FALL RIVER – Poet Geoffrey Chaucer penned the famous phrase “All good things must come to a end” a long, long time ago. For the Black Hawk Warriors girls’ basketball team, the end came way too soon.
    Top-seeded Fall River kept its quest for a return trip to Green Bay alive by knocking off the #4-seeded Lady Warriors, 70-41, in a WIAA Division 5 regional championship game played at FRHS on Saturday, Feb. 27.
    “They are a very fast, aggressive, physical team, and that is why they have had so much success,” said Black Hawk head coach Michael Flanagan. “We never fall back on excuses, but I also believe that we had some tired legs coming off of Friday night’s game. Fatigue took a toll, as Fall River pushed tempo.”
    The Warriors (14-10 overall) were hanging with the #3-ranked Pirates (20-4) for much of the first half until a 20-0 run by the hosts bolted them out to a 34-14 halftime advantage.
    “We played Fall River very tough for much of the first half. We took some charges and got them out of their offensive patterns. We also found ways to get the ball inside, and Aleigha Sigafus had some big interior scores,” Flanagan noted. “Then, things got away from us as we couldn’t find a way to make a perimeter shot, and they started to hit some shots. We also had some untimely turnovers that got their transition game going, and as a result, the half ended very rough.”
    Black Hawk had little left for a comeback as the Pirates coasted through the second half to post their ninth consecutive victory.
    Sigafus, who will play at Madison Edgewood College next season, finished with her seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds to go along with two steals.
    Hannah Herbst had eight points on the night, and Tatum Jackson chipped with seven points and three assists.
    Alyssa Klecker (19 points and 10 rebounds) and Kelly Tramburg (18 and 14) each recorded a double-double to pace the Pirates, a 2015 D5 state qualifier who advances to play Juda in a sectional semifinal game at Evansville on Thursday, March 3.
    The #7-seeded Panthers (12-9) upset #2-seeded Randolph, 54-43, on Friday, and #3-seeded Hustisford, 51-48 in overtime, on Saturday to claim the regional crown Coach Flanagan felt his team had a shot at if the seeding would have went their way. The Warriors defeated Juda twice (44-32 and 54-26) and beat Randolph (40-34) as well during the regular season.
    “If seeding had gone more logically– as evidenced by Juda’s success against two teams seeded higher than we were–we would still be playing at the sectional level. However, that was out of our control, and we feel bad for the girls that they couldn’t be part of a regional title,” stated Flanagan.
    Playing in their final prep game at Black Hawk were seniors Aleigha Sigafus, Melissa Flanagan, Brooke Moore, Abby Baumgartner and Tatum Jackson.
    “These five seniors definitely turned things around from last season. For many of them, this was only their second year on varsity, and those who had more experience coming into last year, their role changed significantly. As a result, we had some tough stretches,” said Flanagan. “This year, it was clear that all five players had grown, both in physical skill and mental toughness. We appreciate their contributions to the program and wish them luck in their future pursuits.”
    At South Wayne, on Friday, Feb. 26, the Lady Warriors got off to a great start and never looked back as they vanquished the visiting Rio Vikings, 59-37, in a regional semifinal affair.
    Coach Flanagan’s crew held the Vikings without a field goal through the first nine minutes of the game and built up an early 18-1 lead. Rio lived off the transition game all season, but the Warriors thwarted that by getting back on defense and forcing them to run a half-court offense.
    “Our defense was pretty solid early against Rio, and that resulted in a big lead early. That was a key, as Rio has some kids known to make plays. We got back (on defense), so that they couldn’t score in transition and forced them to get things done within their half-court offense,” commented Flanagan.
    Senior Aleigha Sigafus led all scorers with 21 points and she added five rebounds and two steals. Junior Sammy Lovelace added nine points, while senior Tatum Jackson followed with eight points along with a team-high eight assists and three steals.
    Senior Brooke Moore tallied six points and four assists, and sophomore Hannah Herbst contributed six points, five rebounds and three assists for the Warriors.
    At South Wayne, on Tuesday, Feb. 23, Black Hawk got off to a fast start to open the playoffs as they rolled over #13-seeded Madison Country Day, 78-25, in a regional quarterfinal matchup.
    The Warriors scored the game’s first seven points and shot their way out to a 24-6 lead just six minutes into the game, and they never looked back. They held a 58-14 advantage at the intermission, and then outscored the Prairie Hawks (8-12) in the second half, 20-11, to cruise to the victory.
    Five players reached double figures for Black Hawk led by Aleigha Sigafus, who poured in a game-high 25 points to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
    Melissa Flanagan sank four 3-pointers on her way to a career-high 12 points. Brooke Moore also matched her career-high with 12 points, while Brianna Hagen netted a career-high 10 points. Hannah Herbst also scored 10 points and added seven assists and six steals.
    Hagen had six rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Moore dished out six assists. Tatum Jackson tallied nine rebounds, six assists and four steals for the Warriors.
 
WIAA DIVISION 5 REGIONAL FINAL
Black Hawk…….  14    27 – 41
Fall River……….  34    36 – 70
    Black Hawk – Hannah Herbst 8, Aleigha Sigafus 18, Melissa Flanagan 3, Brooke Moore 5, Tatum Jackson 7. Totals – 16  6-12  41.
    Fall River – M. Tramburg 6, Gregorio 6, Raley 9, Bull 6, Klecker 19, Van Gysel 2, K. Tramburg 18, Engebretson 4. Totals – 29  9-21  70.
3-point goals– BH 3 (Herbst 1, Flanagan 1, Jackson 1), FR 3 (M. Tramburg 1, Gregorio 2). Total fouls– BH 0, FR 0.

WIAA DIVISION 5 REGIONAL SEMIFINAL
Rio………………  16    21 – 37
Black Hawk……  35    24 – 59
    Rio – Hagenow 1, Flores 1, J. Hutzler 6, Ehlert 7, Junget 7, D. Hutzler 8, Schneider 1, Thompson 2, Burmania 4. Totals – 13  8-17  37.
    Black Hawk – Hannah Herbst 6, Aleigha Sigafus 21, Melissa Flanagan 5, Brooke Moore 8, Abby Baumgartner 2, Sammy Lovelace 9, Tatum Jackson 8, team 2. Totals – 22  12-13  59.
3-point goals– R 3 (J. Hutzler 1, Ehlert 1, Junget 1), BH 3 (Flanagan 1, Moore 1, Lovelace 1). Total fouls– R 0, BH 0.

WIAA DIVISION 5 REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL
Madison Country Day... 14    11 – 25
Black Hawk…………….  58    20 – 78
    MAD. Country Day – Hallick 8, Gill 4, Kent 6, Petzold 7. Totals – 8  8-11  25.
    Black Hawk – Brianna Hagen 10, Hannah Herbst 12, Aleigha Sigafus 25, Melissa Flanagan 12, Brooke Moore 12, Abby Baumgartner 2, Sammy Lovelace 3, Tatum Jackson 2. Totals – 32  7-13  78.
3-point goals– MCD 1 (Petzold 1), BH 7 (Hagen 2, Flanagan 4, Lovelace 1). Total fouls– MCD 9, BH 14.