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www.fvasports.net/page/show/1251335-girls-basketball
2014-15 Girls Varsity Basketball
2014-15 Girls Basketball Varsity Roster
| Head Varsity: Jeff Bell | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Varsity Assistant: Joanie Hammer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2014-15 Girls Basketball Schedule & Game Results Below
Freshmen Games 5:40 JV Games 5:45 Varsity Games 7:15
Fond du Lac 51 @ Waukesha Catholic Memorial 52 (OT)
Fond du Lac 50 @ Appleton West 51
Fond du Lac 36 (H) Oshkosh West 39
Fond du Lac 33 (H) Sheboygan North 45
Fond du Lac 35 @ Oshkosh North 38
Fond du Lac 41 @ Appleton North 42
Fond du Lac 52 @ Neenah 51
Holiday Tournament @ Sun Prairie
Fond du Lac 36 DeForest 66
Fond du Lac 53 Kaukauna 46
Fond du Lac 46 (H) Kaukauna 51
Fond du Lac 45 @ Appleton East 30
Fond du Lac 36 (H) Kimberly 47
Fond du Lac 48 (H) Appleton West 52
Fond du Lac 46 @ Hortonville 64
Fond du Lac 30 @ Kimberly 51
Fond du Lac 44 @ Oshkosh West 45
Fond du Lac 42 (H) Oshkosh North 39
Fond du Lac 38 (H) Appleton North 46
Fond du Lac 40 (H) Neenah 66
Fond du Lac 47 (H) Appleton East 30
Fond du Lac 54 @ Kaukauna 59
Fond du Lac 41 (H) Hortonville 55
Fondy falls short to Hortonville 55 – 41
The Cardinals got nine points from Nicole Gietzel in a loss to the Polar Bears at home.
Aleah Wendels chipped in eight points for Fondy while Ally Gietzel added seven.
| HORTONVILLE | 15 | 12 | 11 | 16 | — 55 |
| Fond du Lac | 12 | 8 | 6 | 15 | — 41 |
Hortonville — Walter 2, Dunathan 16, Campshure 11, Jalling 4, Allen 4, Frederick 10, McKeever 4, Huebner 4. 3-pointers: 4 (Dunathan 2, Jalling, Frederick). FTs: 21-32. Fouls: 17.
Fond du Lac — A. Gietzel 7, Anhalt 4, Wendels 8, N. Gietzel 9, Hendrix 5, A. Reinke 3, Dille 5. 3-pointers: A. Gietzel, Hendrix. FTs: 11-15. Fouls: 25 (Wendels, Hendrix)
Fond du Lac rallies to rout Appleton East 47 – 30
The first quarter couldn’t have gone much worse for the Fond du Lac girls basketball team Friday night. The Cardinals could get absolutely nothing going offensively and looked uninspired and unfocused. Then the second quarter came and it was like the Cardinals were a completely different team.
Trailing 10-1 after the first quarter, Fond du Lac shut out Appleton East in the second, outscoring the Patriots 17-0, and held on from there as the Cardinals picked up a 47-30 win in Fox Valley Association action Friday at Fond du Lac. “I think the biggest thing is if you look at the second quarter, zero points is what we gave up,” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell said. “I’d say 70 percent of our practices this week have been about defense. It was really a gut check and we stepped up in the second quarter and the intensity level was there.”
In the first quarter, the Cardinals didn’t score their first point until 2:46 remained on the clock, with Ally Gietzel hitting a free throw to put Fond du Lac (5-15, 4-12 FVA) on the board. Then came the decisive second period.
Megan Dille scored the Cardinals’ first field goal of the game a couple minutes into the quarter and Aleah Wendels followed with a layup and a 3-pointer. Gietzel tied it up at 10-10 with 3:08 remaining in the half before scoring again less than a minute later to give Fondy its first lead — one in would never relinquish. Dille followed with another basket and McKensey Hendrix added two free throws and a basket to put the Cardinals up 18-10 going into the half. “Everyone just came out energetic, knowing that in the first quarter, that’s not how we play,” Wendels said. “Everyone came out energetic, everyone looked to score. It was just a fun quarter to play.”
The Cardinals did allow the Patriots to close the gap to five points by the end of the third quarter, but quickly responded in the fourth. Hendrix drilled a 3-pointer to start things off and Wendels followed with a layup to push Fond du Lac’s lead to 27-17. Appleton East (1-19, 1-16 FVA) would hang around, but the Cardinals eventually pulled away. A Wendels basket and pair of free throws pushed Fondy’s lead to 34-23 and the Cards led by double digits the rest of the game.
In holding the Patriots to only 30 points offensively, Fond du Lac nearly forced as many turnovers as points it allowed. Appleton East committed 29 turnovers on Friday. “Our big emphasis was no one’s cutting across our face,” Bell said. “The last couple games, we’d let them come and then we’d try to play defense. We talked about playing more preventative defense. It was just that confidence in it — we’ve let a couple teams score big on us. It was just having the confidence to step up and playing in good position.”
Wendels led the Cardinals with 13 points on the night, while Hendrix added 12. Gietzel chipped in with nine and Dille had eight. Megan Schweitzer paced Appleton East with nine points.
