Ike girls win battle of unbeatens

New Berlin - The unbeaten New Berlin Eisenhower girls were hoping to get tested Tuesday night, but instead they rolled to a 64-40 victory over previously-unbeaten Cudahy at Ike.

The win improved the Lions' record to 7-0, 6-0 in the Woodland Conference Black Division, while the Packers, leaders of the Blue Division, fell to 5-1, 4-1 in conference play.

In a game that had two of the better players in the state squaring off - Nicole Bauman of Ike, the University of Wisconsin recruit, and Taylor Gradinjan of Cudahy, it was the supporting players who made the difference.

Bauman scored 19 points and Gradinjan had 16 to lead their respective teams, while Jenna Jagler and Emily Wiltzius added 10 each for the Packers.

But Bauman had more support, as Jenny Weiland had 15 points and Erin Ganzke added 14, while Katie Lang had 12. Jessa Hahn came off the bench to score a bucket and grabbed some big rebounds and Kristin Hesselbach and Taylor McArthur also played a good floor game and helped key the defense.

The Lions came out and had a 10-0 run to open the game and that pleased Ike coach Gary Schmidt.

"I like the way we came out offensively," he said. "We came down, got a score, we stopped them. That's the way we wanted to dictate the game and the flow tonight."

Ike took a 14-7 lead after one quarter as Bauman had six points and Lang four. After a defensive second period, the Lions took a 22-15 advantage into half-time. Bauman had eight points and Weiland had six, while Gradinjan had four.

Big third quarter propels Ike

Although Gradinjan scored 10 third-quarter points, the Lions used a solid defense to expand their lead to 46-33 going in the fourth period. Bauman had nine points, Weiland seven and Ganzke added six.

After the Packers cut the lead to 28-26 with 5:47 left in the third quarter, the Lions went on a 12-2 run to take a 40-28 lead and coast to victory.

"We had some turnovers, but then we figured out what we were doing and we all picked it up," Ganzke said about the Lions reaction to the run by the Packers.

Bauman started the run with a jumper and ended it with a 3-pointer, while Weiland had a trey off a pass from Hesselbach and a layup and Hahn had a rebound basket.

Lang and Ganzke added six points each in the final quarter, as the Lions rolled to an 18-7 advantage.

Entire team contributing

The Lions had good balance and every game more players are starting to contribute.

"I talked about finding our identity and we are starting to find that identity with 12 kids. We are starting to put that face to our team. Weiland, Lang Ganzke, Hahn, the list goes on. Kids are contributing, that's the identity I'm looking for."

It all starts with Bauman, but then it goes further than that according to Weiland.

"Nicole plays a big part on making good passes," she said. "We all try to make good cuts and then buckle down on defense. We always just know where we've got to be on defense. We talk and it's easier for everyone else that way."

Ike, who played Monroe in the Edgewood Classic on Tuesday, host Greenfield (0-5, 2-6) on Tuesday.