By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
There are nights in a team’s development that stand out above the others.
For the Big Foot girls basketball team, Monday may have been one of those nights.
The Chiefs notched their 10th win of the season with a 57-55 overtime victory at Division 1 Badger. Big Foot, which competes in Division 3, improved to 10-4 overall.
Nothing bad can come from a win over a highly respected program like Badger, which is in contention for the Southern Lakes Conference title, Big Foot coach Rick Schoenbeck said.
“It’s a huge win,” he said. “We have developed a program of quality basketball that will compete and reload every year. The success we are having is directly a result of our youth basketball training and of-season work from dedicated girls and parents.
“I consider this a program win that will propel these girls to gain confidence because they have learned how to adjust in games and finish with wins. This is part of the maturing process that happens with success and hard work.”
Schoenbeck said Badger presented a number of challenges, but his team met those head on.
“Badger is a well-coached, physical team that played very hard,” he said. “(It was a) fun night of basketball between the two teams.
“I am so impressed with the following of the girls basketball program and the size of the crowds that are supporting us. Winning and quality basketball obviously propels this.”
The game was a back-and-forth affair all night. Big Foot led 9-8 after the first quarter, before Badger took the lead until deep in the fourth quarter.
The Chiefs, who trailed 31-27 heading into the last eight minutes, trimmed the deficit to just one point with two minutes left. A pair of 3-pointers, one each by freshmen Courtney Schoenbeck and Payton Courier, followed by a steal and a score, helped spur the rally.
“The first half was a big-time feeling-out process among the two evenly-matched teams,” Schoenbeck said. “We try many things in the first half and settle on what works best in the second half.”
Olivia Briggs led a balanced attack for the Chiefs with 17 points and four rebounds, followed by Morgan Courier with 14 points, four rebounds, six steals and four assists. Payton Courier added 13 points and seven rebounds, while Carly Snudden had six rebounds and Courtney Schoenbeck had four rebounds and two steals.
Schoenbeck said he was pleased to see contributions coming from so many different girls.
“We must play together to be successful,” he said. “They play for the name of the front of the jersey, not the back. Opposing teams can try to take one or two girls out of the game, but I have our others that will perform also.
“Points and rebounds are important, but all the little things girls do on the court are keys to victory.”
Big Foot got back into Rock Valley Conference action Thursday night at McFarland. The Chiefs host East Troy next Tuesday night.
Entering play this week, the Chiefs were alone in second place at 6-2 in the RVC, one game behind Brodhead’s 7-2 conference mark.
The Chiefs’ main goal is alive and well, Schoenbeck said.
“(We are going to) focus on the goal of winning conference,” he said. “(We’ll do) hard work studying film and perfecting our game as we get smarter about playing basketball. We want to improve our shooting, especially from the outside. Finally, we need to keep winning games and not stumble along the way.”
Chiefs roll past to wins
Big Foot opened its week with a 41-22 RVC win Jan. 16 at Palmyra-Eagle, followed by a 60-47 non-conference win over visiting Woodstock (Ill.) Jan. 17.
In the win over Woodstock, Big Foot used a 23-7 third quarter to break open a close game.
“Our pressure seemed to get to them, and we adjusted to our most effective defense and held them without a bucket,” Schoenbeck said. “We forced turnovers that were made into easy scores. We found a mix of girls who really work well together and distribute the ball well with efficiency.”
Morgan Courier led the way with 20 points, six assists and three steals, followed by Courtney Schoenbeck with 14 points, Briggs with nine points, six rebounds and five steals and Snudden with eight points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Big Foot took control in the opener at Palmyra and led 23-10 at halftime. The Chiefs held the Panthers to single-digit scoring in all four quarters.
Morgan Courier led the way with 10 points and two steals, followed by Payton Courier with 10 points, five rebounds and four steals. Briggs added eight points and six steals, followed by Snudden with eight points and four rebounds. Schoenbeck had five rebounds.