After losing seven of its past eight games, Friday’s win injects a bit of confidence into the Cardinals with the postseason quickly approaching. “The record doesn’t matter during the playoffs. Everyone’s 0-0,” Bell said. “It’s all about finding the right combination and meshing at the right time. That’s what we’re looking for.”
| APPLETON EAST | 10 | 0 | 7 | 13 | — 30 |
| Fond du Lac | 1 | 17 | 4 | 25 | — 47 |
Appleton East — Schweitzer 9, Al-Ibrahim 1, Schneider 7, Andrew 1, Roberts 3, Esker 6, Madson 2, Heimann 1. 3-pointers: 0. FTs: 14-24. Fouls: 20.
Fond du Lac — A. Gietzel 9, Anhalt 5, Wendels 13, Hendrix 12, Dille 8. 3-pointers: 2 (Wendels, H
Fond du Lac sloppy in loss to Neenah
Within the first four minutes of Friday night’s girls basketball game between Fond du Lac and Neenah, it was readily apparent to everyone in the gym what the outcome was going to be. The only question that remained was how ugly it was going to get.
Neenah jumped out to a 11-0 lead, survived a Fond du Lac mini-comeback in the third quarter and pulled away at the end as it cruised to a 65-40 win in Fox Valley Association action. “It came down to confidence in ourselves, confidence in our teammates,” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell said. “Neenah showed exactly what we’ve been trying to tell our girls about going hard to the ball. They wanted it, they needed it. Neenah was all after it in the first half and that’s what caused the big turnovers.”
In opening the game with 11 straight points and ending the first quarter up 22-8, Neenah (14-5, 10-5 FVA) employed a fullcourt press to force numerous turnovers and completely disrupt the Cardinals’ offense. The Rockets forced 10 turnovers in the first quarter alone and 27 for the game. “We had guards that kind of just waited for the trap instead of attacking it with ball reversal right away,” Bell said of his team’s early struggles against the press. “Not moving it fast enough. We were waiting, hesitant. We’re standing and watching and then when we finally run and try to skip (pass) and it would go right over our heads. It was the (lack) of nonverbal communication.”
Despite a terrible start to the game, Fond du Lac (4-15, 3-12 FVA) did keep it competitive in the second quarter, matching Neenah point for point and actually trimmed the Rockets’ lead to 37-26 early in the third. But Neenah’s Paige Helgerson responded with a 3-pointer that started a 18-3 run to end the quarter and the Rockets went into the fourth up by 26. Nicole Marquardt led Neenah with 16 points, scoring nearly at will early in the contest. Alyssa Barnes added 15 points and Bree Zehren chipped in with eight. Abby Rudolph and Hannah Hoffman both had seven points.
Nicole Gietzel and McKensey Hendrix led Fond du Lac with 10 points apiece. Alyssa Reinke had seven points. The Cardinals were shut out from 3-point range.
Both teams got to the free throw line plenty, but only the Rockets cashed in — going 18-of-22 from the foul stripe. Fond du Lac was 8-of-21. Bell is hoping to use Friday’s game as a lesson for his team with the postseason on the horizon, pointing to Neenah as the type of program he’d like his squad to emulate. “I think what we take out of this game is this is how we need to play once it comes time for regionals. How Neenah came at us is exactly how we want to model our game play, but with our stuff,” he said. “I think we have the skill, it’s just putting in that hard work and effort on every play.
| NEENAH | 22 | 15 | 19 | 10 | — 65 |
| Fond du Lac | 8 | 15 | 6 | 11 | — 40 |
Neenah — Barnes 15, Rudolph 7, Zehren 8, Hoffman 7, Resch 5, Helgerson 5, Lepping 2, Marquardt 16. 3-pointers: 4 (Zehren, Hoffman, Helgerson, Rudolph). FTs: 18-22. Fouls: 18.
Fond du Lac — A. Gietzel 3, Anhalt 2, Wendels 4, N. Gietzel 10, Hendrix 10, A. Reinke 7, Z. Reinke 2, Dille 2. 3-pointers: 0. FTs: 8-21. Fouls: 18
Fond du Lac falls to Appleton North 46 – 38
Ally Gietzel had 11 points, but the Lightning pulled away in the fourth quarter to pick up a Fox Valley Association win.
Nicole Gietzel added seven points for the Cards and McKensey Hendrix had five.
Appleton North outscored Fond du Lac 19-10 in the fourth.
| FOND DU LAC | 11 | 6 | 11 | 10 | — 38 |
| Appleton North | 9 | 12 | 6 | 19 | — 46 |
Fond du Lac — Hubbard 2, A. Gietzel 11, Anhalt 3, Wendels 4, N. Gietzel 7, Hendrix 5, A. Reinke 2, Z. Reinke 2, Dille 2 . 3-pointers: 3 (Hendrix, A. Gietzel 2). Fouls: 13.
Appleton North — Brekke 9, Hoeft 2, Pohlman 9, Levy 10, VanHandel 5, Riebau 6, Garvey 5. 3-pointers: 5 (Levy 2, Riebau 2, Garvey). Fouls: 14
Fond du Lac girls basketball beats Oshkosh North 42-39
The smile on Jeff Bell’s face after he walked out of the locker room said it all. All season long the Cardinals failed to finish close games, as nine of their 13 losses entering Friday night’s game against Oshkosh North came within five points or less.
