WATERTOWN – There was no letdown for the Watertown-Mayer girls basketball team in its matchup with the Rockford Rockets Tuesday night. After picking up a pair of big road wins last week, the Royals kept their momentum rolling with a convincing 72-42 victory on their home court to stay atop the standings in the Wright County Conference West.
“They’re a good team,” Watertown-Mayer coach John Rosholt said. “It was a tight game when we were up there at Rockford. They played well and crashed the boards so hard. I thought we escaped with a win last time we played them. It’s a little different when you come home. I thought we played exceptionally well in that first half. It was nice to get a (win) against a quality team.”
The Royals (15-5, 8-1) wasted no time in getting things rolling on both sides of the ball. Trailing 4-2 early, the Royals used a 12-0 run to grab a 10-point lead and never looked back. Sophomore Libby Heilman was a big reason for that run for the Royals, as she continued to give her team a spark off the bench like she has all season long.
“Whenever I think about playing, I play bad,” Heilman said. “I just go out and do what I’m supposed to do and I actually get it done. If there’s not enough energy on the court, then it’s my job to bring up the energy.”
With Heilman’s play of late for the Royals, Rosholt knows that he can have some confidence in his bench when he needs it.
“She’s come a long way,” Rosholt said. “She’s stepped up every time. She hasn’t stepped back. She’s constantly improving herself, and I’m pleased with her progress, as I am with all of our kids. I think we’ve all stepped up.”
After leading 43-21 at the break, the Royals didn’t let up in the second half, even with Monika Czinano on the bench for the final eight minutes. Czinano finished with a game-high 27 points, while also collecting 16 rebounds. Shelby Mueller added nine points off the bench, while Grace Knutson finished with eight points.
The win against the Rockets keeps the Royals atop the Wright County Conference West standings, but this time, they’re at the top alone. With New London-Spicer knocking off Glencoe-Silver Lake 58-51, the Royals are the only one-loss team left in the WCC West. Although the Royals are in a good spot to push for another conference title, Rosholt knows how important it is to take it one game at a time, especially in this conference.
“We don’t want to think about that,” Rosholt said about pushing for a conference title. “We’ll take it one game at a time. That’s the thing about the Wright County (Conference). It’s good basketball right now. It really is. At the beginning of the season you could kind of tell where everybody is and think how it’s all going to shake out. It hasn’t. Everybody is quality. Everybody can beat anybody on a night like that. I know that’s a quote from somewhere else, but I happen to believe it in the Wright County West right now. There’s some good basketball.”
Look for the rest of the story, as well as more HJ sports coverage, in the Friday, Feb. 2 edition of the Herald Journal. Click here for subscription information.
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