2001/2002 Game Results Last Updated: December 19, 2001

December 18, 2001  

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Rice Lake 67
North 61

Warriors ruin run

It takes overtime thriller, but Rice Lake finally beats North

By Steve Beaudry
Leader-Telegram staff

As the final buzzer sounded Tuesday night at the Doghouse, Cassie Kowaleski thought about jubilantly heaving the basketball toward the ceiling.

Rice Lake's Kimberlie Wee (30) and Eau Claire North's Tessa Pecha fought for a rebound Tuesday night during the Warriors' 67-61 overtime victory at the Doghouse. Staff photo by Shane Opatz

But the Rice Lake senior point guard quickly changed her mind. She didn't want to appear too presumptuous.

So the 5-foot-6 Kowaleski graciously handed the ball to the nearest official before joining her celebrating teammates -- acting as if she'd been there before.

But she hadn't. Neither had any of the Warriors or their coach.

Their goose-pimpling 67-61 overtime victory over defending Big Rivers Conference champion Eau Claire North marked the first time the Warriors had notched a BRC win over the Huskies.

Ever.

"Nights like this make me glad I stayed," said Kowaleski, a third-year starter at Rice Lake whose parents moved to Green Bay last spring when her father got a job with a Green Bay-based trucking company.

Had she gone with them, she would have attended Green Bay Notre Dame -- where the girls basketball team went 27-0 last season en route to winning the WIAA Division 2 state title.

Kowaleski assisted what proved to be the winning basket Tuesday, a layup by forward Kristi Peterson with 1 minute, 32 seconds left in overtime that gave Rice Lake (3-1, 5-2) a 62-61 lead.

Kowaleski then turned a steal into a coast-to-coast layup with 1:07 left and grabbed defensive rebounds with 44 seconds and 18 seconds left -- drawing fouls in each instance and then shooting 3-for-4 at the free-throw line.

"I owed it to my teammates to step it up because I hardly did anything in the first four quarters," said Kowaleski, who'd averaged a team-high 13.5 points per game this season. She scored five of her 10 points Tuesday in overtime.

Kowaleski missed a free throw with 47 seconds left in the fourth quarter and Rice Lake leading 55-53, and North (2-2, 5-3) gained possession. Forward Amanda Eisold, who finished with a game-high 20 points, was fouled and made two free throws to tie the score with 33 seconds left.

The Warriors used two timeouts to set up the final shot of regulation, but they never got it. Rice Lake forward Kristen Lehman fed a pass to Peterson in the post, but North freshman guard Trina Harper's sticky defense prevented her from shooting at the buzzer.

"It took a total team effort for us to win," said Rice Lake center Nicky Biver, who scored 10 points -- as did Lehman and Rice Lake guard Jenni Gorst. Peterson had a team-best 14 points, and Warriors reserve forward Samantha Wirth had 11. "Even though we got off to a good start, we knew a solid team like North would battle back, and we'd have to be tough right up to the end."

The Huskies shot 1-for-11 in the first quarter, after which Rice Lake led 16-2. But Eisold scored nine second-quarter points to help pull North within 33-21 by intermission.

"Our big goal was to limit her touches," Rice Lake coach Kevin Orr said of Eisold, who'd averaged 20.9 points per game this season. "She's a super player."

North's comeback hopes appeared to be barely flickering when Eisold picked up her fourth foul with 3:26 left in the third quarter, forcing her to the bench with Rice Lake leading 43-32.

But Tessa Pecha and Anne Connell spurred a 9-0 Huskies run that hacked the Warriors' lead to 45-43 with 1:25 left in the third. Connell finished with 10 points, and Pecha -- who'd averaged 4.1 points per game -- notched a career-high 16.

"Amanda had been carrying us a lot this year," North coach Dan Sippel said. "It was nice to see some other players take charge and get us back in the game."

Momentum seemed greased in the fourth quarter, until North scored the final six points before overtime.

"This is a landmark win for our program," said Orr, who last season inherited a team coming off a 2-19 season that included a 1-13 Big Rivers mark.

In fact, since Rice Lake moved to the BRC from the Heart O' North Conference in 1989-90, the Warriors averaged 2.3 BRC wins per season until Orr's arrival -- including five one-win seasons.

Rice Lake went 5-9 in the BRC and 9-12 overall last season.

"That's a big reason why I came back: I knew this team was on the verge of something special, and I wanted to be part of it," said Kowaleski, who spent the summer playing on a team with Green Bay Notre Dame players before returning to Rice Lake.

She currently lives in Barron with her religion teacher, Mary Piasecki, and Piasecki's husband, Gary.

"She's a super, super kid -- one of the best all-around kids I've coached," Orr said of Kowaleski, who has a 4.0 grade-point average. "She's a huge part of what we're accomplishing."

RICE LAKE (67)

FG-A FT-A TP: Cassie Kowaleski 2-10 5-7 10, Jenni Gorst 4-5 0-0 10, Kristen Lehman 3-11 2-3 10, Kristi Peterson 4-8 6-6 14, Nicky Biver 5-9 0-0 10, Becky Dufner 0-2 2-2 2, Samantha Wirth 4-6 3-6 11, Loni Nivarel 0-3 0-0 0, Kimberlie Wee 0-0 0-0 0, Sara Frei 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 18-24 67.

EAU CLAIRE NORTH (61)

Trina Harper 1-2 0-0 2, Anne Connell 3-11 2-2 10, Tessa Pecha 5-11 6-6 16, Michelle Burns 1-2 5-9 7, Amanda Eisold 5-10 9-11 20, Corisa DeMoe 3-13 0-0 6, Kelley Boyle 0-0 0-0 0, Rian Bauerkemper 0-2 0-0 0, Annie Hoffman 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 18-54 22-28 61.

Rice Lake 16 17 15 7 12 -- 67

Eau Claire North 2 19 23 11 6 -- 61

3-point goals: Rice Lake 5-17 (Gorst 2-2, K. Lehman 2-4, Kowaleski 1-9, Nivarel 0-2), North 3-15 (Connell 2-7, Eisold 1-3, DeMoe 0-1, Pecha 0-2, Hoffman 0-2). Rebounds: Rice Lake 40 (Biver 11, Wirth 7, Peterson 6), North 35 (Connell 9, DeMoe 6, Eisold 5). Turnovers: Rice Lake 15, North 14. Fouls: Rice Lake 21, North 19. Fouled out: North, Eisold.

RECORDS: Rice Lake 3-1, 5-2; North 2-2, 5-3.

Beaudry can be reached evenings at 833-9212 or (800) 236-7077 or at steve.beaudry@ecpc.com.