So for Fondy — which was on a five game losing streak — to pull out a 42-39 Fox Valley Association win at home over the Spartans, made Bell one happy coach. “About time,” he said after walking out of the locker room. “The difference was defense. It came down to that one possession in getting a stop and stepping up and forcing that girl to a double-dribble. That was huge.” There was no lack of excitement on the finish.
With Fondy (4-13, 3-10 FVA) up 39-36 with 56 seconds left and the possession in favor of the Cardinals, Oshkosh North (5-12, 5-8) made things quite interesting. The Spartans ripped away the ball on the inbound pass and 30 seconds later, hit a 3-pointer to tie it up with 22 seconds left. So with a chance to win it, Bell wrote up a play to get the ball to freshman Ally Gietzel, who did exactly what she was supposed to do. Drive to the hoop trying to get fouled. Gietzel knocked down two clutch free-throws with 7.2 seconds left to give the Cards a 41-39 lead. The Spartans had one last chance, but was called with a double-dribble with a second left.
“We knew that they would go man, so we want dribble drive because we were in double-bonus,” Bell said of the inbound play. “We said ‘Ally, we want you to take the free-throw.’ And they aren’t used to playing man defense and they struggled moving and they gave us that advantage to take that drive.”
Gietzel — who finished with a team-high 12 points — showed no nerves as a freshman at the line, sinking two free throws. “I don’t usually get nervous about it,” Gietzel said when asked if she didn’t mind taking the last shot. “I’m really glad we finally got a win after we worked so hard in practice and hustle so much.” The two FTs were huge for Fondy because it was 5-of-15 at the line before Gietzel knocked those two down.
“I think she’s a 90 percent free-throw shooter and for a freshman to step up and knock them down, that’s huge,” Bell said. “You put a lot of pressure in the timeout … she has been stepping up.” It was another back-and-forth game for the Cardinals, who struggled to break apart North’s 1-3-1 defense in the first quarter. Oshkosh North led 11-6 after one, but then the Cardinals started to wear it down.
Fondy hit four 3-pointers in the second quarter, outscoring the Spartans to cut the halftime lead to 23-20. The Cardinals took their first lead in that quarter at the 1:55 mark but Oshkosh North ended the half on a 4-0 run. “We were figuring out what we can do to break the 1-3-1 and we got some good shots,” Gietzel said.
“The 3-point shooting was huge,” Bell added. “Just trying to find those open gaps and not settling on tough skip passes. When we had our moment of patience we found those good shots.” Gietzel hit two of the Cards’ 3s in the quarter.
McKensey Hendrix added nine points for Fondy while Aleah Wendels chipped in six. Cassie Buerger led Oshkosh North with 12 points.
Now that the Cardinals finally finished a close game, they hope they can carry that success into the postseason, which is creeping around the corner. “We are starting to play more as a team and a family,” Bell said. “That’s the difference. When you play as a family instead of with strangers, you are going to get on the floor and do the little things better. We are getting there.”
| OSHKOSH NORTH | 11 | 12 | 5 | 11 | — 39 |
| Fond du Lac | 6 | 14 | 11 | 11 | — 42 |
Oshkosh North — C. Buerger 12, Laatsh 2, S. Buerger 8, Foote 8, Anthes 3, Deng 4, Pett 2. 3-pointers: 5 (Foote 2, C. Buerger 2, Anthes). FTs: 0-3. Fouls: 20.
Fond du Lac — xxx. 3-pointers: 6 (A. Gietzel 2, Wendels 2, Hendrix 2). FTs: 8-19. Fouls: 10.
Fondy girls hoops participates in Coaches vs. Cancer
This Friday, the Fond du Lac girls basketball team will be participating in Coaches vs. Cancer, a charity that helps to support the American Cancer Society.
The theme for Friday’s game against Oshkosh North is the color purple, which signifies the fight against all types of cancer. Players will be wearing purple socks, shoelaces and shirts designed by Fond du Lac student Jordan Quackenboss.
Members of the Cardinals sold ‘Wall of Hope’ cards and did a free throw pledge to earn money to donate.
A silent auction will run during the JV game and go through part of the varsity game. The silent auction features 21 baskets worth anywhere from 20 to 160 dollars. Jesse Mench, a Fond du Lac basketball entertainer specializing in dribbling tricks, will be
performing at halftime. Mench was in a commercial for the 2014 NBA Finals with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade this past summer.
There will also be a half-court shot challenge at halftime to win a gift card from Buffalo Wild Wings.
Oshkosh West 45 Fond du Lac 44
The Cardinals had a 12-point lead going into the final quarter but couldn’t pull out the win on the road.
Ally Gietzel had 12 points to lead Fondy while McKensey Hendrix chipped in 10.
“We had a 12 point lead going into the fourth but (Oshkosh West) brought a lot of pressure and we couldn’t handle it,” Fondy coach Jeff Bell said. “We had double bonus but only got to the line 3 times so that was also huge.”
| FOND DU LAC | 10 | 14 | 12 | 8 | — 44 |
| Oshkosh West | 4 | 18 | 4 | 19 | — 45 |
Fond du Lac — A. Gietzel 12, Anhalt 2, Wendels 2, N. Gietzel 6, Hendrix 10, Z. Reinke 8, Dille 4. 3-pointers: 5 (A. Gietzel 3, Hendrix 2). FTs: 5-13. Fouls: 18
Kimberly too much for Fond du Lac 51 – 30
The Cardinals were no match for the Papermakers as they fell in Fox Valley Association play. Kimberly held Fond du Lac to single-digit scoring in every quarter but the fourth as it grabbed an early lead and was never challenged.
