 -- 35 Eau Claire North 14 15 8 18 -- 55
3-point goals: Memorial 5-14 (Leafblad 3-7, Petermann 1-1, Lundquist 1-1, Klingensmith 0-1, Walker 0-4), North 2-4 (Reber 1-1, Gehring 1-2, S.Aspen 0-1). Rebounds: Memorial 26 (Walker 2, Lundquist 2, Scheible 2, Buchholz 2, Leafblad 2, Fiedler 2, Petermann 2), North 45 (Johnson 12). Fouls: Memorial 20, North 15. Fouled out: Memorial, Klingensmith. Turnovers: Memorial 16, North 19.
RECORDS: North 17-4, Memorial 14-7.
Beaudry can be reached evenings at 833-9212 or (800) 236-7077.