Ally Gietzel and Nicole Gietzel both had seven points to pace the Cards. Alyssa Anhalt chipped in with six.
| FOND DU LAC | 6 | 4 | 5 | 15 | — 30 |
| Kimberly | 12 | 11 | 11 | 17 | — 51 |
Fond du Lac — A. Gietzel 7, Anhalt 6, Wendels 4, Bro. Hubbard 2, N. Gietzel 7, Z. Reinke 2, Dille 2. FTs: 9-19. Fouls: 15.
Kimberly — Hampton 1, Coenen 5, Schiedermayer 2, Vanden Heuvel 7, Smarzinski 12, Heck 3, Ruplinger 3, Rosenow 14, Cartwright 4. FTs: 13-19. Fouls: 16.
Hortonville tops Fond du Lac 64 – 46
Ally Gietzel had 15 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Cardinals fell to the Polar Bears in Fox Valley Association play. Hortonville jumped out to a 36-21 lead at halftime and Fond du Lac was never able to catch up.
Apart from Gietzel, Megan Dille added eight points for the Cards. Nicole Gietzel had seven and Aleah Wendels chipped in with six.
The Polar Bears made seven 3-pointers in the win. Shay Frederick led Hortonville with 19 points and Maddie Dunathan added 17.
| FOND DU LAC | 11 | 10 | 15 | 10 | — 46 |
| Hortonville | 17 | 19 | 14 | 14 | — 64 |
Fond du Lac — A. Gietzel 15, Anahltz 4, Wendels 6, N. Gietzel 7, Reinke 4, Z. Reinke 2, Dille 8. 3-pointers: 2 (A. Gietzel). FTs: 6-11. Fouls: 16 (Hubbard).
Hortonville — Dunathan 17, Kloes 2, Campshure 8, Allen 8, Frederick 19, McKeever 2, Huebner 6, Griesbach 4. 3-pointers: 7 (Dunathan 3, Frederick 4). FTs: 10-16. Fouls: 16
Fondy shuts down Appleton East 45 – 30
The Cardinals got 13 points from Nicole Gietzel as they downed the winless Patriots on the road.
Fondy outscored Appleton East 14-4 in the first quarter and 18-9 in the third to help pick up the FVA win.
Aleah Wendels added 11 points for Fondy while McKensey Hendrix chipped in six points.
“It was a good team effort tonight,” Fondy coach Jeff Bell said. “This game shows that if we can shut a team down defensively, we can win.”
| FOND DU LAC | 14 | 10 | 18 | 5 | — 45 |
| Appleton East | 4 | 10 | 9 | 7 | — 30 |
Fond du Lac — A. Gietzel 4, Anhalt 3, Wendels 11, N. Gietzel 13, Hendrix 6, A. Reinke 2, Z. Reinke 4, Dille 2. 3-pointers: 2 (Hendrix). FTs: 5-9. Fouls: 16.
Appleton East — Al-Ibrahim 5, Bergel 3, Andrew 2, Dailey 3, Esker 11, Madson 1, Heimann 2, Hein 3. 3-pointers: 2 (Bergel, Esker). FTs: 8-13. Fouls: 11.
Fondy falters down stretch against Kaukauna
Kaukauna 51 Fond du Lac 46
Following Tuesday’s game against Kaukauna, Fond du Lac girls basketball coach Jeff Bell was quick to point out the positives. He said he was happy with the way his Cardinals were aggressive on offense and said it was the most they have attacked the rim all year.
But then he wasn’t hesitant to point out the negatives. Defense. The Cardinals went back-and-forth with the Galloping Ghosts all night in a Fox Valley Association game played in Fond du Lac, but a late run allowed Kaukauna to come away with a 51-46 win.
Of Fondy’s (2-8, 2-5 FVA) eight losses this season, six have come by six points or less. “Well, looking at the positives, I thought we really pushed the ball well,” Bell said. “I think offensively things were looking good. But right now our achilles heel is defense because we can’t give up 50 points to anyone. We can’t give up 50 points and expect to win.”
Tied at 38 going into the fourth quarter, it remained a close game up until the 3-minute mark. Fondy’s Aleah Wendels hit two free throws — the Cardinals went 3-of-9 in the fourth quarter — to give Fondy a 43-42 lead with 3 minutes, 21 seconds left. But then Kaukauna’s Morgan Johnson started to knock down some shots. Johnson scored seven of her 12 points within the last four minutes of the game — including a 3-pointer that followed Wendels’ free throws to give the Ghosts a 45-43 lead. And Kaukauna never looked back. “It looked like there were black jerseys everywhere, so Kaukauna wanted it a little more,” Bell said. “The first three quarters I think we had four fouls so that tells me that we weren’t being very aggressive on defense. Tonight Kaukauna wanted the ball more than we did.” It was a different game played between the two teams after both teams faced each other on Dec. 30 in the Sun Prairie Invitational. Fondy won that game 53-46 but Kaukauna’s Danielle Hartjes scored 28.
That wasn’t the case Tuesday night. Hartjes was held to just 10 points — she averages over 16 on the season — as the Ghosts got 17 points from Darian VanOfferen down low and then 12 from Johnson. “They had Johnson, she stepped up and knocked some shots down that I didn’t expect,” Bell said. “She was a different player, she was aggressive and I thought she was an X-factor. They came into the game knowing that they were close with us and they had a chance. They were just hungrier.” Kaukauna ended the first quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 14-11 lead. But Fondy responded with a 6-0 run itself and went into the half down 25-24.
It was back-and-forth the entire third quarter before Johnson put the Ghosts back on top late in the fourth. Things were looking up for the Cardinals, which won two of its last three games before Tuesday’s game. Bell said if his team expects to continue to move forward, it starts defensively. “It’s been very up and down, a very hill road,” Bell said of the season. “We were trying to get a run going because we were 2-1 our last three games. I think it’s a good gut-chuck time and we have had close games with good teams and average teams and we have to figure it out. “We are halfway through our season and if we don’t realize that defense is important right now, I don’t know if we ever will.”
McKensey Hendrix led Fondy with 11 points while Nicole Gietzel had 10. Ally Gietzel chipped in nine points in the loss.
| KAUKAUNA | 14 | 11 | 13 | 13 | — 51 |
| Fond du Lac | 11 | 13 | 14 | 8 | — 46 |
Kaukauna — VanderVelden 2, Huss 5, Ball 3, Brochtup 2, Hartjes 10, VanOfferen 17, Johnson 12. FTs: 3-6. Fouls: 14.
Fond du Lac — Hubbard 2, A. Gietzel 9, Anhalt 2, Wendels 4, N. Gietzel 10, Hendrix 11, Z. Reinke 4, Dille 4. FTs: 10-18. Fouls: 12.
Fondy grinds out win against Kaukauna
Fond du Lac 53 Kaukauna 47
The Cardinals used a strong second quarter to get past the Ghosts in day two of the Sun Prairie Invitational.
Aleah Wendels had 15 points for Fondy while Nicole Gietzel chipped in 13.
“We had some players who we were hoping would step up,” Fondy coach Jeff Bell said. “Aleah had a good game and she really attacked the rim. Megan Dille also had a big game, she had some big defensive stops for us.”
| FOND DU LAC | 9 | 16 | 9 | 19 | — 53 |
| Kaukauna | 9 | 8 | 7 | 23 | — 47 |
Fond du Lac — Hubbard 2, A. Gietzel 6, Anhalt 2, Wendels 15, N. Gietzel 13, Hendix 2, Z. Reinke 2, Dille 11. 3-pointers: A. Gietzel, Wendels 2. FTs: 18-28. Fouls: 17.
Kaukauna — Ball 5, Lamers 4, Hartjes 28, Van Osseren 8, Johnson 2. 3-pointers: Hartjes 2. FTs: 19
Bad first half hurts Fondy in loss to DeForest
DeForest 66 Fond du Lac 36
The Cardinals couldn’t overcome a bad first half in a loss to DeForest in the Sun Prairie Tournament.
Nicole Gietzel led the way for Fondy with nine points and Ally Gietzel chipped in eight.
| FOND DU LAC | 7 | 3 | 9 | 17 | — 36 |
| DeForest | 23 | 17 | 14 | 12 | — 66 |
Fond du Lac — Hubbard 2, A. Gietzel 8, Anhalt 1, Wendels 3, N. Gietzel 9, Hendrix 5, A. Reinke 2, Z. Reinke 2, Dille 4. 3-pointers: 3 (A. Gietzel 2, Hendrix). FTs: 10-16. Fouls: 8.
Fondy picks up first win of season
Fond du Lac 52, Neenah 51
The Cardinals picked up their first win of the season with an exciting victory over the Rockets in Fox Valley Association play. Ally Gietzel hit two free throws with 0.4 seconds left to give Fond du Lac the victory and led the Cards with 13 points on the night. McKensey Hendrix also had 13 points for Fond du Lac.
Leading 25-20 at halftime, the Cardinals allowed 21 points to the Rockets in the third and need to rallied in the fourth to grab the win. “The big thing is finally being on the other side of one point (games),” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell said. “I was worried that it was going to be hard to keep motivation up. … I think it’s going to be a motivator to keep working hard and start winning some games.”
Nicole Gietzel chipped in with nine points and Megan Dille had eight. Brianna Hubbard added seven for the Cards.
| FOND DU LAC | 13 | 12 | 14 | 13 | — 52 |
| Neenah | 7 | 13 | 21 | 10 | — 51 |
Fond du Lac — Hubbard 7, A. Gietzel 13, Wendels 2, N. Gietzel 9, Hendrix 13, Dille 8. 3-pointers: 5 (Hubbard, A Gietzel, Hendrix 3). FTs: 15-25. Fouls: 16.
Neenah — Barnes 9, Rudolph 2, Zehren 7, Hoffman 4, Resch 9, Helgerson 3, Dietzen 2, Marohl 3, Marquardt 12. 3-pointers: 4 (Zehren 2, Hoffman, Helgerson). FTs: 8-16. Fouls: 23 (Marquardt).
Fondy suffers another close loss
Appleton North 42, Fond du Lac 41: The Cardinals suffered yet another 1-point loss in a Fox Valley Association game played on the road.
Fondy led 13-6 after the first quarter, but was outscored 24-16 in the second half.
Ally Gietzel led the way with 11 points for Fondy.
| FOND DU LAC | 13 | 12 | 8 | 8 | — 41 |
| Appleton North | 6 | 13 | 11 | 13 | — 42 |
Fond du Lac — Hubbard 6, A. Gietzel 11, Anhalt 6, Wendels 2, N. Gietzel 4, Hendrix 9, Dille 3. 3-pointers: A. Gietzel 2, Hendrix. Fouls: 17.
Appleton North — Becky 11, Hought 2, Sick 1, Poulman 5, Levy 11, Vanhandel 5, Reibo 3, Garvey 4. 3-pointers: Rebo, Becky 4. Fouls: 18.
Oshkosh North slips by Fond du Lac
Oshkosh North 38, Fond du Lac 35: The Cardinals dropped another tight game as they fell to the Spartans in Fox Valley Association play.
Oshkosh North outscored Fond du Lac 14-6 in the second quarter and that proved to be the difference.
Megan Dille, Brianna Hubbard and Ally Gietzel all had seven points to lead the Cardinals, while McKensey Hendrix added six. Fond du Lac turned the ball over 22 times on Friday.
| FOND DU LAC | 9 | 6 | 11 | 9 | — 35 |
| Oshkosh North | 6 | 14 | 9 | 9 | — 38 |
Fond du Lac — Dille 7, Hubbard 7, A. Gietzel 7, Anhalt 3, N. Gietzel 1, Hendrix 6, Reinke 2. 3-pointers: 2 (A. Gietzel 2). FTs: 13-21. Fouls: 15.
Oshkosh North — C. Buerger 13, Laatsch 3, S. Buerger 8, Anthes 4, Pett 6, Hewitt 6. 3-pointers: 5 (C. Buerger 2, S. Buerger 2, Anthes). FTs: 5-15. Fouls: 22 (C. Buerger).
Fondy loses to Sheboygan North
Sheboygan North 45, Fond du Lac 33: The Cardinals dropped to 0-4 on the year after a nonconference loss at home.
Megan Dille led Fondy with nine points while McKensey Hendrix and Ally Gietzel had seven.
| SHEBOYGAN NORTH | 15 | 15 | 7 | 8 | — 45 |
| Fond du Lac | 10 | 9 | 6 | 8 | — 33 |
Sheboygan North — Rezelis 4, VancCalligan 5, M. Wolf 3, Dallman 1, M. Wolf 23, Gentine 9. 3-pointers: 2 (VanCalligan, Gentine). FTs: 7-10. Fouls: 13.
Fond du Lac — Hubbard 2, Ally Gietzel 7, N. Gietzel 6, Hendrix 7, Reinke 2, Dille 9. 3-pointers: 2 (A. Gietzel, Hendrix). FTs: 7-11. Fouls: 14.
Fondy unable to finish Oshkosh West
The Fond du Lac girls basketball team couldn’t have played defense any better. Tied at 36 with just 13.3 seconds left, Oshkosh West had to drive the full distance of the court to try to win the game coming off a timeout. After the inbound pass, a Wildcat chucked up a shot and it missed. It was great defense by the Cardinals – except for the fact that they forgot to box out. West’s Marissa Edwards grabbed the miss with 5.1 seconds left, made the shot and was fouled.
The play put the Wildcats up 39-36. Fondy’s Aleah Wendels then had a chance to tie, but her 3-pointer hit off the backside of the rim and Oshkosh West escaped with the win. “The biggest thing was, and you saw it there at the end, was the offensive rebounds,” Fondy head coach Jeff Bell said. “They killed us. They had a shot and they missed, we just never got the rebound. We need to put a body on someone. That was our Achilles heel last game and here it was again.”
The loss drops Fondy to 0-3 on the young season, and it was the third straight game that the Cardinals lost in the final minutes. The Cardinals lost by one point in both the first two games – 52-51 to Catholic Memorial and 51-50 to Appleton West. “We are doing a lot of good things, we are just so close,” Bell said. “The frustration, knowing that we are five points away from being 3-0. It’s very frustrating.”
It looked as if Fondy would start to walk away with the game late in the third quarter. After trailing 20-17 at the half, Fondy opened the third quarter on an 11-0 run to make it 28-20. Oshkosh West (1-3) called a timeout shortly after that at the 3-minute mark and that’s when the Wildcats started to claw their way back.
Ashley Rumlow hit two consecutive 3-pointers to make it a 2-point game and then eventually tied things up midway into the fourth quarter. Edwards then gave the Wildcats the lead with 1:45 left after a basket down in the paint, but Fondy freshman Ally Gietzel hit a clutch shot to tie it up at 36 before Edwards put the Wildcats back on front with the 3-point play. “I thought we did a good job of getting the ball inside to Marissa Edwards and Rachel Christpherson and I thought that opened up some outside things for us,” Oshkosh West head coach Niki Sutter said. “She (Rumlow) hit those two threes, which was huge for us. We weathered the storm and I’m proud of our kids for coming back.”
Fondy’s offense disappeared in both the second and fourth quarter. The Cardinals put up only three points in the second while scoring only four in the final quarter. Turnovers played a big part of that, as they turned it over 15 times in the game, compared to the Wildcats’ 6 times. “Our shooting, I mean we had 50 points in the last two games, so our shooting wasn’t there tonight,” Bell said. “I think we tried to force to get those points too much. We always talk about patience, we had the lead but we came down and rushed a shot. “I think turnovers, we had a lot of those as well. I keep telling the girls, it’s fundamentals. If we get those down we will be in a good position.”
Despite coming up empty in two quarters, the Cardinals played well in the first and third periods. But Fondy couldn’t keep a consistent pace to the game offensively. “I think it was the patience, if you watch our ball movement,” Bell said about the good quarters. “We got it down low, got it high and we moved better with the ball. I don’t think it was what we were doing offensively, it was how we were doing it.”
McKensey Hendrix led Fond du Lac with 10 points while Gietzel added eight. Edwards led Oshkosh West with 12 and Christopherson chipped in nine.
| OSHKOSH WEST | 7 | 13 | 8 | 11 | — 39 |
| Fond du Lac | 14 | 3 | 15 | 4 | — 36 |
Oshkosh West— Nelson 2, Guenther 4, Rumlow 6, Welch 2, Tigert 2, Fassbinder 2, Edwards 12, Christopherson 9. 3-pointers: 2 (Rumlow 2). FTs: 7-9. Fouls: 13.
Fond du Lac— A. Gietzel 8, Anhalt 4, Wendels 2, N. Gietzel 6, Hendrix 10, Reinke 4, Dille 2. 3-pointers: 0. FTs: 8-11. Fouls: 13.
Fond du Lac loses heartbreaker
Appleton West 51, Fond du Lac 50
The Fond du Lac girls basketball team fell to Appleton West in a Fox Valley Association heartbreaker Tuesday night at Appleton.
The Terrors outscored the Cardinals 15-13 in the fourth quarter to pull out the victory. Nicole Gietzel led Fond du Lac (0-2, 0-1 FVA) with 14 points on the night, while sister Ally Gietzel added 13. McKensey Hendrix chipped in with nine points and Aleah Wendels had eight.
| FOND DU LAC | 14 | 7 | 16 | 13 | — 50 |
| Appleton West | 10 | 16 | 10 | 15 | — 51 |
Fond du Lac— Ally Gietzel 13, Aleah Wendels 8, Nicole Gietzel 14, McKensey Hendrix 9, Zoelle Reinke 6. 3-pointers: A. Gietzel 3, Wendels, Hendrix 1. FTs: 11-24. Fouls: 23.
Appleton West— Verheyen 7, Cocking 13, Zuelger 15, Wiseman 7, Wyphszynski 7, Pritzl 2. 3-pointers: Verheyen 1, Cocking 1, Zuelger 3. FTs: 13-24. Fouls: 23.
Fondy falls in OT
Catholic Memorial 52, Fond du Lac 51 (OT)
The Cardinals were edged in overtime in a nonconference game played on the road.
Nicole Geitzel and McKenzy Hendix had a team-high 13 points for Fondy.
“We saw a lot of positives in a tough loss, we are moving in the right direction,” Fondy head coach Jeff Bell said. “We are a new team and we are still on that learning curve but we are still further ahead than I thought we were.”
| Fond du Lac | 12 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 3 | — 51 |
| Catholic Memorial | 7 | 10 | 17 | 14 | 4 | — 52 |
Fond du Lac— Brianna Hubbard 4, Geitzel 8, Wendels 2, Nicole Geitzel 13, Hendrix 13, Dilly 10. 3-pointers: 1 (Hendix). Fouls: 19.
Girls Basketball preview
There’s a cultural shift occurring with the Fond du Lac girls basketball team. A new coach, new faces on the team and a new attitude towards the sport have the Cardinals feeling excited about where the 2014-15 season is headed.
Jeff Bell, in his first season as head coach after two years as a varsity assistant at Omro, is looking to turn around a squad that went 8-15 last year and struggled to maintain consistency on both sides of the ball. His first obstacle is changing the mindset of his team. If he’s to succeed as a coach and the Cardinals to excel as a team, each and every player will need to buy into his philosophy. “Dealing with past habits, past expectations. I’m trying to change their mindset from what they’re used to,” Bell said. “My expectations might be different than a previous coach when he came in, it might be different than the one before him. Trying to get that culture shift. I feel that we’re already making the turn in that direction. From there, it’s just moving along and getting past it. But I feel good about the direction we’re going.”
Solid core
One aspect that Bell has to feel good about coming into the season is the group of athletes he has returning from last year’s team. While his system may be new, Fond du Lac has experienced players that know how to play basketball at a varsity level.
Senior guard Nicole Gietzel was the second-leading scorer from last year’s team (7.0 points per game) and will seemingly be an offensive force for the Cardinals again in 2014-15. Junior forward McKensey Hendrix (6.9 ppg) is also back for the team as is senior forward Brianna Hubbard. Sophomores Aleah Wendels and Megan Dille also figure to garner significant playing time. That said, Bell isn’t looking at the past when deciding who’s going to merit large roles on this year’s team. “I tried not to look at the past because what I’m trying to show the girls is the past is the past,” Bell said. “Move on to the future.”
Getting offensive
It’s no secret that the Cardinals struggled offensively a season ago. In averaging just 36.7 points per game, Fond du Lac was unable to keep up with high-level competition even when its defense played well. Add in the fact that the Cardinals lose last year’s leading scorer — 6-foot-1 forward Brianna Wagner (11.5 ppg) — and it becomes even more apparent that the squad will need a variety of players to step up their games in 2014-15.
For Bell, improvement on the offensive end starts with confidence. “We’re kind of timid,” he said. “It’s already getting better, but we don’t have that positive ‘I’m going to make that shot’ (attitude), that aggressiveness. We’re really working on that. Trying to instill that ‘Everything I take, I feel good about’ (mindset). Not letting the mistakes bother us. Bell noted that the offensive game plan will be fluid this year, changing depending on the opponent. A fast-paced, run-and-gun strategy could be in place or the Cardinals could slow it down, making the extra pass until they find a perfect shot. “Depending on who we’re playing, I have one offense that can be a tempo where we slow it down and another offense that will kind of be a quick hit,” Bell said. “It all depends on who we’re playing and the game situation. But I like to have both. We definitely want to play a more high-tempo game, more exciting game than slowing it down.”
Gietzel, who will almost certainly play an extensive role in the offense’s success this year, talked about the potential of a quick pace. “We have to push the ball faster and up the court right away when we get the rebound,” she said. Meanwhile, Hubbard pointed out that getting everyone involved and spreading the ball out will be important for the team. “We’ve got to be able to play for each other more this year and stay with each other,” Hubbard said. “Not be selfish with the ball.”
The Cardinals won’t necessarily be the tallest team around, especially with the loss of Wagner, but Bell is comfortable with the group of players he has, with everyone using their specific skills to make the offense flow. “We’re not real height-heavy, but what we do have is a lot of girls that mesh well together,” he said. “They all have certain skills that together make a great team. We don’t have that one outstanding player yet, that I’ve seen. Maybe they’ll show up and that would be awesome. But right now, all our girls will be working together and using their specific skills. “I wouldn’t say we’re a tall team, but I wouldn’t say we’re a short team either. We’ve got some good height at the wings and some decent size at the post, but we don’t have that big power. … We don’t have that one go-to girl, which I think will be beneficial.”
In-your-face defense
In most cases, successful defenses at the high school level begin with effort. That especially holds true if it’s a man-to-man scheme. That’s the system Fond du Lac will mostly be operating out of this year. Last season, the Cardinals allowed a respectable 44.1 points per contest, certainly a number that would win a bunch of games if the offense did its part.
Bell appears to be even more focused on tightening up that defense in 2014-15. “Strong man, in-your-face (defense),” Bell said. “Barking, yelling. If you’re not talking, you’re probably not going to be out on the floor. That type of defense. I want teams to come up and think ‘Oh, we’ve got to play this team. They play such tough defense.’ Win or lose, we’re playing tough defense. We want to frustrate the offense.’ Wendels echoed her coach’s sentiment. “Defensively, just always giving 100 percent and working as hard as you possibly can on the court,” she said.
Moving on up
While it’s still early to have realistic goals for a team he’s just getting used to, Bell does hope his Cardinals can finish in the top half of the Fox Valley Association. That in mind, he does realize the level of competition that sits in the top half of the FVA, including defending conference champ and state qualifier Kimberly. “The goal for this year is to be top-half of the conference,” Bell said. “With that being said, you’re going to have to be above a .500 team. That’s kind of the goal we’re setting. I think that’s a realistic goal coming in, winning every other game. Obviously, you’d like to see it higher. We have the potential to do that.”
With a new coach comes a learning curve and Bell isn’t expecting Fond du Lac to be any different early on this year. But he is excited about the athletes he has on this year’s team and how quickly they’re adjusting to what he’s trying to do. “I’m excited about how much they have shifted,” he said. “Their excitement in practice, the intensity has picked up each day. Even though we did two-a-days the first three days, so they’re tired, but they’re still coming in excited, still having a good energy. I see a lot of potential and that’s the biggest thing I’m excited about.”
2014-15 Roster
10 Aleah Wendels…So
11 Abbey Weinke…Sr
13 Johannah Georgeson…Sr
21 Jordan Quackenboss…Sr
22 Braelyn Cary…Jr
23 Nicole Gietzel…Sr
24 Cheyenne Bonincontri…Sr
25 Brianna Hubbard…Sr
30 McKensey Hendrix…Jr
32 Zoelle Reinke…Sr
33 Megan Dille…So
2014-15 Schedule
Nov: 25, at Catholic Memorial, 7 p.m.
Dec: 2, at Appleton West, 7:15 p.m.; 5, Oshkosh West, 7:15 p.m.; 9, Sheboygan North, 7:15 p.m.; 12, at Oshkosh North, 7:15 p.m.; 19, at Appleton North, 7:15 p.m.; 23, at Neenah, 7:15 p.m.; 29, at Sun Prairie tournament, 5:30 p.m.; 30, at Sun Prairie tournament, 5:30 p.m.
Jan: 6, Kaukauna, 7:15 p.m.; 9, at Appleton East, 7:15 p.m.; 13, Kimberly, 7:15 p.m.; 16, Appleton West, 7:15 p.m.; 20, at Hortonville, 7:15 p.m.; 23, at Kimberly, 7:15 p.m.; 27, at Oshkosh West, 7:15 p.m.; 30, Oshkosh North, 7:15 p.m.
Feb: 3, Appleton North, 7:15 p.m.; 6, Neenah, 7:15 p.m.; 13, Appleton East, 7:15 p.m.; 16, at Kaukauna, 7:15 p.m.; 19, Hortonville, 7:15 p.m.